Spencer Historic District

Spencer Town, Rowan County, NC

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The Spencer Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. Portions of the content on this web page were adapted from a copy of the original nomination document. [‡]

The Spencer Historic District is the most intact area representing the development of the town of Spencer, one of the largest single-industry towns in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. It was established in 1897 to house skilled workers and management at the Southern Railway's newly-constructed shop facilities, one of the largest railroad shops in the country, and experienced its primary development from that date until 1940. Unlike the other two large single-industry towns in the region — Badin in Stanly County, and Kannapolis in Cabarrus and Rowan counties, both of which were developed in the early twentieth century — Spencer was not a company town. The town was developed by individual Rowan County businessmen and builders, but as a result of deed restrictions and high incomes, the houses were relatively substantial. Most houses are conservative examples of the Italianate, Eastlake, Queen Anne, Classical Revival, and Bungalow styles; the town also has a smaller number of commercial, public, and church buildings from the 1897 to 1940 period. The change from steam to diesel-powered engines brought about a reduction in the work force at the shop facilities in Spencer, and led to their eventual closing in 1960; however, the Spencer Historic District survives with relatively few intrusions.

Early Years 1896-1900

It was during this period of strife and struggle over the North Carolina Railroad (NCRR) that the creation of the town of Spencer came about. Originally, Charlotte was chosen as the site for the needed expansion of shop facilities for the Southern Railway Company. However, after determining a need for the service to be more centrally located between Washington, DC and Atlanta, a large area two miles north of Salisbury was selected. Since many cities were interested in securing the shops for the extra tax revenue it would bring, John S. Henderson (Salisbury lawyer, former congressman, and large landholder himself) agreed to purchase the land for the Southern in a manner that would assure Southern's privacy. Local history states that Henderson was able to assure the Southern that if they located on the land he sold to them, the shops would not be annexed by Salisbury. Henderson's first transaction is listed on page 150 of book 79 in the Register of Deeds Office in Salisbury and notes that Robert and Margaret Partee sold one hundred one and eight-tenths acres to Henderson on February 8, 1896. Henderson, in turn, sold the property to Southern on February 29, 1896, for the same cost of twenty-four dollars and fifty cents per acre. This acreage bordered Henderson property, forty acres of which was sold to the Southern on that same date for thirty dollars an acre; an additional twenty acres were sold on April 2, 1896.

Construction of Spencer Shops was overseen by Capt. C.M. Henderlite, a native of Virginia, who was considered to be a top construction supervisor; he was brought to Spencer specifically to head the project. He remained in Salisbury after the construction, helped construct the Salisbury-Spencer steel car line in 1904, entered the coal business and was mayor of Salisbury from 1922-27. Clearing and grading for the shop commenced on March 23, 1896, and by October a small machine shop (in the beginning six to eight engines were repaired a month), store house, office building, two repair sheds (used for repairing the wooden freight and passenger cars), and a fifteen stall roundhouse were ready to put into operation. October 19 saw the main equipment moved from Company Shops (present-day Burlington). On that day, the smaller shops in Salisbury and Charlotte were closed and operations begun at the new Spencer Shops, named in honor of Samuel Spencer, the president of the Southern Railway Company. This opening and the subsequent settlement of the town were a boost for Rowan County which had not seen much development of consequence since the Civil War.

Development was indeed the key word for the community which grew around the shops, as it evolved from an open field holding workmen's shanties to a bustling consumer service-oriented town in the short period of five years. Unlike Company Shops which was envisioned, built, and owned by the railroad, Spencer was created by those people who themselves needed lodging and by those merchants from neighboring towns who saw the opportunity in Spencer and brought their services

Maps on file in the Register of Deeds Office in Salisbury show that by 1897 virtually the total area bounded by Spring Hill Avenue, Salisbury Avenue, First Street and Whitehead Avenue was laid off in gridiron pattern (which was later deemed to be "poorly suited to the rugged terrain"). Land blocks and lots assigned numbers. East-West streets were numbered sequentially; North-South avenues were assigned geographic or historic names which survive today with the exception of Henderson (currently Hudson Avenue which was possibly named in honor of W.H. Hudson, the first master mechanic at the shops). The property of Elizabeth B. Henderson (wife of John Henderson) and Mary E. Vanderford encompassed the blocks from Spring Hill Avenue to Fourth Street and Salisbury Avenue to Whitehead Avenue while the property of A.B. Andrews, Jr. overlapped the Henderson property to the south and extended a few lots beyond First Street. The Andrews' map indicates that this land was part of tracts known as "Partee Tract" and "Earnhart Tract."

