Rankin Museum of American and Natural History

131 W. Church Street
Ellerbe,  NC  28338
(910) 652-6378

Montgomery County Historical Society and  Roller Mill Museum

North Main Street
Troy, NC
(910) 576-8781

Central Park NC

Montgomery 
County political parties

Democrat
Republican
Libertarian

Schools

Montgomery Community College

K-12

Montgomery County Schools

Candor Elementary School

Green Ridge Elementary School

Mount Gilead Elementary School

Page Street Elementary School

Star Elementary School

Troy Elementary School

East Middle School

West Middle School

East Montgomery High School

West Montgomery High School

Montgomery Learning Academy


Private Schools K-12

Wescare Christain Academy
1368 Nc Highway 134 N
Troy, NC 27371-8339
(910) 572-2270


FWM Christian Academy 

Churches

In 1774, he was appointed to represent his county at the Provincial Convention in New York City. In July, the Continental Congress at Philadelphia commissioned officers for the army with General Washington in command. There were five Major Generals and eight Brigadier Generals. Amount these was Richard Montgomery.

An army of 3,000 troops was to be organized to take Canada before the British could bring in reinforcements. With considerably fewer troops, Montgomery lay siege to Fort St. John on September 6th. The surrender came on October 2nd. Next, Montgomery moved against Montreal which fell November 13th. Then it was on to Quebec where in a driving snow storm the attack was made December 31st and Montgomery, leading his men, was killed.

A former friend and compatriot, Sir Guy Carlton, leader of the British forces, with affection and respect had him buried with full military honors within the walls of Quebec.

Montgomery’s remains were in Quebec for forty-two years. Then, by order of the government, they were brought to New York City where they were buried in front of St. Paul’s Church on Broadway by a monument designed by Col. Le Eufont, which was commissioned by Benjamin Franklin and bears this inscription: “This monument is erected by order of Congress 25 January 1776 to transmit to posterity a grateful remembrance of the patriotic conduct, enterprise and perseverance of Major Richard Montgomery who after a series of successes, amidst the most discouraging difficulties fell in the attack on Quebec 31st December 1775, aged 37 years”.

There are fourteen states with counties named Montgomery – North Carolina third, with Maryland and Virginia first.

The Pee Dee River divided the county and made the journey to the courthouse difficult resulting in a dispute regarding which side of the river should the courthouse be located. In those days, there were no bridges or safe ferries, only fords or flat-bottomed boats which were easily upset and made the trip dangerous.

Miss Carrie Lilly of Mt. Gilead, a teacher and historian, says the first county commissioners were Henry Munger, Walton Harris, and James Pickett and they were appointed to establish a boundary between Montgomery and Anson counties. Also, West Harris, James Allen, Edmund Lilly, and James Roper were appointed to contract for fifty acres of land to establish a county seat that would include a courthouse, prison and stocks.

The first county seat was Tinsdale (or Tindalsville) on the west bank of the river. Among the many roving county seats are references to Blakely, Henderson, Stokes, and Lawrenceville. Tindalsville was wiped out by an epidemic of typhoid fever. The roving county seats were burned and their county records lost.

Because of the controversy regarding the courthouse location, the county was divided in 1842 using the Pee Dee River as the boundary line. This bill was ratified January 13, 1843. The same year the courthouse at Lawrenceville was burned and a decision was made to move the county seat to Troy, which was then known as West Old Fields.

Fifty acres of land donated by Angus M. McCaskell was selected. Here a new courthouse and jail was built by Peter Munroe and completed in 1846. This building burned in 1886 and again almost all records lost. The second courthouse, a wooden structure, was built in 1897-98. In December 1918, a fire destroyed the jail, and the county commissioners decided it was time to build a more-permanent courthouse and jail. The present beautiful brick building was constructed and ready for occupancy by mid-1921.

At the time of the division of the county, D.H. Montgomery was a member of the senate from Montgomery County, and Thomas Pemberton and Edmund Lilly were in the House. Farquar Martin was Clerk of Court and James Lilly the Register of Deeds. Martin later served as the Sheriff. Henry Deberry was the first sheriff of Montgomery County.

