Skip to main content

Exploring Central North Carolina

Recently, I did an explore trip in Central North Carolina.  There were a few items for my Carolina Crossroads project that I wanted to get photos of - but like many road trips, there were a few surprises!

This trip took me from our home northeast of Charlotte and out to Chatham County and back.  It was a mix of churches and freeways, antiques and old bridges, backroads, and old country stores.  You can find the entire photo set on flickr, here.

I didn't gain any new state highways as I've done them all before - and in some cases, I had passed a few times and finally took some photos or even returned to take some more.

Lower Grace Stone Church

Have you ever driven past an old building that you know has been there a long time - it sticks out compared to the rest of the landscape - and wanted to stop?  The Grace Lower Stone Church would be one.  I've often driven past this historic church on our way to the North Carolina Zoo.  (Sometimes, we take the backway vs. the typical I-85 US 64 route.)

The church dates to 1795 - and the congregation to the 1740s.  The church has German roots, as it was founded by colonial Pennsylvanians who settled in the area in the mid-18th Century.


Located on about 16 acres in rural Rowan County, the church was constructed of local fieldstone.  Weekly services still occur at the nearly 230-year-old chapel.  The cemetery that surrounds it has gravestones that date well into the 1800s.

Downtown Ramseur, NC

I recently wrote about the Town of Ramseur for the Crossroads project.  My photos were dated (November 2010), and it was suggested that I return and take a fresh look at the community.  It was a quiet Sunday afternoon - so the downtown was inactive.  Yet, there were a handful of new businesses in formerly abandoned buildings.  I also noticed that the Deep River State Trail goes through the town, bringing additional opportunities.

The Deep River State Trail is a hybrid trail that combines paddling, biking, and hiking.


Often, it is easy to visit a town - or even travel down a highway - and never go back. I am trying, when I can, to go back to communities I have visited or photographed. It's easy to miss something when you first come through; a second look is always worthwhile.


One of the surprises on the trip is on US 64 east of Ramseur.  Luna's Trading Post is an absolute wonder for anyone who likes old gas station and highway memorabilia - or equipment.  I believe it was closed when I stopped.  Even though a TV was broadcasting on the front porch, the door to the inside was locked.  Yet, there's enough on the outside to satisfy your curiosity - and wet it enough to return when the store is open.

Luna's Trading Post is a must-visit for anyone that loves old gas station, soda, and automobile memorbilia.


There are easily one hundred old gas pumps, endless amounts of old gas station signs and license plates, old cars, soft drink signs, and more.  I'm definitely going to come back.

Chatham Bridge 147 is a pin-connected Pratt Truss Bridge.

The other planned stop for the trip was the recently closed Chatham Bridge 147 over the Rocky River.  After a routine inspection about a month ago, state transportation officials closed the bridge indefinitely.  The inspection found deficiencies in the steel structure.

Chatham Bridge 147

The one-lane bridge dates to the 1920s and is one of the last steel-truss bridges in the state. Over the years, several efforts by nearby residents kept the bridge from being replaced with a modern two-lane structure. Hopefully, the bridge will be preserved in some way.

G.C. Sharpe's (Reno's) Store dates to 1883.

Behind the store is a stage where bluegrass music is played.

At this point, I began the journey back to Charlotte - and not long after, I found a gem of an old country store.  The Reno Sharpe Store on Pittsboro-Goldston Road sits off the road a bit and is surrounded by woods.  Behind the store is a small stage. Reno Sharpe's reopens occasionally for Bluegrass music. A few outbuildings are also around.  It seems that music has preserved these old country stores in some communities. Whether weekly, monthly, or occasionally, these decades, if not century-old, stores come alive with visitors from near and far to enjoy a pleasant night out.



The former Enterprise Manufacturing Company store stayed open after the mill closed in the 1950s.  It operated into the 1970s.

After miles of forests and farmland on secondary roads, I came to an old textile mill town in Randolph County.  The community of Coleridge along the Deep River was home to the Enterprise Manufacturing Company.  Here, at the junction of NC 22 and 42, are abandoned structures from the Piedmont's textile manufacturing past.  An old company store, former cotton mill, bank, and mill offices are now part of the Coleridge Historic District.

The rest of the drive on a humid June afternoon was a mix of threatening skies and some rain.  But I did see a few more things that I'll have to get back to.

All photos taken by post author - June 17, 2024


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Pollasky Bridge

The Pollasky Bridge near modern day Friant is a ruined highway bridge which was completed during early 1906 as part of the Fresno-Fresno Flats Road.  The structure is one of the oldest known arch concrete spans to have been constructed in California.  The bridge briefly carried California State Route 41 following the destruction of the Lanes Bridge in 1940.  The Pollasky Bridge itself was destroyed by flooding during 1951, but the ruins can still be found on the Madera County side of the San Joaquin River.   Pictured as the blog cover is the Pollasky Bridge as it was featured in the 1913 book "The Concrete Bridge."  The structure can be seen crossing the San Joaquin River near Friant below on the 1922 United States Geological Survey Map.   Part 1; the history of the Pollasky Bridge The Pollasky Bridge site is near modern day Friant of Fresno County.  The community of Friant was established as Converse Ferry during 1852 on the San Joaquin Rive...

Trimmer Springs Road (Fresno County)

Trimmer Springs Road is an approximately forty-mile rural highway located in Fresno County.  The corridor begins near in California State Route 180 in Centerville and extends to Blackrock Road at the Kings River in the Sierra Nevada range near the Pacific Gas & Electric Company town of Balch Camp. The roadway is named after the former Trimmer Springs Resort and was originally constructed to facilitate access to the Sanger Log Flume.  Trimmer Springs Road was heavily modified and elongated after construction of Pine Flat Dam broke ground in 1947.   Part 1; the history of Trimmer Springs Road Much of the original alignment of Trimmer Springs Road was constructed to facilitate access to the Sanger Log Flume.   The  Kings River Lumber Company  had been established in 1888 in the form of a 30,000-acre purchase of forest lands in Converse Basin.  This purchase lied immediately west of Grant Grove and came to be known as "Millwood."  The co...

When was Ventura Avenue east of downtown Fresno renamed to Kings Canyon Road? (California State Route 180)

California State Route 180 was one of the original Sign State Routes designated in August 1934.  The highway east of Fresno originally utilized what was Ventura Avenue and Dunlap Road to reach what was then General Grant National Park.  By late year 1939 the highway was extended through the Kings River Canyon to Cedar Grove.   In 1940 General Grant National Park would be expanded and rebranded as Kings Canyon National Park.  The Kings Canyon Road designation first appeared in publications circa 1941 when the California State Route 180 bypass of Dunlap was completed.  Kings Canyon Road ultimately would replace the designation of Dunlap Road from Dunlap to Centerville and Ventura Avenue west to 1st Street in Fresno.   The Kings Canyon Road would remain largely intact until March 2023 when the Fresno Council designated Cesar Chavez Boulevard.  Cesar Chavez Boulevard was designated over a ten-mile corridor over what was Kings Canyon Road, remaini...