Rockingham County, North Carolina

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Rockingham County
Rockingham County Justice Center (Front).jpg
Rockingham County Courthouse in Wentworth
Rockingham County Seal.png
Rockingham County Logo.png
Nickname: 
North Carolina's North Star
Motto: 
"You're in a good place"
Map of North Carolina highlighting Rockingham County.svg
Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
North Carolina in United States.svg
North Carolina's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 36°23′N79°47′W / 36.38°N 79.78°W / 36.38; -79.78
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of North Carolina.svg  North Carolina
Founded1785
Named for Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham
Seat Wentworth
Largest community Eden
Area
  Total572.76 sq mi (1,483.4 km2)
  Land565.64 sq mi (1,465.0 km2)
  Water7.12 sq mi (18.4 km2)  1.24%
Population
 (2020)
  Total91,096
  Estimate 
(2023)
92,518
  Density161.05/sq mi (62.18/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
  Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district 6th
Website www.rockinghamcountync.gov

Rockingham County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,096. [1] Its county seat is Wentworth. [2] The county is known as "North Carolina's North Star".

Contents

History

Settling and founding

William Byrd II surveyed the eventual county and dubbed the area the "Land of Eden". William Byrd II.jpg
William Byrd II surveyed the eventual county and dubbed the area the "Land of Eden".

Prior to European colonization, the area eventually comprising Rockingham County was inhabited by Cheraw/Saura Native Americans. [3] In the 1600s they inhabited several small settlements along the Dan River, though around 1710 they migrated towards South Carolina. [4] Between 1728 and 1733, the Dan River Valley in the Granville District was surveyed by William Byrd II as part of efforts to delineate the North Carolina-Virginia border. [5] [6] He soon thereafter purchased 20,000 acres of the land, which he described as the "Land of Eden" to attract prospective farmers. The region's first white settlers came from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia and were of German, English, Scottish, and Irish descent. [6] Some had wealthy backgrounds, but most were poor. [7] Some local white men served in militias during the American Revolutionary War. [8] American troops under General Nathanael Greene and British troops under General Charles Cornwallis moved through the area around the time of the Battle of Guilford Court House in 1781. [9]

The North Carolina General Assembly created Rockingham County from a northern portion of Guilford County on December 29, 1785. [10] It was named for Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, [3] British Prime Minister from 1765 to 1766 and again in 1782. Rockingham's administration was dominated by the American issue. Rockingham wished for repeal of the Stamp Act 1765 and won a Commons vote on the repeal resolution by 275 to 167 in 1766. [11] Settlement, mostly by Scotch-Irish Americans, continued from 1785 up until 1800. [12]

Rockingham County's first court session was convened near Eagle Falls south of the Dan River in February 1786. [10] The following year a wooden courthouse was erected near the center of the county and the community of Rockingham Courthouse was established. The community was renamed Wentworth in 1798, [13] and county court sessions was held there beginning the following May. [14] A new brick courthouse was built in 1824. [13] Wentworth remained a poor and sparse community well into the early 1800s, sustained only by business related to governmental affairs. Leaksville was established in 1795 in an attempt to build a trading community near the confluence of the Dan and Smith rivers. [15]

Antebellum and Civil War

By the early 1800s, economic activity in Rockingham County was largely centered around small farms in hilly areas and a handful of plantations near the rivers. [16] Most farmers were engaged in subsistence operations, with tobacco planted as the area's primary cash crop. [17] The economy began to diversify after 1812. [18] In 1813, John Motley Morehead erected the county's first cotton mill at the confluence of the Dan and Smith rivers in Leaksville. [6] In 1818 the town of Madison was platted and the trading post of Jackson was established at Eagle Falls. By 1831, Leaksville hosted an oil mill, sawmill, and cotton gin. [19] Nevertheless, throughout most of the 1800s, tobacco was the main source of economic activity in Rockingham County, with the towns of Madison, Leaksville, and Reidsville serving as market towns for the crop. [20] Following the passage of public school legislation, in 1840 the first public school in North Carolina opened in Rockingham County. [21] A tobacco manufacturing facility was opened in Reidsville in 1856, [20] and by 1859, Madison was home to several industries. [22] That year Leaksville was linked with Danville, Virginia by railroad, the first such line in the county. [23] Slavery grew gradually in the county with the expansion of tobacco operations and, by the 1860s, 37 percent of the population were enslaved. [24]