From a piney woods forest, Montgomery County has been converted to a thriving, beautiful place to live. The rivers have been harnessed by Hydro and Tuckertown dams to furnish electricity and converted to lovely vacation and sports areas. Good road traverse the county in all directions. The barren sandhills are now a thriving section of beautiful peach orchards and produce farms. The Uwharries are a national games preserve. Throughout the county are industries of all kinds from knitting, textile, rug, and bedspread mills, to tile and furniture, mobile homes, and a shoe factory.

- Source: J.D. Lewis - Little River, SC 
 http://www.carolana.com/

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 26,822 people, 9,848 households, and 7,189 families residing in the county. The population density was 55 people per square mile (21/km²). There were 14,145 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile (11/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 69.07% White, 21.84% Black or African American, 0.40% Native American, 1.61% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 5.75% from other races, and 1.29% from two or more races. 10.43% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 9,848 households out of which 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.60% were married couples living together, 12.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.00% were non-families. 24.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.080.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.90% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 28.50% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 102.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,903, and the median income for a family was $39,616. Males had a median income of $27,832 versus $21,063 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,505. About 10.90% of families and 15.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.50% of those under age 18 and 17.80% of those age 65 or over.

-Source: Wikipedia

Archaeology, Protohistory, and Ceremony in the Pee Dee River Valley . . .

For more than a thousand years, Indians lived an agricultural life on the lands that became known as North Carolina. About the 11th century A.D., a new cultural tradition emerged in the Pee Dee River Valley. That new culture, called "Pee Dee" by archaeologists, was part of a widespread tradition known as "South Appalachian Mississippian." Throughout Georgia, South Carolina, eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, and the southern North Carolina Piedmont, the new culture gave rise to complex societies. These inhabitants built earthen mounds for their spiritual and political leaders, engaged in widespread trade, supported craft specialists, and celebrated a new kind of religion.
 
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The Montgomery House

History and Description

By Rosemary Huntley

Troy, NC

This lovely example of a federal style house was built in 1830 by Dr. John Montgomery.  The Montgomery County Historical Society acquired it in 1992.  Rosemary Huntley, President of the Society, learned the house was going to be burned the next week by the timber company.  She called them and asked for the house.  They deeded it to the society.  The condition of the house was terrible, but structurally it was in good shape.

Family records say that the land where the Montgomery home site is situated was only a small portion of the extensive land granted to James Gaines by the King of England and originally reached to the banks of the Pee Dee River.

James Gaines’ wife was Mary Elizabeth Montgomery, daughter of John and Mary Wilcox Montgomery.  They had several children.  With the birth of their first child, John Henry, his maternal grandfather (John Montgomery) asked a strange and special favor of the new parents.  His request was that the child be given the Montgomery name rather than the lawful Gaines name.  This was due to the fact that with the death of Colonel Hugh Montgomery in the War of 1812, the sole male Montgomery survivor was gone.  Through a bill brought to the legislature, the name of Gaines was changed to John Henry Montgomery by his parents.

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The beginning of Ellerbe Springs dates back to 1820 when Capt. W.F. Ellerbe, owner of several South Carolina plantations, decided to invest in the legendary healing spirits of this area’s natural mineral springs. He bought 300 acres surrounding the springs and built a summer home here. After his death, his son inherited the property and continued the tradition of summer visits and winter fox hunts. After the Civil War, the Ellerbe family lost the property and it was sold at the courthouse steps. A group of investors bought it and built more than a dozen summer cottages and a boarding house.

The present Inn was built as a hotel in 1906 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Ellerbe Springs developed into a widely known gathering place for dances, Fourth of July picnics and political rallies. A Presbyterian church stood on the hillside to the south of the Inn. Likewise, the Ellerbe Springs Academy, a well-respected private school, was located here. Sadly, the Great Depression took its toll on the famous resort. In 1938 the property served as a Girls Residence Center under the National Youth Administration using the hotel as a dormitory and training center. The property was rescued from destruction by Richmond County and later, in 1947, sold to the Boy Scouts of America. In the 1960’s, an Ellerbe man, Harris McRae, bought Ellerbe Springs. After his death, his family completely renovated the Inn, reopening as a “bed and breakfast” in 1988. J. Neal Cadieu Jr., former publisher of the Richmond County Daily Journal, purchased Ellerbe Springs in September 1991 and later sold it to Jim and Donna Lane in 2002.
 