The Southern Railway Inc. sold two large tracts of land to A.B. Andrews, Jr. in May of 1897 and he evidently acted as their local agent in real estate dealings (followed by the Georgia Industrial Realty Company in 1907) as was the practice of large corporations. Mr. Andrews, a lawyer in Raleigh and an executive in many real estate and banking companies, was the second son of Col. A.B Andrews, vice-president of the Southern Railway.

The town benefitted from a well-developed plan and from restrictive covenants (stated in the deeds of Andrews' property) which appear to have been the "de facto" building code for the area at that time.

Sales of the Henderson and Andrews properties began in 1897 with the volume increasing toward the end of 1898. When engineer T.H. Kritzer arrived from Greensboro in that same year, he remembered "only a few houses standing;" these likely included the one known as "Squire Ray's" and later used for the first Y.M.C.A. (119 Fifth Street, razed), ones now gone from 115 and 117 Fifth Street, and most of those currently in the four hundred blocks of South Yadkin Avenue and South Rowan Avenue. Many railroad men found lodging in Salisbury and some of the highly skilled workers from Company Shops, such as Ed King, worked at Spencer Shops during the week, but returned to their homes on the weekends.

Those who did select to live in Spencer sought to develop the requirements of a community beyond those of work and home; spiritual needs required the organization of congregations. The Southern aided the congregations by donating (deeds register a token sale amount of one dollar) land to all church congregations. As with residential land, Andrews stated restrictions in the deeds.

The Lutheran sect, so prevalent in Rowan County, had established Christ Lutheran Church in 1870 and their building was situated near the Burdette Bridge where their cemetery remains. In the summer of 1897, eight people meeting at 408 South Yadkin Avenue formed the first congregation of the Central Methodist Church. According to local sources, a frame building was erected that same year for a cost of two hundred dollars on the northeast corner of South Yadkin Avenue and Fourth Street (currently a parking lot). The church trustees purchased lot 10 in block 17 (currently holding the educational building of the church) on South Yadkin Avenue. A plain, two-story frame house, which appeared on this lot in a later picture, was possibly used as a rectory. Two other congregations were organized during Spencer's formative years; the First Baptist Church (215 Fifth Street) was begun on December 12, 1897, and the Spencer Presbyterian Church (113 First Street) on June 12, 1898, in East Spencer.

Hugh Smith became the first postmaster when the Spencer Post Office was opened on May 28, 1897 in a little corner of D.C. Eagle's store on Fourth Street. Tending to the physical complaints of the citizens during those early years were Dr. J.W. Young, physician and Dr. J.W. Carleton, dentist. Dr. John Whitehead of Salisbury was listed in Southern's handbook for that time as being the company surgeon.

1900-1909

The turn-of-the-century found 625 citizens housed in 112 dwellings with nearly seventy percent employed by the Southern Railway. Although there were many directory entries having the occupation "carpenter" listed beside the name, they were undoubtedly employed by the Southern to repair the wooden freight cars. The only contractors or builders for this period were listed as residing in Salisbury. Homes constructed were of the Queen Anne cottage style and of a type affordable by the middle to upper class wage earners. This was made possible by the wages earned by those highly skilled in their mechanical fields, those earning above average wages as locomotive engineers, or those merchants who had, for the most part, been established elsewhere and had the resources to open a second store or relocate their businesses in the new town.

Although there was little organized labor activity in North Carolina before 1900, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers was meeting in the area in the 1880's. By 1901, they had established five locals in the state, while the machinists and railroad conductors each had four to help look after wages and working conditions.

Those who didn't wish to own their own homes found lodging, in 1901, in several boarding houses, the Y.M.C.A. or at the new Spencer Inn, 112 Fourth Street. This two-story, frame hotel with its full facade porch contained fourteen rooms plus dining hall; it was built by the Southern Railway and operated by the W. Kizziah family.