At the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, some county men enlisted in the Confederate States Army. Rockingham men eventually formed three companies in North Carolina's 13th Regiment, one in the 14th Regiment, one in the 21st Regiment, six in the 45th Regiment, one in the 63rd Regiment/5th Cavalry, and some reserves, to serve in the war. [25] Rockingham men also formed the 22nd Battalion of the Confederate Home Guard, which was tasked with maintaining order in the county. [26] The local Searcy & Moore gun factory supplied Confederate forces with weapons during the conflict. [27] Some Confederate deserters hid out in the sparse northwestern section of the county during the war, two of whom were found and executed by the Home Guard. [28] At the initiative of the Confederate government, a railroad was built to connect Reidsville with Danville and Greensboro, being completed in May 1864. [23] The war ended in the defeat of the Confederacy in 1865. [29]

Reconstruction and industrialization

By the end of the Civil War, the economy of Rockingham County and the Southern United States as a whole was greatly diminished. Cattle were scarce, and the emancipation of slaves severely harmed the prospects of large planters. A New York journalist traveling through Rockingham County in September 1865 reported food and lodging scarce in the area. [30] In the 1868 elections, Republicans gained control of the county government and a black man was elected to the county commission. The white supremacist Ku Klux Klan became active in 1868 and 1869, and 20 alleged Klansmen were arrested and tried for crimes in the county court, though none were convicted. Following investigations by the federal government and a denunciation from David Settle Reid, a widely respected Rockingham Democrat and former governor, Klan activity diminished in 1870. [29]

In the years after the war, Reidsville rapidly grew as a tobacco manufacturing center with the industry benefitting from the railway completed during the war. [20] [31] Leaksville, having grown to include 7,500 residents, was incorporated in 1874. [20] The town of Stoneville grew from a mercantile crossroads in the west and was incorporated in 1877. [20] [22] Rail service was extended to Madison in the 1880s. [32] Stoneville and Madison largely remained mercantile towns with a few tobacco manufacturers. [31]

Morehead Mill in Spray, c. 1911 Morehead Mill.jpg
Morehead Mill in Spray, c. 1911

The manufacturing sector, particularly in textiles, increased in the late 1800s, driving urbanization and growth in the county's towns. [20] At the initiative of railroad executive Francis Henry Fries, in 1895 the Mayo Mills were built in the western portion of the county, near Madison. [20] [6] A community quickly grew around the facility and was incorporated as the town of Mayodan in 1899. [20] That year, another mill was erected in what became the town of Avalon in 1899. [33] At the time of its construction, the Avalon Mill was the largest textile manufacturing plant in the state. [34] The Avalon Mill burned down in 1911, and the rest of the community was integrated into Mayodan. By 1920, the textile operations in the area had consolidated in the latter town as the Washington Mills, making Mayodan the center of western Rockingham's textile industry. [20]

Meanwhile, James Turner Morehead, inherited John Motley Morehead's holdings in Leaksville in 1866. He focused on expanding industry in the area, creating the Spray Water Power and Land Company to develop his mills, and supporting the laying of new railroads. [35] By the 1890s, Morehead had grouped his textile holdings into two companies, the Leaksville Cotton and Woolen Mill Company and the Spray Water Power and Land Company, and turned them over to his son-in-law, Frank Mebane. [36] Under Mebane's direction and with the backing of northern investors, the Spray Water Power and Land Company, between 1898 and 1906, built six new cotton mills and created a warehouse company. [36] [37] The expansion of the textile industry led to the growth of two new mill communities in the vicinity of Leaksville, Spray and Draper. [38] [22] The three communities collectively became known as the "Tri-Cities". [39] One of Mebane's holdings, the Spray Cotton Mills company, was sold to a private owner in 1897. [37] Most of the rest were taken over by Marshall Field & Company in 1911 and 1912 after Mebane overextended his credit. [36] [38]