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The act establishing the county specified that the first court should be held at the home of Henry Munger, and all subsequent courts were to be held where the justices of the peace decided until a courthouse could be erected. Another act was passed that same year naming commissioners to select fifty acres of land centrally located and erect a courthouse, prison, and stocks. By 1783, there had developed dissatisfaction among many of the inhabitants as to the location the commissioners had selected. However, the Assembly that year authorized the courthouse to be constructed on the land purchased. The act provided for adequate ferries across the Yadkin and Uwharrie Rivers on the court, public, and election days. In 1785, the General Assembly was petitioned to authorize the removal of the courthouse.

In 1791, an act was passed directing that the center of the county be located by actual survey, at which place Stokes was to be established. The commissioners, however, failed to act, and in 1792 new commissioners were named. The courts were to be held at the home of Mark Kennet unless the justices decided on some other place more convenient. In that year, Henderson was established at the confluence of the Yadkin and Uwharrie Rivers. In 1795, the courthouse, on the land formerly belonging to James Tindall, was authorized to be sold. Tindallsville had been established that year. In 1815, commissioners were named to locate the center of the county, purchase land, and erect a courthouse. They were authorized to sell the old courthouse and lot in the town of Henderson and apply the proceeds to the erection of the new buildings.

In 1816, Laurenceville was named under the authority of a law enacted in 1815 establishing a town at the courthouse. In 1843, the courthouse was ordered to be moved from Laurenceville to the geographical center. Commissioners were named to locate the center, acquire the land, to lay out a town, and erect the public buildings. In 1855, Troy was established as the county seat and it had remained ever since.

In 1886 two men decided to seek their fortunes in the town of Troy, NC, the county seat of Montgomery County.  The county has a colorful past.  Originally the territory covered a very large tract know as Bladen.  As it became more populated, it was difficult for the people to interact.  In 1749 a petition was approved and a section was separated into Anson County.  A similar division formed Montgomery County in 1779.  The large county was divided by the Yadkin-Pee Dee River.  This posed problems for government as there were no bridges and crossing the river was difficult and dangerous.  Numerous county seats were named often on  alternating sides of the river.  Courthouses burned down and a new location was chosen.  To solve the problem in 1842 the area was split once again along the river with the new Stanly County on the west and Montgomery County on the east.  Finally the roving courthouse found a home when a crossroads known as Simmons Tan Yard was chosen for its central location. Lockey Simmons had set up his operation there and Simmons Post Office was established in 1831. 

Angus McCaskill donated 50 acres and the town of Troy was laid out with a wooden courthouse built in the center of the town in 1846.  Businesses and homes clustered around.  The town was most likely named for John B. Troy a prominent attorney at the time. Troy was incorporated in 1852.  In 1886 the courthouse burned to the ground with all the documents lost.  Little information is available before this time for those doing historical research.  The town was growing.  People coming to court needed lodging, food and supplies.  Gold was discovered in the area and mines were constructed.  Thirty mines were operating well into the 1920s.  It was to this developing economy that George Washington Allen and Joseph Reese Blair came in 1886 when Troy had a population of about 200 and the area had 1400 people.

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Uwharrie National Forest

The Uwharrie National Forest was first purchased by the federal government in 1931 during the Great Depression. The land was known as the Uwharrie Reservation.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy proclaimed these federal lands in Montgomery, Randolph, and Davidson Counties the Uwharrie National Forest. It is one of the most recently formed in the National Forest System.

Though small, at only 50,189 acres, the Uwharrie  provides a variety of natural resources, including clean rivers and streams, diverse vegetation for scenery, wildlife habitat and wood products. There is also a  wide variety of recreational activities, and the Forest is a  natural setting for tourism and economic development.

