Towns, Old & New
They are scattered prettily across
the foothills of Surry.
Pilot Mountain
Pilot Mountain is a hustling little
town jammed between the famous
mountain and the Stokes line. In ad¬
dition to three textile (hosiery, dye and
finishing) plants, it is a trade center,
with a substantial shopping distriet. two
banks, the new consolidated high
school, and a growing residential sec¬
tion.
Some of its income is derived from
other sources. Residents travel to
Winston-Salem and Mount Airy to
jobs, and several families with tobacco
warehouses in other towns live here.
I he town is surrounded by a prosper¬
ous tobacco growing section.
Pilot Mountain has its own water
system (wells), a fire and police de¬
partment, a fine new library, a news¬
paper, Civitan Club and a Legion Hut
which serves as a community center.
Dobson
While Flkin pulls population and
businesses one way. and Mount Airy
acts as a magnet in the other, old Dob¬
son sits serenely half way between.
Chosen as county scat in 1850 be¬
cause of its central location, it replaced
Rockford, which in turn had replaced
Old Richmond (now in Forsyth).
The present courthouse, a handsome
structure in a green lawn, is made of
brick and (naturally) Mount Airy
Granite. It was erected in 1916-18.
and its building bankrupted the con¬
tractor, who had under-estimated the
cost of hauling stone from the quarry.
The building was completed by the
bonding company. It sits on a plateau
overlooking the Piedmont.
On one side of the square is a block
of business houses; the other three
sides arc intermittently residences and
stores, the whole presenting an atmos¬
phere of charming serenity.
Nevertheless. Dobson does not con¬
fine itself to county government. It is
the site of a Washington Mills factory,
built in 1952. and now expanding to
employ a total of 375 persons. The
Dobson Poultry Processing Company
plant is one of the largest in the state.
It has a bank (Surry Loan & Trust
Co.», a building and loan, stores, head¬
quarters of the Surry-Yadkin Member¬
ship Corporation.
In addition to the courthouse there
arc other facilities, including a modern
agricultural building with a library in
the basement.
Siloam
Where the road dips sharply down
a steep bank to the Yadkin is Siloam.
once a busy trading and railroad cen¬
ter. Now the large store buildings are
silent, and two small stores take care
of the surrounding community. One of
the buildings once was a private
academy and later a public school, but
it too has closed. Good roads took
Siloam's customers elsewhere, and the
depression hit the farming center a
blow from which it never recovered.
White Plains
White Plains mostly is a residential
community, and a good percentage of
its citizens work in Mount Airy, which
is about 8 miles distance. It has a
school, churches, two or three stores,
filling stations. It is a neat community
FEDERAL MOTOR EXPRESS
Service a S/tecially
Safely Our I' I edge
Diol ST 6-6663 P. 0. Box 111
MOUNT AIRY, N. C.
Pilot Mountoin'i modern library
Siloom it on
о
hill leoding to the river
Moin Street in Pilot Mountain
Home of Governor Jcttc Franllin, ncor low Gop
22