20th century

American Tobacco Company plant in Reidsville c. 1937 North Carolina today, page 14 (1930s) (6127189432).jpg
American Tobacco Company plant in Reidsville c. 1937

In October 1906, the county courthouse in Wentworth was destroyed in a fire. The conflagration occurred during a years-long dispute between the citizens of Reidsville, who wanted to move the county seat to their city, and residents from other areas of the county, who were opposed to its relocation. The debate continued for several months until the county commission voted to rebuild the courthouse in Wentworth. The new building was completed in 1908. [40] Economic differences between the tobacco-heavy Reidsville area and the textile-based Leaksville-Draper-Spray area also created political fault lines during the early 20th century. [41] Social, political, and economic rivalries also emerged between Reidsville, Leaksville-Draper-Spray, and the western Rockingham towns of Madison, Mayodan, and Stoneville. [20]

The Penn Brothers Tobacco Company plant in Reidsville came under the control of the American Tobacco Company in 1911. [20] [42] Under American Tobacco's control, the factory quickly rose to become Reidsville's most significant industry and the county's largest taxpayer. Offering high wages to workers, in the 1940s and 1950s it served as its corporate owner's flagship facility and peaked with the employment of 2,000 workers. [42] Draper was incorporated in 1949, followed by Spray two years later. [22] In 1953, Marshall Field & Company transferred its Rockingham textile holdings to a new company, Fieldcrest. [36] In September 1967, the towns of Leaksville, Draper, Spray were consolidated into the new city of Eden. [43] [44] The consolidation led Eden to surpass Reidsville as the county's largest city. [20] In 1978, Miller Brewing Company invested millions in opening a brewery in Eden, and it quickly became a major, high-paying employer. [20] [45]

Economic decline

The abandoned Spray Cotton Mills facility in Eden, 2009 Spray Cotton Mills.jpg
The abandoned Spray Cotton Mills facility in Eden, 2009

The textile industry struggled nationally in the 1980s and 1990s. [46] Fieldcrest Cannon, the successor to Fieldcrest, was acquired by Pillowtex in the late 1990s and laid off hundreds of corporate staff in Eden. [45] [47] Stoneville's major employer, a furniture factory, filed for bankruptcy in 1990. [20] In March 1998, an EF3 tornado occurred in Rockingham County, the strongest storm on-record to ever impact the area. [48] The tornado damaged homes and a textile mill in Mayodan, destroyed several buildings in Stoneville's main business district, and killed two people. [49] [50] In 1999, the former Washington Mills plant in Mayodan closed. [51] Pluma closed its Eden plant in 1999, Spray Cotton Mills closed its yarn mill in 2001, and Pillowtex collapsed in 2003. Some former workers moved to larger cities outside the county in search of jobs. [47]

The decline of textiles left Miller's facility Eden's flagship industry, but it announced its closure in 2015. The loss of the brewery and the textile mills had a knock-off effect on local retail stores, many of which closed due to the loss of customers and competition from national chains such as Walmart. [45] The American Tobacco Company plant in Reidsville underwent ownership changes and layoffs in the 1990s before closing in early 2020. [46]

21st century

In 2011, a new courthouse, the Rockingham County Justice Center, was opened in Wentworth, while the former courthouse was transformed into a museum and historical archive. [13] [52]

In February 2014, a coal ash pond in Eden at Duke Power's Dan River Steam Station spilled into the Dan River. [53]

Geography

Rockingham County, North Carolina
Interactive map of Rockingham County

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 572.76 square miles (1,483.4 km2), of which 565.64 square miles (1,465.0 km2) is land and 7.12 square miles (18.4 km2) (1.24%) is water. [54] It is bordered by the North Carolina counties of Caswell, Alamance, Guilford, Forsyth, and Stokes, and the Virginia counties of Henry and Pittsylvania. [55] Much of the soil in the county is sandy loam. [56]

Rockingham County is situated in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Piedmont Triad region. [57]

Rockingham County is crossed by four major rivers. The Dan, Mayo, and Smith Rivers are concentrated in the northwestern portion of the county and feed into the Roanoke River drainage basin. The Haw River in the southeastern portion feeds into the Cape Fear River basin. [58] The county also hosts several creeks, including Matrimony, Cascade, Hogans, County Line, Troublesome, and Little Troublesome. [59] There are also two major lakes, Belews Lake and Lake Reidsville. [60]