The years from 1900-04 saw substantial growth in the commercial areas along Salisbury Avenue and Fourth and Fifth streets as the ever-expanding populace needed more services. "Big Jim" Dorsett erected the first brick building in town on the north corner of Salisbury Avenue and Fourth Street. Known as the Spencer Mercantile Building, this two-story, three-section building with its double-tier porch not only held the general store, but also the first drug store (Bryan Drugs) and the first bank (the Bank of Spencer). A two-story brick building followed at 109 Fifth Street (former Cooke's Drug Store) in 1902 accompanied by the Julian Building at 310-314 South Salisbury Avenue. The Bell and Harris Furniture Store (subsequently Harris and Stoudemire), occupying the 310-12 portion was immediately established by the Harris family of Concord. Anchoring the commercial area around the railroad park between Fourth and Fifth streets in 1904 was the imposing, classically-detailed building used by the Wachovia Bank. This site, on the corner of Fifth and Salisbury, was formerly occupied by the "Railroad Building" (the room called "Smith Hall" was used by various civic and religious groups) which was moved to Sixth Street and was known as the Union Boarding House. Just down the block on South Salisbury and Sixth Street was situated the newly erected brick Y.M.C.A.

As the town became more financially secure and better supplied with commercial services, men began establishing their families in Spencer. Hand-in-hand came the need for schools for the children; William Newsome, teacher, arrived in 1900 and reportedly held school in the building used by the Central Methodist Church. Shortly thereafter, the citizens raised three thousand dollars for the construction of a three-room, frame building which opened for classes on Fourth Street between South Rowan and Carolina avenues in January of 1901.

While the population of Spencer was increasing, neighboring Salisbury saw a decrease in 1900 resulting from the development of the tobacco industry in other areas of the state, the legislation that required closing of the distilleries, and the fact that the population figures were now divided between three separate communities. Nevertheless, as the county seat and the "parent" city, Salisbury was able to assist Spencer in her young years by operating the telephone exchange (until 1904 when it was purchased by Southern Bell); providing street railway service between Salisbury and Spencer (commencing in 1901) and by supplying electricity and gas to Spencer (beginning in 1905).

Although Spencer's 1901 application for incorporation was denied, the citizens elected a mayor, W.G. Anderson, and a fire chief, J.T. Morgan. The first chief of police was J.D. Dorsett, Jr., elected in 1902. Incorporation was achieved in 1905, a year that seemed to usher in a new era. Work had begun in 1904 on new machine and erecting areas for the Spencer Shops which required, in turn, the enlargement of the powerhouse and a conversion from steam to electric power. The outcome was a tripling of the repair and maintenance capability of the shops which became the largest in the Southern system. Every thirty days one locomotive was completely stripped, overhauled, painted, tested and moved to the roundhouse to be assigned a run. Two tracks (each 480 feet long) were housed in the machine and erecting shop and simultaneously accommodated twenty-four standard forty-foot locomotives for other general repairs. Many more skilled craftsmen were hired at that time as the shops began to not only repair engines but also to machine parts for equipment repair and assembly at various other points along the lines.

James Cooper, in his histories of the town, listed many firsts for Spencer in 1905, in addition to incorporation, resulting from the influx of new residents. Among these were the first bond issue for city improvements culminating in the erection of a water tower in the 600 block of South Rowan Avenue, a recorders court with the mayor (then B.F. Lively) as judge, the establishment of the first newspaper (Spencer Crescent, G.B. Craven, editor), a city hall located at 508 South Salisbury Avenue, a post office rating of third class, the first cafe, the first fire insurance agents, and the organization of the Masonic Lodge. The Shops organized a semi-pro baseball team in 1902 and in 1906 they were the state champions.

By 1907, Spencer could boast of two lawyers, two banks, fifteen boarding houses, three hotels, one bottler (Spencer Carbonating Company), eight clubs and associations, two contractors (James Cecil and James Kennerly), two drug stores, five dry goods establishments, two furniture stores, five general merchants, one hardware store, two insurance agents, two office buildings, four physicians, three real estate companies, and three teachers. The five church congregations were all housed in their new sanctuaries: Central Methodist Church (1903) on South Yadkin at the rear portion of their present location, the First Baptist Church (1902) on the southeast corner of Fifth and Rowan, the Spencer Presbyterian Church (1903) at 113 First Street, the German Reformed Church (1907) at 406 Fourth Street, and Saint Joseph's Chapel (Episcopal, 1904) at 405 South Rowan Avenue.

Spencer was also fortunate enough to have the Transfer Shed open near South Salisbury Avenue and Lee Street in November of 1907.

