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Leasburg is a former town and the former county seat of Caswell County, North Carolina, United States. The community has a partial presence in Person County. The population was 1,662 at the 2010 census. It was named in honor of longtime resident William Lea and is located along US 158 and NC 119 near Hyco Lake. Leasburg is also the name of a Caswell County township.
When Caswell County was created in 1777, the area that would become Leasburg was named as the county seat; however, a county courthouse was not built on the site until 1784, after the American Revolutionary War. When the area around the courthouse began to develop, the community decided to incorporate. The town of Leasburg was officially recognized by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1788. When the eastern section of Caswell County split and became Person County, a more geographically central location for the Caswell county seat was needed; so, in 1792 the courthouse was moved to an area which became known as "Caswell Court House", which later changed its name to Yanceyville. Leasburg continued to develop after the courthouse relocation and eventually became known as the regional center for education. Numerous mills, factories, and farms prospered in the town until competition nearby from Durham doomed the area's tobacco industry. The Civil War left Leasburg in ruin, although many antebellum residences still remain.
Famous former residents of Leasburg include Solomon Lea, the son of William Lea and the first president of Greensboro College, and Jacob Thompson, who served under President James Buchanan as Secretary of the Interior. Leasburg was also the birthplace of the short-lived Piedmont blues musician, Carolina Slim. [1]
The Garland-Buford House and James Malone House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [2]
Caswell County Speedway was once in operation in Leasburg and offered dirt track kart racing. The 1/5 mile track's ruins are still present and can be seen from Solomon Lea Road.
Rockingham County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,096. Its county seat is Wentworth. The county is known as "North Carolina's North Star."
Person County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 39,097 as of the 2020 census. The county seat is Roxboro.
Caswell County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is located in the Piedmont Triad region of the state. At the 2020 census, the population was 22,736. Its county seat is Yanceyville.
Graham is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census the population was 17,153. It is the county seat of Alamance County.
Milton is a town in Caswell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 166 at the 2010 census. It is adjacent to the Virginia International Raceway, just across the state line in Virginia.
Yanceyville is a town in and the county seat of Caswell County, North Carolina, United States. Located in the Piedmont Triad region of the state, the town had a population of 1,937 at the 2020 census.
Wentworth is a town in Rockingham County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,646 at the 2020 census. Wentworth is the county seat of Rockingham County and is part of the Greensboro–High Point metropolitan area of the Piedmont Triad. On May 6, 2022, and EF-1 Tornado hit Wentworth. The storm traveled as a supercell with crazy structure from the Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, and Pinnacle, North Carolina, area across central Stokes County and into Rockingham County. It took out trees, damaged homes, and blocked roads before it lifted off southwest of Reidsville.
York is a city in and county seat of York County, South Carolina, United States. The population was approximately 6,985 at the 2000 census and up to 7,736 at the 2010 census. York is located approximately 27 miles (43 km) southwest of Charlotte, North Carolina and 13 miles (21 km) west of Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Rocky Mount is a town in and the county seat of Franklin County, Virginia, United States. The town is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area, and had a population of 4,903 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the Roanoke Region of Virginia.
Bedford Brown was a Democratic United States Senator from the State of North Carolina between 1829 and 1840.
Bartlett Yancey was an American politician who was a U.S. congressman from North Carolina, United States, between 1813 and 1817. He was a member of the Democratic-Republican party.
Brentsville is an unincorporated community village in Prince William County, Virginia, United States.
The Caswell County, North Carolina, United States, unincorporated community of Purley, along with the communities of Blanche and Providence, makes up Dan River Township. On a farm in this area, a process for curing brightleaf tobacco was discovered by a slave in 1839 and improved in the 1850s. Tradition relates that the name "Purley" came from the Samuel Satterwhite Harrison House that sat on a hill and was painted a "pearly white" when such a paint scheme was a novelty. This resulted in much comment and the area eventually was named "Purley." Another community landmark is the Purley Store,c operated by the Pleasant family for over fifty years.
Semora is an unincorporated community in Caswell County, North Carolina, United States. It lies just northwest of Hyco Lake and has some presence in Person County. Semora is home to one of the oldest churches in North Carolina, the Red House Presbyterian Church.
The Kirk–Holden war was a police operation taken against the white supremacist organization Ku Klux Klan by the government in the state of North Carolina in the United States in 1870. The Klan was using murder and intimidation to prevent recently freed slaves and members of the Republican Party from exercising their right to vote in the aftermath of the American Civil War. Following an increase in Klan activity in North Carolina—including the murder of a black town commissioner in Alamance County and the murder of a Republican state senator in Caswell County—Republican Governor of North Carolina William W. Holden declared both areas to be in a state of insurrection. In accordance with the Shoffner Act, Holden ordered a militia be raised to restore order in the counties and arrest Klansmen suspected of violence. This resulted in the creation of the 1st and 2nd North Carolina Troops, which Holden placed under the overall command of Colonel George Washington Kirk.
John W. Stephens was an assassinated state senator from North Carolina. He was stabbed and garroted by the Ku Klux Klan on May 21, 1870. This killing began the Kirk–Holden war.
Caswell County Courthouse is a historic county courthouse located in Yanceyville, Caswell County, North Carolina. It was built between 1858 and 1861, and is a rectangular two-story, stuccoed brick building, five bays wide and seven deep. It sits on an elevated granite block foundation and features a two-level recessed entrance porch and octagonal cupola.
Graves House is a historic home located at Yanceyville, Caswell County, North Carolina. It was built about 1780, and is a tripartite Georgian style frame dwelling consisting of a three bay by four bay center section flanked by wings one bay wide and three bays deep.
Melrose, also known as the Williamson House, is a historic plantation house located near Yanceyville, Caswell County, North Carolina. It consists of two two-story, frame blocks connected by a 1+1⁄2-story breezeway. The original section dated to about 1780 and is a two-story, frame single pile block with Federal style details. The later section was built about 1840, and is a two-story, frame single pile block with Greek Revival style details. The later section features a portico supported by four unfluted Doric order columns. Also on the property is an octagonal, Williamsburg-style pump house with a conical roof.
Yanceyville Historic District is a national historic district located in Yanceyville, Caswell County, North Carolina, USA. It encompasses 11 contributing buildings in the county seat of Yanceyville. It includes notable examples of Greek Revival style architecture. In addition to the separately listed Caswell County Courthouse, other notable buildings include the Thornton House, Paul Haralson House, Jeremiah Graves House (Dongola), Dr. Nathaniel Roan House, Presbyterian Church, Kerr House, Thomas D. Johnston House, and the brick store.
36°23′41″N79°09′16″W / 36.39472°N 79.15444°W
Municipalities and communities of Caswell County, North Carolina, United States | ||
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Municipalities and communities of Person County, North Carolina, United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |