Let's all say something weird about each of North Carolina's 100 Counties
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Hello! Today we’re going to try something a little different. I’m going to give you a prompt, and we’ll see how far we can take it. Your challenge: Say something weird and/or fun about each one of North Carolina’s counties. Here are the rules:
It has to be something genuinely bizarre or trivial.
Once someone names a county, it’s off the list (i.e., if someone else has done, say, Pender, that means you can’t).
Be nice(ish).
That’s it! I’ll get things going in the comments below. If you break the rules, I’ll jump in and mildly shame you. Let’s see if we can get to 100 and crowdsource ourselves a chaotically unhinged North Carolina travel guide.
Mar 3, 2022·edited Mar 3, 2022Liked by Jeremy Markovich
There is only one escalator (technically two-- up and down) in Alamance County. It is at the Elon bookstore. When it opened in 2011, the Burlington Times News published a guide/safety tips on how to use it.
Mar 3, 2022·edited Mar 3, 2022Liked by Jeremy Markovich
Greensboro Transit Agency in Guilford county recently changed their paratransit service name. It’s been Specialized Community Area Transportation (SCAT) since 1992. ❤️ Your Friends of Asheville Recreational Trails.
Powered aviation was first achieved in 1903 in Dare County, which is something everyone already knows but I just wanted to tell Ohio to suck it some more hahaha
Surry County was home to Simease twins Eng and Chang Bunker from 1845 to 1874. They married sisters, had 22 children in total and split time between a house that Eng ran and another that Chang ran.
Kinston Regional Airport, home to the Global TransPark, in Lenoir County has a single runway that is the longest in the state and one of the longest in the Southeast. It was built by the U.S. Navy in 1944 as an auxiliary airfield to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Craven County, which also has a large runway that served as an alternate emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle.
Vicki the Elephant is buried under the Number 3 fairway on the Granada Farms golf course in Caldwell County. After escaping from the Airport Amusement Park in Charlotte on September 11, 1955, Vicki rambled around the city for 9 days. She was lured back into captivity and relocated to a Granite Falls zoo which later became the site of a golf course community.
Rowan County: Salisbury occasionally gets trivia attention for having had the most millionaires per capita. But in 2000, Spencer - the tiny town next over - hosted a stop for MTV's Wanna Be A VJ competition. Amtrak sponsored the competition and so the audition sites were at train stations in San Francisco, St Louis, and...at the NC Transportation Museum. The day ended with a filming of Total Request Live with Carson Daly and a performance by Jay Z.
In New Hanover County, Robert Harrill, aka the Fort Fisher Hermit, was once apparently the state's second-most-popular tourist attraction (just after the USS Battleship) in the '60s and '70s (or so they say). You can still walk down the trail to the WWII bunker where he lived (and it's a beautiful walk!): https://islandlifenc.com/the-fort-fisher-hermit/
I had the indoctrination to Scotland County in 1969 when we moved from Charlotte to Laurinburg and the guys in my ninth grade class had to show me “Spaghetti “ my first week there. Spaghetti was standing up, under the back canopy, in a glass coffin at McDougald Funeral Home in downtown Laurinburg. The fun was just beginning….
Mar 3, 2022·edited Mar 3, 2022Liked by Jeremy Markovich
The town of Mint Hill in Mecklenburg County was incorporated twice - first in 1899 and then again in 1971. The first time only lasted until 1919 because running an official town got to be too much work for the people in charge.
Ahoskie in Hertford County is nicknamed “The Only One” because no other town/city in the world has the name. Supposedly two soldiers were able to find each other after a battle in WWII just by shouting “Ahoskie!”
Bordering Tennessee and Georgia, Cherokee County is remote enough for an FBI most wanted criminal to hide in the woods for five years, before being picked up by a rookie Murphy cop who thought he had caught a vagrant digging through a dumpster. (Eric Rudolph)
Iredell County: where the legend of Tom Dooley was born! In the late 19th century, Thomas Dula was tried, convicted, and hanged in Statesville (Iredell County) for murdering his lover--in Wilkes County. But the whole thing was apparently a Big Deal in Statesville, where folks made a day out of attending the execution, making up a song and whatnot.
Beaufort County *may* contain buried treasure left by Blackbeard, but it definitely does contain what is potentially the largest fossil bed (ie. buried sharks teeth) known.
Another Cleveland County story. According to locals, Casar was originally incorporated as Race Path in 1890. In 1903 the name was to be changed to Caesar, as in Julius Caesar, but an official with the US Postal Service sent off the application for incorporation, and the name came back misspelled as Casar, and the town officially became Casar.