State and local protected areas

Demographics

2020 census

Rockingham County racial composition [63]
RaceNumberPercentage
White (non-Hispanic)64,21870.49%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)16,61118.23%
Native American 2820.31%
Asian 4930.54%
Pacific Islander 290.03%
Other/Mixed 3,3773.71%
Hispanic or Latino 6,0866.68%

As of the 2020 census, there were 91,096 people, [55] 38,462 households, and 25,717 families residing in the county.

Rockingham County is included in the Greensboro-High Point, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. [58]

Demographic change

The county's population has been stagnant since the 1980s. [46] According to Woods & Poole Economics, the county's population is expected to increase at a slower rate than the rest of the state in future decades. [69]

Government and politics

Government

Rockingham County is governed by a five-member board of commissioners, each elected to four-year terms. [70] The board elects a chairman and vice-chairman from its members [71] and appoints a county manager. [72] County voters also elect a register of deeds. [73]

Rockingham County is a member of the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments, a regional voluntary association of 12 counties, [74] and the Piedmont Triad Regional Partnership, a regional economic development organization. [45] The county also has its own Soil and Water Conservation District led by an elected supervisor. [75] Rockingham County is located in North Carolina's 6th congressional district, [76] the North Carolina Senate's 26th district, and the North Carolina House of Representatives' 65th district. [77]

Law enforcement and judicial system

Rockingham County lies within the bounds of North Carolina's 22nd Prosecutorial District, the 17A Superior Court District, and the 17A District Court District. [78] County voters elect a clerk of Superior Court and a sheriff. [75]

Politics

In the early 1990s, Rockingham was a swing county. [80] Politically, the area is conservative. [45] In recent years, voters in most of the county have favored Republicans, though Democrats retain some electoral strength in the city of Reidsville. [81] As of November 2022, the county hosted over 61,684 registered voters. Republicans won all county elections in 2022. [82]

Economy

Historically, Rockingham County's economy was largely based around textiles and tobacco. [46] Textiles was largely based in the north of the county around Eden, while tobacco was centered in the south, particularly around Reidsville. [41] The decline of these heritage industries in the 1990s hurt the county's economy. [46] The county has experienced growth in recent years in tourism, manufacturing, and the creation of additional small businesses. [83] Major employers in the county include the government, healthcare facilities, textile manufacturers such as Unifi and Gildan Yarns, firearms manufacturer Sturm, Ruger & Co., and Walmart. [84]

Rockingham has a poverty rate of 18 percent, above state and national averages. [85] According to the American Community Survey, from 2017 to 2021 the estimated median household income was $46,993. [1] For 2023, the North Carolina Department of Commerce rated the county as economically distressed. [86] In December 2023, the county reported an unemployment rate of 3.5 percent. [84]

Transportation

Rockingham County is traversed by several major highways which constitute local transportation corridors: U.S. Route 220/Interstate 73, U.S. Route 158, U.S. Route 29/Interstate 785, and U.S. Route 311. Active rail lines serve Eden, Reidsville, Stoneville, Madison, and Mayodan. [58] Airplane facilities are provided by the Rockingham County NC Shiloh Airport. [87] [88]

Major highways

Education

Public education is provided by Rockingham County Schools, which operates 12 elementary schools, four middle schools, four high schools, an early college high school, and an alternative school. [89] The system is led by a school board elected in partisan contests. [90] There is one post-primary institution, Rockingham Community College, located in Wentworth. [91] [92] According to the 2021 American Community Survey, an estimated 14.5 percent of county residents have attained a bachelor's degree or higher level of education. [55]

Healthcare

Rockingham County is served by two hospitals, Annie Penn Hospital in Reidsville and UNC Rockingham Health Care in Eden. [93] According to the 2021 American Community Survey, an estimated 11.2 percent of county residents lack healthcare coverage. [55] The 2023 University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute's County Health Rankings report found that Rockingham was less healthy than most of the state, with higher average instances of adult smoking, adult obesity, excessive drinking, and several chronic medical conditions. [94]

Culture

Attractions in Rockingham County include the state parks of the Dan and Mayo rivers, near Mayodan; the historic downtown areas of Leaksville, Draper and Spray in Eden; the Chinqua-Penn Plantation in Reidsville; the Deep Springs Plantation in Stoneville, High Rock Farm in Williamsburg, Mulberry Island Plantation in Stoneville, and the historic Penn House, located in Reidsville. One of the most famous attractions of the Reidsville area is Lake Reidsville. Various historic shops are found in the county, as well.