Cars arrived from small towns with freight which would be sorted and regrouped into cars bound directly for the larger commercial centers such as Chicago and Atlanta. Spencer's record for fast service by 1929 enabled fifty industries to disperse their goods expeditiously. The Marshall Field Company of Chicago valued the work done at the Spencer sheds to the extent of directing their business for Virginia and the Carolinas through Spencer. Twelve tracks and six large sheds (641 feet to 950 feet in length) were handling as many as 250 cars per day by 1920 and employing 60 clerks and 250-300 laborers. In conjunction with the sheds, Spencer held the largest stockyards on the Southern lines (outside of three terminals in Kentucky) having the capacity of handling twenty car loads of cattle. The cattle were watered, rested, and fed before being re-loaded to their northern destinations. An ice plant was also located in the same area to provide ice for produce cars.

Financial problems plagued the Southern system (along with the rest of the country) during the panic of 1907. With skillful management, the Southern averted disaster and by May of 1908 the Spencer Crescent happily reported that monthly wages for foremen and switchmen were up over April. The average monthly pay for railroad employees in April was reported to be sixty dollars. Editorials voiced the opinion that Spencer "had reached a point where it could no longer rely solely on the railroad shops and services for income." As was the trend among newspapers of that time, the Crescent advocated establishing many new commercial and industrial ventures in town including a fifty-room hotel, steam laundry, overall factory, and lumber mills. Perhaps in response, the Correll Overall Factory (relocated from China Grove), Swink's Bakery, Spencer Laundry, and the Rowan Drug Store were all established in Spencer by 1910. Numerous items appearing in the papers of 1908 indicated that extensive building was taking place in the Newton Heights Subdivision and the Whitehead Addition. Five four-room cottages in the Whitehead Addition were advertised for rent at five dollars a month. Also in 1908, granolithic paving was being poured for sidewalks; many residents well remember using stepping stones at intersections to cross the muddy streets.

1910-1919

During the second decade of the century, the new vogue of steel freight cars, the changes in operations they heralded and the need for servicing additional engines brought expansion of shop personnel to 1,307 employees (1913). The steel freight cars by nature necessitated far different repairs, machining of parts, and materials than required by the older wooden cars. A two-story building was constructed for these car repairs which could service sixty cars simultaneously. In 1913, 340 locomotives were serviced at the shops.

On the town side of the tracks, Dr. Tom Stanback embarked on the production of his headache powders in Spencer. After receiving a degree in pharmacy from the University College of Medicine (later the Medical College of Virginia) and working in Thomasville, "Dr. Tom" moved to Spencer in 1911 to manage the Rowan Drug Store. Small-scale production of his remedy was begun in his home (403 South Rowan Avenue) and in 1924, in partnership with his brother, Fred, he began active promotion of the drug known as Stanback Headache Powder. Operations were moved to the two hundred block of Fifth Street and finally to Salisbury in 1932. The Stanback Medicine Company employed many salesmen, as well as package folders, from Spencer and is credited with raising the post office classification for the town.

A direct consequence of the increased activity and the rise in population was an increase in new construction. The town was forced to replace its small frame school with a larger, two-story brick building (construction dates vary from 1906 to 1911) and by 1913 an annex was necessary. In use currently by the library, this classically-styled addition began serving as a high school in 1915. The stone sanctuary for which the Lutheran Church began planning in 1906 finally became a reality in 1915. The year before, Dr. Julius Busby realized his dream of a clinic building which remains today at 111-113 Fifth Street. The Busby Building replaced a two-story frame building which, before it was consumed by fire in 1913, housed the Swink Bakery and the Brown Brothers meat store.

Prevailing depressed economic conditions brought on by uncertain international conditions during the early years of World War I were felt in the United States and precluded significant construction until the United States entered World War I in 1917, at which time the economy took an upward surge. To aid in the effective transportation of war materials, the railroads were placed under a Railroad Administration which allowed them to receive rent equal to their average earnings for the years 1914-1917 and to draw upon funds set aside for improvements. By the end of the decade, National prohibition and women's suffrage acts (which were rejected by a special session of the North Carolina General Assembly but which became constitutional amendments anyway) had been passed. Assembly-line work was making mass production possible resulting in record levels of freight traffic. The Liberty Theater opened its doors in 1917 at 512 South Salisbury Avenue and undoubtedly showed the epic "Birth of a Nation" which had been filmed the previous year. During October of 1918, the shops were hard hit with the Spanish flu which had made its way from Europe through the coastal ports largely through returning servicemen. Spencer city officials passed an ordinance which set a fifty dollar fine for anyone caught in violation of the "closing and congregation order" (meetings were banned and schools, theaters and churches were closed by public health officials). By the time the national census was taken in 1920, the population of Spencer had jumped from 1,915 in 1910 to 2,510 citizens.

