Falls, North Carolina

Last updated

Falls, North Carolina
NeuseRiverDam.jpg
Stone dam on Neuse River at Falls, North Carolina prior to the construction of the current Falls Lake Dam
USA North Carolina location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Falls, North Carolina
Location within the state of North Carolina
Coordinates: 35°56′24″N78°34′46″W / 35.94000°N 78.57944°W / 35.94000; -78.57944
Country United States
State North Carolina
County Wake
Elevation
200 ft (61 m)
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)
27587, 27614,
Area code 919
GNIS feature ID1020212 [1]

Falls (aka Falls of Neuse; Falls of the Neuse), is an unincorporated community in Wake County, North Carolina, United States, situated on Old Falls of Neuse Road, between Raleigh and Wake Forest, near the Wakefield Plantation development. Falls Dam, on the Neuse River, is within the community. [2]

Contents

History

First mention of school

A "Lancaster" School was opened at the Falls of Neuse by Governor David Stone in 1814. James Boyle, trained at Georgetown, D.C., was in charge of the school for two years. [3]

First mention of mills

Historic Neuse River Bride at Falls, North Carolina Historic Neuse River Bride at Falls, North Carolina.jpg
Historic Neuse River Bride at Falls, North Carolina

On Nov. 24th, 1846, the owner of certain property, Jas. D. Newsom, at the Falls (described as being 13 miles north of Raleigh on the Raleigh-Oxford Road) placed 113 acres for sale containing a grist mill, a saw mill, a tan yard, and store houses. In an article entitled “Great Falls of Neuse River: Important to Capitalists” and published in The Raleigh Register (Raleigh, North Carolina) [4] on Friday, December 25, 1846, Mr. Newsom notes “The water power at this place is immense, embracing from head to foot a fall of upwards of thirty feet, and sufficient to run any amount of machinery that might be desired”. Mr. Newson also mentions “I have owned this property ever since 1835, since which time these mills never have been stopped by either high or low water.” In the same article he lists three other tracts of land for sale: one adjacent to the above land and containing 250 acres and a dwelling house, and two other nearby tracts of land containing almost 1000 acres in total. He indicates that the area around this property is a major cotton growing region. Mr. Newson also mentions the land is within 4 miles of two railroad depots, one at Forestville and one at Huntsville.

This land and the mill were likely previously owned by Burwell Perry. A notice was published by Wesley Jones, Trustee, in The Weekly Standard (Raleigh, North Carolina) on January 29, 1840, [5] advertising the sale of "that valuable plantation belonging to the said Perry, lying in the county of Wake on the Neuse River, containing, about two thousand acres, on which is an excellent Saw and Grist Mill."

Paper and cotton mill community

The community was founded in the 1850s, with the construction of a paper mill on the Neuse River at the site. [6] It was named for the now-submerged Falls of the Neuse, which were the reason for building the mill. The community grew around the intersection of Falls of Neuse Rd (SR 2000), Fonville Rd (SR 2001), and Possum Track Rd. (SR 2002). At its peak, the community contained three churches, a volunteer fire department, a one-room school house, a ball field, and an ice house. [7]

The community began its decline after the mill shut down in 1959. In 1981, Falls Dam was completed, flooding Possum Track Rd and dividing the community in half. [8]

The Falls of the Neuse Manufacturing Company was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. [9] It has since been converted into an apartment complex. [10]

Community

Boat house in Falls, 2020 Boat House in Falls, North Carolina.jpg
Boat house in Falls, 2020

Falls borders the Wakefield Plantation and Bedford developments in Raleigh. It is at the corner of four townships: New Light, Bartons Creek, Neuse, and Wake Forest. Local subdivisions include The Falls, River Run, Woodbridge, Oakcroft, and Falls Pointe.