The Museum & Archives of Rockingham County (the MARC) is the only county historical museum and is located in the Rockingham County Courthouse in Wentworth, the county seat since 1787. The museum features exhibits and artifacts related to Rockingham County history as well as including the restored historic 1816 Wright Tavern (also historically known as Reid House or Reid Hotel) opposite the museum and 1910 Old Jail next door.

In the early 20th century, Rockingham's mill workers produced a substantial amount of old-time music. [95] Hunting has long been popular in the county. [27]

Communities

Map of Rockingham County with municipal and township labels Map of Rockingham County North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels.PNG
Map of Rockingham County with municipal and township labels

Incorporated communities

Townships

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

See also

Related Research Articles

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

Eden is a city in Rockingham County in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Greensboro-High Point Metropolitan Statistical Area of the Piedmont Triad region. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,405. From the late nineteenth century through much of the 20th, the city was a center of textile mills and manufacturing. The city was incorporated in 1967 through the consolidation of three towns: Leaksville, Spray, and Draper.

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

Mayodan is a town in Rockingham County, North Carolina, in the United States. It is a manufacturing site for Sturm, Ruger & Co., Bridgestone Aircraft Tire, and formerly General Tobacco. Washington Mills Company, later Tultex, operated a textile mill in Mayodan until 1999.

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

Reidsville is a city in Rockingham County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. At the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 14,583. Reidsville is included in the Greensboro–High Point Metropolitan Statistical Area of the Piedmont Triad.

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

Stoneville is a town in Rockingham County, North Carolina, United States. Stoneville is part of the Greensboro–High Point metropolitan area of the Piedmont Triad. At the 2020 United States census, the town had a population of 1,308.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wentworth, North Carolina</span> Town in Rockingham County

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, an 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piedmont Triad</span> Region in North Carolina

The Piedmont Triad is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of North Carolina anchored by three cities: Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point. This close group of cities lies in the Piedmont geographical region of the United States and forms the basis of the Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point, NC Combined Statistical Area (CSA). As of 2012, the Piedmont Triad has an estimated population of 1,611,243 making it the 33rd largest combined statistical area in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 311</span> Highway in the United States

U.S. Route 311 is a United States highway that runs for 62 mi (100 km) from Winston-Salem, North Carolina to near Danville, Virginia. It connects the cities of Winston-Salem, Madison, and Eden. The route runs northeast from Winston-Salem to Danville. By the numbering convention, it is an auxiliary route of US 11, however except for a brief period shortly after the route was established, it has not connected to its parent route.

Ruffin is an unincorporated community located in Rockingham County, North Carolina. It is northeast of Reidsville, North Carolina, and southwest of Danville, Virginia, just off US 29. It has a population of 419.

The Bi-State League was an American baseball minor league formed in 1934 with teams in Virginia and North Carolina. The league held together for nine seasons, being represented by ten cities from North Carolina and eight from Virginia. Only the Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets, a team that was a combination of those three cities from North Carolina, was able to make the entire nine-year run. This combination also captured the league title in two seasons, 1935 and 1941. The squad from Bassett, Virginia, won four league titles during the span, coming out on top three times in a row, 1936, 1937, 1938 and closing it out with the 1940 pennant before losing in the finals. The league's final season was 1942, as it was not revived after World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockingham County Schools</span>

Rockingham County Schools is a public school district in Rockingham County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. John O. Stover III is the superintendent.