1920-1940

The full return of prosperity after the war brought not only the rise in population but also an increase in the shops productivity. New citizens were building the bungalows and English cottage-style homes found in the areas west of Hudson Avenue, south of Sixth Street, and along both North Rowan and North Yadkin avenues. Increased activity was also visible at the train depot (later moved and used in East Spencer, then razed) located at the foot of Depot Street where forty trains a day were stopping to change engines. Traffic was also heavier along Salisbury Avenue, a portion of U.S. Highway 70 which had been given legal status in 1911 and was completed in the 1920s with revenues generated by bond issues and a one-cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline.

A group of citizens raised $6,000 in 1926 to create a beautiful park on the vacant square block at the center of town owned by the railroad in order that residents and visitors alike could better enjoy the area. Entering under a sign that stated "The Southern Serves the South," one could walk the paths radiating from the central basin on which rested a monument to railroaders. Each of the four church congregations tended a corner of the park and the displays of flowers attracted statewide attention.

During the 1920's, Spencer's streets received their first paving, the first gas pump was installed at VunCannon's garage at 119 Fifth Street, and the Southern constructed the thirty-seven stall Julian Roundhouse on the shop's site. Spencer Elementary School burned and was immediately rebuilt (1925); the Baptist Church experienced the same fate and it, too, was rebuilt (1926). The Spencer Inn closed its doors in 1928. The National Railroad Strike in 1922 lasted most of the summer and resulted in little gain for the employees and much turmoil for the town. Shop employees were on the picket lines each day only to witness friends and family, who were engineers and not on strike, cross the line. The emotions raised by the engineers not honoring the lines ran high, carried into the community, and lasted long after the strike had ended.

Those sentiments remained until even harder times of the Great Depression in 1929 re-united the usually close-knit town. Spencer was more fortunate than most towns by having the bulk of its workforce employed by the railroad; men did not lose their jobs, although most wages were lowered. In spite of a sharp decline in revenue, the store owners were able to survive and there were few business failures during the depression. Many homes were mortgaged and the town held numerous tax liens which were eventually paid back when the citizens were again solvent. Once more the railroad figured heavily in the life of Spencer. The Southern held $5,767,415 of the $69,508,060 in assessed valuation of property in Rowan County in 1931. Education benefited the most from the tax payments which went to city and county operations. Southern Railway paid $27,344 in taxes to the cities in Rowan County; Spencer received $17,540 while the next highest amount ($7,278.09) was paid to Salisbury.

Unlike many of its counterparts in other cities, the one bank operating in 1929 managed to remain open until 1932 when it closed. That left Spencer without banking facilities until 1943 when the Morris Plan Bank opened. The history of banking in Spencer, however, was one of instability and constant reorganization and this was, perhaps as much as the depression itself, the cause of its failure.

One positive outcome of this unsettled period was the establishment of a watch repair school in Spencer. Evolving from the need to have all railroad watches running correctly, one of the first of only five schools of watch repair in the United States opened in 1929. C.E. Kneeburg operated the school at 504 South Salisbury Avenue. By the time of its closing in 1968, over 1,300 students (handicapped and veterans) had been trained.

The story of Mr. Gordon Brandt and his efforts to establish innovative ideas for retailing groceries in Spencer in the 1930's emphasizes the reticence of its citizens to accept unfamiliar concepts. In 1932 Brandt opened what was to be the first supermarket in North Carolina at 119 Fifth Street. In view of both the depressed nature of the economy in the 1930's and man's disinclination to readily change time-honored practices, the store was forced to close in 1936. After observing in California the newest means to keep vegetables fresh, Brandt returned to Spencer in 1937 and opened his version of an open air market in the 300 block of Fifth Street. The front facade consisted of doors which folded back to expose the wares and a roofline continuous to the street; a fine mist of water kept the vegetables fresh. The populace related to the openness of the market and its crisp products and the store was popular until its closing in 1946.