Falls Lake Dam is in the community, as well as the beginning to the Neuse River Greenway. Religious organizations include Falls Baptist Church, Falls Of Neuse Pentecostal Holiness Church, and Falls of Neuse Church of God. Wakefield High School is located just outside the community. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wake County, North Carolina</span> County in North Carolina, United States

Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the United States, with Cary and Raleigh being the 8th- and 15th-fastest growing communities, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knightdale, North Carolina</span> Town in North Carolina, United States

Knightdale is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, Knightdale has a population of 19,435, up from 11,401 in 2010. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the town's population to be 17,843, as of July 1, 2019. Knightdale's population grew 10.4% from 2010 to 2013, making it the second fastest-growing community in the Research Triangle region for that time period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wake Forest, North Carolina</span> Town in North Carolina, United States

Wake Forest is a town in Franklin and Wake counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina; located almost entirely in Wake County, it lies just north of the state capital, Raleigh. At the 2020 census, the population was 47,601, up from 30,117 in 2010. It is part of the Raleigh metropolitan area. Wake Forest was the original home of Wake Forest University for 122 years before it moved to Winston-Salem in 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zebulon, North Carolina</span> Town in North Carolina, United States

Zebulon is the easternmost town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 6,903 at the 2020 census. Zebulon is part of the Research Triangle metropolitan region. In May 2022, Zebulon was ranked North Carolina's second fastest growing town, only behind neighboring Wendell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falls Lake State Recreation Area</span> State park in North Carolina, United States

Falls Lake State Recreation Area is a North Carolina state park in Durham and Wake counties, North Carolina in the United States. Near Wake Forest, North Carolina, it covers 5,035 acres (20.38 km2) along the shores of 12,410-acre (50.2 km2) Falls Lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuse River</span> River rising in the Piedmont of North Carolina

The Neuse River is a river rising in the Piedmont of North Carolina and emptying into Pamlico Sound below New Bern. Its total length is approximately 275 miles (443 km), making it the longest river entirely contained in North Carolina. The Trent River joins the Neuse at New Bern. Its drainage basin, measuring 5,630 square miles (14,600 km2) in area, also lies entirely inside North Carolina. It is formed by the confluence of the Flat and Eno rivers prior to entering the Falls Lake reservoir in northern Wake County. Its fall line shoals, known as the Falls of the Neuse, lie submerged under the waters of Falls Lake. This River also creates the beauty of the Neuse River Trail, a 34.5 miles (55.5 km) long greenway that stretches from Falls Lake Dam, Raleigh, North Carolina to Legend Park, Clayton, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bartons Creek Township, Wake County, North Carolina</span> Township in North Carolina, United States

Bartons Creek Township is one of twenty townships within Wake County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, Bartons Creek Township had a population of 22,055.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadwell, Virginia</span> CDP in Virginia, United States

Shadwell is a census-designated place (CDP) in Albemarle County, Virginia. It is located by the Rivanna River near Charlottesville. The site today is marked by a Virginia Historical Marker to mark the birthplace of President Thomas Jefferson. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places along with Clifton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falls Lake</span> Man-made reservoir in North Carolina, United States

Falls Lake is a 12,410 acre (50 km2) reservoir located in Durham, Wake, and Granville counties in North Carolina, United States. Falls Lake extends 28 miles (45 km) up the Neuse River to its source at the confluence of the Eno, Little, and Flat rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crabtree Creek (Neuse River tributary)</span> Stream in North Carolina, USA

Crabtree Creek is a tributary of the Neuse River in central Wake County, North Carolina, United States. The creek begins in the town of Cary and flows through Morrisville, William B. Umstead State Park, and the northern sections of Raleigh before emptying into the Neuse at Anderson Point Park, a large city park located in East Raleigh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yates Mill</span> United States historic place

Yates Mill is a fully restored, circa 1756 gristmill located five miles (8 km) south of downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. It is the centerpiece of Historic Yates Mill County Park, in central Wake County. The park features the restored mill; a visitor center with a museum focused on milling and on the natural history of the area, classrooms, an auditorium and space for research conducted by North Carolina State University faculty and students; a 20-acre (81,000 m2) lake; and extensive hiking trails. The park is managed as a native wildlife refuge with a mission to study and interpret the park's cultural, natural and agricultural heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Lane House</span> Historic house in North Carolina, United States

