Polkville, NC

Just a short entry today to show you a couple highlights from the (very) small town where by father grew up. This is Polkville. In 2010, the population was 545 people. The building shown above is what remains of what once was the bustling center of town. This was the cotton gin.

Cleveland county is in what used to be cotton country and this was the big attraction for this community. People from all over would come here to get their cotton cleaned, weighed, and sold so they could eat for another year.

While here, people would cross the road to the general store and, next to that, stood the grist mill that my great grandfather operated. Back in the '70's my dad found the old stone wheels that were the business end of the mill. He had the frame rebuilt, mounted it on a trailer, bought an antique gasoline engine, and took this all around grinding corn meal for people.

Nearby is the community Methodist church. This is the place that we'd come for 'homecoming' when there would be a long table set up about where you see the outdoor shed in the background (it was under a tree then) and we have a potluck dinner for all the extended families of the church members.

In the cemetery beside the church are more gravestones with my family name that you can really possibly imagine. And those that aren't from my family are related one way or another.

There is very little, even when I have a connection, to bring me back to Polkville again. It seems likely that this will be the last time I see it.