Although the 3,000 plus citizens of Spencer adapted and changed their shopping attitudes from 1935-45, the general nature of the economy forced them to be less adventuresome and more practical with stylistic development in the built environment. The sleek Art Deco mode, so popular nationally for commercial structures during the era, was virtually non-existent in Spencer; perhaps, a function of the fact that there were few commercial buildings constructed in Spencer in the 1930's. Residential structures followed the functional and economical bungalow forms and a return to modest expressions of familiar classical styles.

1940-Present

Recovery from the depression was slow and it was not until the United States entered World War II in 1941 that full recovery took place. Millions of pieces of freight for war use were being handled by the railroads, half again as much as in peacetime. Employment and payroll at the shops and the Transfer Shed increased accordingly. The Shed's 375 workers included forty-two women who were "new in the annals of freight handling." In town, the war effort was aided by the Board of Aldermen endorsing the United States government's placement of machinery at the school to train defense workers. The Spencer War and Price Rationing Board (OPA) was established in January of 1942 and was run by C.O. Wilson, Jr. from the courtroom located in the recently built (1937) Municipal Building (Fourth Street). Also favorably acted upon was a resolution to donate the street rails (abandoned by Duke Power when bus service to Salisbury in 1938 replaced trolleys) to aid in the national shortage of steel. The W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration) removed the tracks and repaired the streets in addition to extending the water and sewer lines in Spencer. During this period, Spencer also established its first library (1943), added the twelfth grade to its high school (1944), and secured its first home delivery of mail (1945).

In 1941, the Southern Railway began operating diesel engines and by 1949 was one of the largest users of diesel powered engines in the country, a fact which eventually led to the closing of Spencer Shops. Diesel power required total alterations of the maintenance and repair operations of the shops. In addition, diesel powered engines could pull longer trains required smaller crews, needed less servicing, and could run from Washington, D.C. to Atlanta without changing engines. By 1953, the work force had been gradually reduced to 1,500 men from the wartime high of 3,000 and in July of 1958 the first large-scale layoffs were begun. Major work was shifting to Chattanooga and Atlanta; the unemployed were working their small farms or were looking for jobs in neighboring towns.

A study of the Central Business District prepared for the town in 1963 indicates the trend was shifting from blue to white collar jobs, from craftsmen to clerical and technical service workers. Consumer services reflected the effects of unemployment as the citizens were reserved in their spending, however, only one establishment was lost. Home building was at a minimum with the number of units in town remaining close to 1,015. The population of Spencer dropped ten and one-half percent between 1950 and 1960 (3,242 to 2,888).

On July 30, 1960, Spencer Shops were officially closed; a skeleton crew of 100 men remained, down from the 3,000 men and a million dollar monthly payroll during the war years.

Realizing the profit to be made and the boon it could be to Spencer's economy, G.B. Nalley of Easley, South Carolina, purchased the town park from the Southern and in 1963 built a 63,500 square foot shopping center and 414 car parking lot. Once the hub of activity for railroaders and citizens alike, the Y.M.C.A. closed its doors in 1968 and was demolished in 1970. The commercial area in the second block of Fifth Street was razed in 1973 and to date [1984] remains a vacant lot as does the area where the once-elegant bank building stood on the corner of Fifth Street and South Salisbury Avenue. Spencer Elementary School fell to the wrecking ball in 1978. Rock retaining walls and stone stairs, which once welcomed visitors to homes beyond, are all that remain of many of the finer old residences. Spencer Shops is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the buildings and fifty-four acres donated by the Southern are being converted into a museum of North Carolina transportation. The townspeople, including many former railroaders, appreciate the presence of the museum and go about their daily lives with pride in their hearts. The coded train whistles, signalling the arrival of a particular engineer to his family, still ring in their minds if not in their ears.

References

Ashe, S.A., ed. Biographical History of North Carolina. Greensboro: Charles VanNoppen, 1905.

Blue Book of Southern Progress. Baltimore: Manufactures Record, 1923.

Board of Aldermen Minutes Spencer, North Carolina.

Brawley, James S. The Rowan Story 1753 -1953. Salisbury: Rowan Printing Company 1953.

"A Brief History of the First Baptist Church, Spencer, North Carolina." Spencer, 1955.