Swain County was one of the two counties which was carved out from a state law making it a crime to use profane or indecent language on public highways. The law also did not apply within Pitt County. The law was N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-197, and stayed on the books until it was found unconstitutional sometime in the 2000s. In the 1970's there was an attempt to remove the carve out for Swain County, when Buncombe County Rep. Herbert Hyde who was born in Swain argued on the House floor "Mr. Speaker, there oughta be somewhere a person can cuss without breaking the law."
Cleveland County has a legend of Bigfoot who roams the woods. His name is Knobby. In honor of Knobby, Cleveland Community College has a Yeti as its mascot.
Edgecombe County (where I work) is where Ben Jones is from, the actor who played Cooter Davenport on Dukes of Hazard. Not really weird in and of itself, but my county of origin (Muhlenberg Co, KY) is where James Best is from, the actor who played Rosco P. Coltrane on Dukes of Hazard. So apparently my destiny is to bridge the worlds of Dukes of Hazard actors.
The rural crossroads community of Cat Square in Lincoln County is home to one of the country’s best Christmas parades. The top vote-getter at the Cat Square Superette carries out the only duty of the office of mayor by headlining the parade, followed by a wild mix of lawnmowers and lumber trucks, cloggers and classic cars seen through a shower of hard candy. Stay for the end to watch dozens of horses paw and whinny at the cat image painted on the road - known as a good spot to release unwanted felines in a less enlightened time.
I know you already have something about Nash county, so I'm breaking the rules, but surely the fact that Jack Kerouac lived and wrote there is more bizarre than what you have.
There’s a community in Harnett County called “barbecue” because the mist coming off the creek reminded a settler of the smoke that came off of barbecue pits in the Caribbean. Scottish heroine Flora McDonald attended the church there. Rumor is a stranger was found frozen in the steps there since he couldn’t gain entry- now they leave the doors unlocked.
wow. This is a treasure trove for my podcast. Oh...btw...Orange County does not contain a single naturally grown orange tree, but it DOES have the first public university in the US. Go Tarheels.
After graduating from UNC-CH, Andy Griffith taught music and drama at Goldsboro High School in Wayne County before leaving it behind for Hollywood fame. He is also credited with creating the high school's first marching band.
Dawson Creek in Pamlico County (between Arapahoe and Oriental) is the namesake for Dawson's Creek the show. Writer Kevin Williamson grew up partly in the area. The show is based in fictional Capeside, Mass but there are references to other real Pamlico County towns.
Ava Gardner, the famous sex-symbol actress of the 40's and 50's, was born in Johnston County and is buried in Smithfield. While in Hollywood, she was married and divorced from both Mickey Rooney and Frank Sinatra.
Currituck's lone high school won the first high school basketball game played in the Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center, winning the 1986 1A state championship over Orrum, 70-53.
George Herman Ruth hit his first professional home run in 1914 in Fayetteville (Cumberland County). "In this town he acquired the nickname, 'Babe'" according to the historical marker at Gillespie St. and Southern Ave.
Onslow County receives the most cyclonic weather activity of any county in the United States, and also has the most mobile homes, per capita, of any county in North Carolina.
Columbus County is home to Riegelwood, NC which was named for the Riegel family that started Riegel Paper Company, which is now owned by International Paper, the largest pulp and paper mill in the world. Growing up in this sweet little mill town many years ago was like growing up in Mayberry. The Bookmobile came from Whiteville once a week and parked across from the community center and pool, which was all maintained by the mill. Across the street was Creekmore's Pharmacy, which also had a soda counter, so for 25 cents you could get a fountain drink and a candy bar. There were no stop lights, only one blinking yellow light at the one intersection. No one locked their doors, and everyone took down their mailboxes at Halloween so they would not get knocked over by bored teenage boys. Everyone went to church and to our high school football games. Don't live there anymore, but so proud to call this place my hometown.
Mar 3, 2022·edited Mar 3, 2022Liked by Jeremy Markovich
Bladen County is reputed to be home to a blood-sucking panther-like, livestock-killing creature called the Beast of Bladen. Bladen also is where Whistler's Mother spent her summers, at her father's plantation. OK I know that's two but come on, they're both really good.
Zach Galifianakis and Will Oldham once shot a Kanye West music video in Ashe County (Zach has/had a farm up there). https://youtu.be/NN3c9VA_Zq0
There is only one escalator (technically two-- up and down) in Alamance County. It is at the Elon bookstore. When it opened in 2011, the Burlington Times News published a guide/safety tips on how to use it.
Greensboro Transit Agency in Guilford county recently changed their paratransit service name. It’s been Specialized Community Area Transportation (SCAT) since 1992. ❤️ Your Friends of Asheville Recreational Trails.
