State

ture at all. It’s a clean looking town. Surrounding the business sec¬ tion are the homes of the citizens of Colerain. And here again you sec evidences of prosperity and pride in property. Practically ev¬ ery home is neat in appearance and is surrounded by well-kept yards. Aside from the fish business — about which we'll have some more to say a little later on — there is no other industry in Colerain with ♦ nn Avennl mn At a email 1нтКлг The business section of Colerain is neat and compact. There are scarcely any eyesores to be seen. Colerain located near the hank*» of I lie Cliow an. its in¬ dustrial life is tied ii|> with fish: its citizenship is lied up almost entire¬ ly with agriculture. THERE may be some argument about which city or town in North Carolina has the most industry, the finest buildings, the best newspapers, the most modern stores, etc., but there is no argu¬ ment about the distinction which the town of Colerain enjoys. It's the fresh-water herring cap¬ ital of the world. There are two types of herring — salt-water and fresh-wate r. Colerain is interested only in the latter. During one season as many as 10 million herring have been brought to the town from various points in the Chowan River. That, however, is exceptional. A normal season means 5 or 6 million. Colerain is situated in Bertie County, less than a mile from the banks of the Chowan River which is about two miles wide at this point. George Campbell is gener¬ ally accredited with having been the first settler. He built his home there in 1800 and named the place for Colerain. Ireland. In due course of time, however, the town receded about a mile from the river to its present location. The big fishing industry, of course, is still on the banks of the Chowan. We’re not exactly sure why the location was changed, but we have our suspicions. When you bring several hundred thousand fish to one spot in one day’s time, when you cut 'em open to clean them, and when the insides are used in the manufacture of fish-scrap for fertilizer there is bound to be er-a well, let’s say a slight aroma. We may be mistaken about it, but we’re of the opinion that the residents moved back from the banks of the river in self-defense. Even now. with a lively east wind, there’s a decided smell of fish in the town. The people there, how¬ ever. don’t seem to mind it: they've become used to it. like the folks in Plymouth and Canton with their pulp mills. If you want to get to Colerain from the cast, you drive through Williamston and Windsor and take the road to Edenton. Eleven miles east of Windsor, however, you turn to the left. Then you drive in a northerly direction for thirteen miles, and there’s Cole¬ rain. While covering the last part of this route, you can't help but be impressed with the wonderful farms on both sides of the high¬ way — huge tracts of cultivated land spreading out as far as the eye can see. with attractive homes and well-kept outbuildings. Colerain itself has just about as nice-looking business section as we have observed in any small town in the state. There’s nothing fancy about the buildings, but they are substantial and compact. There are no messy vacant lots, no dilapi¬ dated shacks: nothing of that na¬ mill near the outskirts of the town. You may ask: -What do the peo¬ ple do for a living?" The answer is contained in one word — farming. Almost everyone in Colerain owns a farm within a radius of five or six miles. This ownership also applies to the men who run stores in the town. An individual with¬ out a farm in that area would be just about as much of a curiosity as a Winston-Salem cigarette smoker without a package of Camels. The population is approximately 400. There's a drug store, movie theatre, variety store, grocery stores, dress shop and various other retail merchandising estab¬ lishments. There’s a local bank — the Bank of Colerain which is a sound and prosperous institution. And then, too, there’s the baseball team. Colerain is mighty proud of its team. The town is a member of the Albemarle League, com¬ posed of Edenton, Windsor. Cole¬ rain. Plymouth and Hertford. That’s only five teams. There used to be six, but Elizabeth City went high-hat and is now playing Class- D ball. The League has been in exis¬ tence three years, and Colerain has won the championship twice. At- TOWNS OF N. C. This is the eighth of a series of articles dealing with towns that are off the beaten path so far as through traffic is concerned. The ninth, which will ap¬ pear in an early issue, will be about Roscboro, down in Sampson County. Towns which have ap¬ peared thus far are Oriental. Denton, Oakboro. Danbury. Seaboard. Stumpy Point. Wentworth and now Colerain. THE STATE. MAY 13. 1950