Brown, Cecil K. A State Movement in Railroad Development. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1928.

Cooper, James W. "A History of Spencer, North Carolina: 1896 -1974." Spencer, 1984.

________. "Spencer's Firsts," n.d.

Current, R.N. Freidel, F., and Williams, T.H. A History of the United States (since 1865). New York: Alfred A. Knoff, 1961.

Cross, Jerry L. Notes to Martha Dreyer, November, 1983.

Crow, Jeffrey. "'Populism to Progressivism' in North Carolina: Governor Daniel Russell and His War on the Southern Railway Company." The Historian. August 1975, p.658.

Debutts, Harry A. "Men of Vision 'Who Served the South.'" New York: Newcomen Society in North America, 1955. Division of Community Planning. "Land Use Survey: Salisbury-Spencer, North Carolina." Salisbury, 1959.

Douty, Harry M. "Early Labor Organizations in North Carolina 1800-1900." South Atlantic Quarterly 34 (1935), pp.260-266.

________. "The North Carolina Industrial Worker, 1880-1900." Ph.D. dissertation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1936.

Greensboro Daily News, 9 January 1938; 3 October 1943; 3 August 1960.

Harrison, Fairfax. History of the Legal Development of the Railroad System of the Southern Railway Company. Washington, D.C., 1901.

Henderlite Family Scrapbook Carolina. In possession of Mrs. Billie Smith, Salisbury, North Carolina.

Hood, Davyd Foard. The Architecture of Rowan County: A Catalogue and History of Surviving late-18th, 19th and early 20th Century Structures. Salisbury: The Rowan County Historical Properties Commission, 1983.

Interviews: Mres. T.R. Burdette, June 1983; James Cooper, 13 July 1982; Stokes Devereux, 13 July 1982; Guy Miller, 21 June 1982; Paul Swicegood, 21 June 1982; John Upton, 21 June 1982 and Juen 1983; Hugh Young, 21 June 1982.

Lefler, Hugh Talmage, and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina: The History of a Southern State. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1928.

Marsh, Edward H. "The Spencer Transfer." The Wachovia 19 (June 1926), pp. 18-20.

McCall, W. P. Sr. History of Spencer Presbyterian Church. Spencer, n.d.

North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. Historic Spencer Shops. Wilmington: Wilmington Printing Company, 1979.

Rowan County Library. Clipping files. Salisbury, North Carolina.

Rowan County Records. Rowan County Courthouse. Salisbury, North Carolina. Deeds.

Rumple, Jethro. A History of Rowan County. Salisbury: J. J. Bruner, 1881.

Salisbury Herald, 8 February 1938.

Salisbury Post, 17 February 1929; 15 April 1937; 22 November 1959; 7 May 1970; 11 March 1973; 21 June 1974; 4 December 1977; 15 June 1978; 21 June 1982.

The Salisbury-Rowan County Chamber of Commerce. Salisbury and Rowan County, North Carolina. Woodland Hills, California: Windsor Publications, 1973-74.

Salisbury-Spencer Directories. New York: Interstate Directory Company, 1901, 1907, 1910, 1919, 1922, 1924, 1935, 1938, 1947, 1949.

Simonton, C. H. Final decree, Circuit Court of U.S., 13 April 1898.

Spencer Crescent, 24 April 1908; 21 May 1908; 4 August 1908.

Stokes, Durward. Company Shops: The Town Built by a Railroad. Winston-Salem: John F. Blair, Publishers, 1981.

United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. "History of Wages in the United States from Colonial Times to 1928." Bulletin #499. Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1929.

United States Census Records, 1920, 1930. North Carolina: Rowan County.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. North Carolina Collection Clipping File (through 1975). Wilson Library. Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Windell, Gary T. A Critical Study of the Spencer High School, Spencer, North Carolina. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1940.

‡ Martha Dryer and Paul Fomberg, consultants, Spencer Historic District, Rowan County, NC, nomination document, 1984, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C.

Street Names
1st Street • 2nd Street • 3rd Street • 4th Street • 5th Street • 6th Street • 7th Street • Baldwin Avenue South • Carolina Avenue South • Iredell Avenue South • Route 150 • Route 29 • Route 70 • Rowan Avenue South • Salisbury Avenue North • Salisbury Avenue South • Spencer Avenue South • Yadkin Avenue South


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