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The Lake Tillery area is located at the southern-most tip of the Piedmont Triad between the rolling Uwharrie Mountains to the west and the sandy coastal plain on the east – at the geographic center of North Carolina. It is approximately 1 hour south of Greensboro, 1 hour East of Charlotte, 25 minutes south of Asheboro, 6 miles East of Albemarle and 25 minutes North of Rockingham.

The weather in the Lake Tillery area is relatively mild. Summer highs range from 64 to 92 degrees. Winter highs range from 20’s to the low 50’s. The average annual rainfall is approximately 46 inches. The spring brings an array of brightly colored azaleas, mountain laurel and rhododendron to contrast the snowy white of the dogwood and Bradford pear trees. In autumn the hardwoods are aflame with yellows, reds, golds and bronze, with outdoor picnics that can be enjoyed all the way up to late October. Winter snows are a real treat. Not every year has a snowfall. The protective Uwharries keep the brunt of winter storms to the north of the Lake Tillery area.

 Lake Tillery serves as the dividing line between Stanly County on the west side of the lake and Montgomery County on the east side of the lake. Lake Tillery is bounded on the Stanly County side of the lake by Morrow Mountain State Park and on the east side of the lake by the Uwharrie National Forest. As a result, this area attracts many outdoor enthusiasts. The Uwharrie National Forest and Lake Tillery are a haven for anglers, boaters, hikers and hunters.

For those outdoor sportsmen who prefer golf shoes to hiking boots this area boasts two highly ranked golf courses: Piney Point Golf Course which is on the Stanly County side of the lake and Tillery Traditions Golf Course located on Montgomery County side of the lake. Also, within a short driving distance there is the Montgomery Country Club in Troy (the county seat of Montgomery County) and the Tom Fazio designed Old North State Club of Uwharrie Point on Badin Lake (the number two ranked course in North Carolina). Additionally, half an hour away is the golf mecca of the world, Pinehurst, with over thirty championship courses.

 This is a rural area with large tracts of mountainous, forested, undeveloped land spreading over more than half of Montgomery County. Approximately 10% of the land area is cropland with over 1,000 acres in peaches. This area is near two community colleges (Stanly Community College and Montgomery Community College). Over three-quarters of the high school graduates go on to college, trade or business schools. The low student-teacher ratio ensures a personal interest in each child and a purposeful learning environment. This area also has two highly rated medical hospitals (Stanly Memorial and Montgomery Memorial) both of which provide 24 hour emergency medical care as well as personal fitness and wellness programs.

Lake Tillery , itself, is a slender 5,000 acre reservoir with 104 miles of shore line that is managed by Progress Energy for hydroelectric production. Waterfront development is limited and strictly regulated so that it does not conflict with plant operations or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission License. This has enabled the preservation of the spirit of the lake as a tranquil, serene, and relaxing experience.

The Lake Tillery area provides a perfect balance between the natural beauty of a rural community with the modern conveniences of the present. Come and visit us. Once you feel the Spirit of the Lake Tillery area, you may never want to leave.

- Article courtesy New South Realty
http://www.newsouthrealty.com/OurArea.aspx

Image: Painting by Roger Thomas

Badin Lake

Tucked among tall pines and stately oaks in the heart of the Uwharrie Mountains in northeastern Stanly County, the picturesque town of Badin serves as a unique gateway for North Carolina’s central park. Settled by French employees of the L’ Aluminum Françias in the early twentieth century, Badin continues to exude the charm of a French Provincial village, reminiscent of its founders homeland.

The town, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is accessible by several main routes, but may be pleasantly approached by the Pee Dee Valley Scenic Byway that snakes around Morrow Mountain State Park and through rolling hills of rural farmland. Badin’s tree lined lanes lead to a variety of recreational activities and interesting sites, including boating, golfing swimming, fine dining, and museums. Outdoor enthusiast will appreciate the wide array and abundance of wildlife, as well as pristine forests and winding hiking trails.

Lake facts:
The reservoir covers an area of 5,350 acres, has 115 miles of shoreline, a maximum depth of 200 feet. Water fluctuations are minor.

Recreation:
Swimming area, beaches, boating, water sports, picnic areas, and fishing.