Powered aviation was first achieved in 1903 in Dare County, which is something everyone already knows but I just wanted to tell Ohio to suck it some more hahaha
Cabarrus County schools used to take elementary kids to the Philip Morris cigarette plant for field trips.
Surry County was home to Simease twins Eng and Chang Bunker from 1845 to 1874. They married sisters, had 22 children in total and split time between a house that Eng ran and another that Chang ran.
Kinston Regional Airport, home to the Global TransPark, in Lenoir County has a single runway that is the longest in the state and one of the longest in the Southeast. It was built by the U.S. Navy in 1944 as an auxiliary airfield to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Craven County, which also has a large runway that served as an alternate emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle.
Vicki the Elephant is buried under the Number 3 fairway on the Granada Farms golf course in Caldwell County. After escaping from the Airport Amusement Park in Charlotte on September 11, 1955, Vicki rambled around the city for 9 days. She was lured back into captivity and relocated to a Granite Falls zoo which later became the site of a golf course community.
No NC list would be complete without mentioning the Whirligigs of Wilson County
Rowan County: Salisbury occasionally gets trivia attention for having had the most millionaires per capita. But in 2000, Spencer - the tiny town next over - hosted a stop for MTV's Wanna Be A VJ competition. Amtrak sponsored the competition and so the audition sites were at train stations in San Francisco, St Louis, and...at the NC Transportation Museum. The day ended with a filming of Total Request Live with Carson Daly and a performance by Jay Z.
Haywood County has the highest overall elevation of any county east of the Mississippi River.
In New Hanover County, Robert Harrill, aka the Fort Fisher Hermit, was once apparently the state's second-most-popular tourist attraction (just after the USS Battleship) in the '60s and '70s (or so they say). You can still walk down the trail to the WWII bunker where he lived (and it's a beautiful walk!): https://islandlifenc.com/the-fort-fisher-hermit/
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/news/41427/the-local-legend-of-spaghetti.
I had the indoctrination to Scotland County in 1969 when we moved from Charlotte to Laurinburg and the guys in my ninth grade class had to show me “Spaghetti “ my first week there. Spaghetti was standing up, under the back canopy, in a glass coffin at McDougald Funeral Home in downtown Laurinburg. The fun was just beginning….
The town of Mint Hill in Mecklenburg County was incorporated twice - first in 1899 and then again in 1971. The first time only lasted until 1919 because running an official town got to be too much work for the people in charge.
Ahoskie in Hertford County is nicknamed “The Only One” because no other town/city in the world has the name. Supposedly two soldiers were able to find each other after a battle in WWII just by shouting “Ahoskie!”
Tupac’s mom is from Robeson County.
Bordering Tennessee and Georgia, Cherokee County is remote enough for an FBI most wanted criminal to hide in the woods for five years, before being picked up by a rookie Murphy cop who thought he had caught a vagrant digging through a dumpster. (Eric Rudolph)
Iredell County: where the legend of Tom Dooley was born! In the late 19th century, Thomas Dula was tried, convicted, and hanged in Statesville (Iredell County) for murdering his lover--in Wilkes County. But the whole thing was apparently a Big Deal in Statesville, where folks made a day out of attending the execution, making up a song and whatnot.
Union County, home of a pretty lame "border war" over whether President Andrew Jackson was born in the Waxhaw area of NC, or in Lancaster, SC.
You always have to pass over water to enter Hyde County.
Beaufort County *may* contain buried treasure left by Blackbeard, but it definitely does contain what is potentially the largest fossil bed (ie. buried sharks teeth) known.
Thanks to an irrelevant speech by our congressman in 1820 Buncombe (shortened to bunkum or bunk) became a dictionary entry.
The all-time annual precipitation record at a single station in North Carolina is 139.94". The record was set in 2018 in Yancey County (Mt. Mitchell)
Gaston County had the highest murder rate per capita in the US for consecutive years in the ‘80s, led by good ol’ G-Town.
Another Cleveland County story. According to locals, Casar was originally incorporated as Race Path in 1890. In 1903 the name was to be changed to Caesar, as in Julius Caesar, but an official with the US Postal Service sent off the application for incorporation, and the name came back misspelled as Casar, and the town officially became Casar.
Swain County was one of the two counties which was carved out from a state law making it a crime to use profane or indecent language on public highways. The law also did not apply within Pitt County. The law was N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-197, and stayed on the books until it was found unconstitutional sometime in the 2000s. In the 1970's there was an attempt to remove the carve out for Swain County, when Buncombe County Rep. Herbert Hyde who was born in Swain argued on the House floor "Mr. Speaker, there oughta be somewhere a person can cuss without breaking the law."
https://blogs.lib.unc.edu/ncm/2011/01/12/cussing-with-impunity/
https://law.justia.com/codes/north-carolina/2010/chapter14/article26/section14-197/
The town of Banner Elk in Avery County is rumored to have ties to the Lucchese mafia family, specifically based out of Sorrento's restaurant
Bertie county, where you can rent treehouses in a swamp
Cleveland County has a legend of Bigfoot who roams the woods. His name is Knobby. In honor of Knobby, Cleveland Community College has a Yeti as its mascot.