John Motley Morehead High School is a public high school located in Eden, North Carolina, serving students in the ninth through twelfth grade. Morehead High School is a part of the Rockingham County Schools school district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Carolina Highway 65</span> State highway in North Carolina, US

North Carolina Highway 65 (NC 65) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Traveling east–west within the Piedmont Triad, it connects the towns of Rural Hall, Walnut Cove, Stokesdale and Wentworth with the city of Reidsville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Carolina Highway 770</span> State highway in North Carolina, US

North Carolina Highway 770 (NC 770) is a 32-mile-long (51 km) state highway running through rural North Carolina and Eden. The road travels from NC 704 near Sandy Ridge to the Virginia state line southwest of Danville. It connects the city of Eden with US Highway 220 in Stoneville. Going east of Eden, NC 770 runs along a concurrency to its eastern terminus with U.S. Route 311. Most of the road is two lanes wide. NC 770 is one of the few North Carolina state highways numbered in the 700s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spray Industrial Historic District</span> Historic district in North Carolina, United States

Spray Industrial Historic District is a national historic district located at Eden, Rockingham County, North Carolina. It encompasses 70 contributing buildings, 9 contributing structures, and 1 contributing object in an industrial section of the town of Eden. It includes buildings associated with eight textile mill complexes, mill village housing, and seven commercial buildings. Notable contributing resources include the Smith River Dam and Spray Power canal, Morehead Cotton Mill complex, "Superintendent's" House, Imperial Bank and Trust Company (1912), Leaksville Cotton Mills complex, Spray Mercantile Building, Spray Cotton Mills complex, Lily Mill complex, Nantucket Mills complex designed by R. C. Biberstein, American Warehouse Company complex, Rhode Island Mill complex, Phillips-Chatham House, and Spray Woolen Mill complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mulberry Island Plantation</span> Plantation house in Stoneville, North Carolina

Mulberry Island, also known as the Penn Farm, is a historic plantation house in Stoneville, North Carolina near the Dan River. The home was once the seat of the Scales family and the Settle family, two prominent North Carolinian political dynasties. The house was part of a 1,298 acre plantation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avalon, North Carolina</span>

Avalon was a town in Rockingham County, North Carolina, in the United States. It was centered around a textiles mill constructed by Francis Henry Fries at the end of the 19th century. In 1911 the mill burnt down. Most of the population moved their homes to Mayodan, North Carolina and the area was left abandoned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. J. Webster</span> American politician, farmer, and businessman

James Jefferson Webster Sr. was an American businessman, farmer, and politician. He owned a dairy and tobacco farm, tobacco warehouses, a general store, and co-ran a car dealership in Rockingham County, North Carolina. A Democrat, Webster served as a Rockingham County commissioner for ten years. As a county commissioner, he played a role in the development of North Carolina Highway 135, which was posthumously named after him, and worked on the gubernatorial campaign of W. Kerr Scott.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lily Morehead Mebane</span> American politician and humanitarian (1869–1943)

Lily Connally Morehead Mebane was an American relief worker, politician, and heiress. During World War I, she chaired the Rockingham County Committee of the North Carolina Division of the Woman's Committee of the Council of National Defense. She worked in France and Romania with the American Committee for Devastated France, where she met Queen Marie of Romania. She remained friends with the Queen Marie until the queen's death in 1938. For her relief work during the war, Mebane was awarded the Cross of Mercy by King Peter I of Serbia and was made Knight of the Legion of Honour by the French government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Ray Webster</span> American checkers champion

John Ray Webster is an American competitive checkers player, veterinarian, farmer, retired military officer, and musician. A national checkers champion and grandmaster, Webster won the United States Blitz GAYP title at the American Checker Federation National Championship in 2011. He has won the North Carolina Checkers Championship eleven times and represented the United States, as a member of the United States International Checkers Team, in the World Checkers/Draughts Championship in England in 1989 and Las Vegas in 2005. In 2011 he represented the United States at the World Qualifier Checkers Tournament in Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Webster (checkers player)</span> American checkers player, musician, and political official

James Jefferson "Jeff" Webster III is an American competitive checkers player, musician, and political official. He was the National Youth Checkers Champion in 1981 and the World Youth Checkers Champion in 1982. In January 2024, Webster was appointed as Chair of the Democratic Party of Rockingham County, North Carolina.

References

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