The Joel Lane House, also known as Wakefield, was built in 1769 and is now a restored historic home and museum in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is the oldest dwelling in Wake County and contains collections of 18th century artifacts and period furnishings. The museum grounds include a detached middle-class home built circa 1790, a formal city garden, and a period herb garden. The house is named after Joel Lane, the "Father of Raleigh" and "Father of Wake County."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montfort Hall</span> Mansion in Raleigh, North Carolina

Montfort Hall is a home and registered historic landmark located in the Boylan Heights neighborhood of Raleigh, North Carolina. It is one of the few mansions in Raleigh that survived during the American Civil War era. The house was built for William Montfort Boylan in 1858 and is an example of Italianate architecture. The centerpiece of the house's interior is a rotunda supported by four Corinthian columns and lit by a stained glass window located on the roof. Montfort Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 as Montford Hall and is a Raleigh Historic Landmark. The building is currently being developed into a 10-room boutique inn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josiah Ogden Watson</span> American politician

Josiah Ogden Watson was an American Plantation owner, physician, and statesman from North Carolina. He was the son of John Watson, a Revolutionary War veteran, and Elizabeth and born at Pineville plantation in Johnston County, NC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuse River Trail</span> Greenway trail in North Carolina, US

The Neuse River Trail is a 34.5-mile (55.5 km) long paved greenway located in the Raleigh area of North Carolina, running along the banks of the Neuse River from Falls Lake Dam to the town of Clayton. The route passes through the jurisdictions of Raleigh, Wake Forest, Knightdale, and Clayton in Wake and Johnston counties. The Neuse River Greenway trail is part of the Capital Area Greenway system as well as the Mountains-to-Sea Trail that crosses North Carolina from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks. Open to both cyclists and pedestrians, the Neuse River Trail is the longest greenway trail in North Carolina and the longest paved trail between northern Virginia and western Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China Grove (Oriental, North Carolina)</span> Historic house in North Carolina, United States

China Grove is a historic plantation house located near Oriental, North Carolina. Built sometime in the late-18th century to early-19th century, the Federal style home was named for a row of chinaberry trees that once led to its entrance. China Grove is one of North Carolina's most dramatically sited plantation homes, overlooking the Neuse River at one of its widest points, near the mouth of Dawson's Creek. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falls of the Neuse Manufacturing Company</span> United States historic place

Falls of the Neuse Manufacturing Company, also known as the Manteo Manufacturing Company and Forest Manufacturing Company, is a historic paper mill complex located at Falls, Wake County, North Carolina. The main mill building was built from1854–1855, and is a three-story, quarried granite block building measuring 195 feet long and 54 feet wide. Located on the property is the stone mill dam, measuring about 400 feet wide and roughly 6 feet tall, and the one-story picker room, measuring 53 feet square. The mill operated as a paper mill until 1896, and later housed a cotton mill and warehouse.

Little River Dam and Park is a small municipal park and dam along the Little River in the town of Zebulon, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pullen House</span> Historic plantation house in Raleigh, North Carolina

Pullen House is a historic Victorian plantation house located in northern Raleigh, North Carolina. The house was the center of a small plantation in Wake County that was owned by the Pullen family. Richard Stanhope Pullen, a local businessman and philanthropist who funded the construction of Pullen Park, was born here.

References

  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Falls, North Carolina
  2. "GNIS Detail - Falls". geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  3. North Carolina Schools and Academies 1790-1840: A Documentary History by Charles L. Coon, Page xl.
  4. The Raleigh Register (Raleigh, North Carolina), page 2, December 25, 1846. https://www.newspapers.com/image/57505635 Archived June 20, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
  5. The Weekly Standard (Raleigh, North Carolina), page 4, January 29, 1840; https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2665999/burwell_perry_land_1840/ Archived April 30, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Catherine W. Bishir and Brent D. Glass (n.d.). "Falls of the Neuse Manufacturing Company". National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  7. Barham, Paul T. "Falls Community Website - Wake County, North Carolina". www.fallscommunity.org. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  8. Steddum, Janet (2007). Battle for Falls Lake. Falls Lake, NC.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  10. "River Mill - About". www.rivermill.org. Archived from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  11. "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved April 23, 2018.