June Tyson, singer, dancer, violinist, choreographer and costume designer for Sun Ra and Arkestra is from Stanly County.
Anson County used to span from Wadesboro to the Mississippi River. It's now an area worthy of a future bypass.
Edward Abbey used to live in Jackson county; he was not a fan.
Despite being nowhere near the usual climes he's sighted in, Halfiax County is home to North Carolina's only museum dedicated to Bigfoot
Edgecombe County (where I work) is where Ben Jones is from, the actor who played Cooter Davenport on Dukes of Hazard. Not really weird in and of itself, but my county of origin (Muhlenberg Co, KY) is where James Best is from, the actor who played Rosco P. Coltrane on Dukes of Hazard. So apparently my destiny is to bridge the worlds of Dukes of Hazard actors.
Carteret County has a farm called Open Grounds that looks pixelated on satellite maps.
It's broken into 1 mile by 1 mile squares for planting.
The rural crossroads community of Cat Square in Lincoln County is home to one of the country’s best Christmas parades. The top vote-getter at the Cat Square Superette carries out the only duty of the office of mayor by headlining the parade, followed by a wild mix of lawnmowers and lumber trucks, cloggers and classic cars seen through a shower of hard candy. Stay for the end to watch dozens of horses paw and whinny at the cat image painted on the road - known as a good spot to release unwanted felines in a less enlightened time.
I know you already have something about Nash county, so I'm breaking the rules, but surely the fact that Jack Kerouac lived and wrote there is more bizarre than what you have.
There’s a community in Harnett County called “barbecue” because the mist coming off the creek reminded a settler of the smoke that came off of barbecue pits in the Caribbean. Scottish heroine Flora McDonald attended the church there. Rumor is a stranger was found frozen in the steps there since he couldn’t gain entry- now they leave the doors unlocked.
wow. This is a treasure trove for my podcast. Oh...btw...Orange County does not contain a single naturally grown orange tree, but it DOES have the first public university in the US. Go Tarheels.
After graduating from UNC-CH, Andy Griffith taught music and drama at Goldsboro High School in Wayne County before leaving it behind for Hollywood fame. He is also credited with creating the high school's first marching band.
Dawson Creek in Pamlico County (between Arapahoe and Oriental) is the namesake for Dawson's Creek the show. Writer Kevin Williamson grew up partly in the area. The show is based in fictional Capeside, Mass but there are references to other real Pamlico County towns.
Camden County has a cool museum where you can lock yourself into a historic jail cell with some creepy mannequins
Ava Gardner, the famous sex-symbol actress of the 40's and 50's, was born in Johnston County and is buried in Smithfield. While in Hollywood, she was married and divorced from both Mickey Rooney and Frank Sinatra.
Currituck's lone high school won the first high school basketball game played in the Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center, winning the 1986 1A state championship over Orrum, 70-53.
George Herman Ruth hit his first professional home run in 1914 in Fayetteville (Cumberland County). "In this town he acquired the nickname, 'Babe'" according to the historical marker at Gillespie St. and Southern Ave.
Onslow County receives the most cyclonic weather activity of any county in the United States, and also has the most mobile homes, per capita, of any county in North Carolina.
Columbus County is home to Riegelwood, NC which was named for the Riegel family that started Riegel Paper Company, which is now owned by International Paper, the largest pulp and paper mill in the world. Growing up in this sweet little mill town many years ago was like growing up in Mayberry. The Bookmobile came from Whiteville once a week and parked across from the community center and pool, which was all maintained by the mill. Across the street was Creekmore's Pharmacy, which also had a soda counter, so for 25 cents you could get a fountain drink and a candy bar. There were no stop lights, only one blinking yellow light at the one intersection. No one locked their doors, and everyone took down their mailboxes at Halloween so they would not get knocked over by bored teenage boys. Everyone went to church and to our high school football games. Don't live there anymore, but so proud to call this place my hometown.
Bladen County is reputed to be home to a blood-sucking panther-like, livestock-killing creature called the Beast of Bladen. Bladen also is where Whistler's Mother spent her summers, at her father's plantation. OK I know that's two but come on, they're both really good.
Transylvania County is home to over 250 waterfalls, including Whitewater Falls, one of the tallest on the east coast.
It is also home to Brevard College, where I attended and was an average student.
Cleveland County- home of Knobby the Sasquatch