lhan arc any of their neighbors, and
they even point to "our two fine air¬
ports."
This town of 2,391 population (only
102 colored) is the watershed of the
county. At an altitude of 1,023 feet,
it lies on a broad plateau, the land
sloping very slightly from it on all
sides. An Irishman, Caleb Story,
bought 400 acres at the site for four
gallons of rum, some time around 1756.
It quickly became an important cross¬
ing place of pioneer paths, and today
is served by seven highways and the
Southern Railway. About 1770, an¬
other Irishman, William Dobson,
bought the property, and the place was
known as Dobson’s Cross Roads,
boasting Dobson’s Tavern, where
George Washington ate his breakfast
after an early departure from Salem.
Joseph Korncr acquired the land in
1X17 from Rev. Gotlieb Shober of
Salem, who had bought it in 1806.
The village was renamed for the
Korncr family, and incorporated in
1871. One of the most notable of that
family was Julc Gilmer Korncr, widely
known under the nickname of Reuben
Rink. A commercial artist and a color¬
ful citizen, he is said to have painted
the famous bull of Bull Durham to¬
bacco all over the world. He built
Korncr’s Folly, a 22-room architectural
fantasy still standing on the town’s
main street. The rambling brick house's
third floor contained the first private
"little theatre" in the South.
Still owned by descendants of the
Korner family, the "folly" was open
as a museum for some time. Later it
served as a funeral home, and now
part of it is occupied as a private resi¬
dence.
Surrounded by a prosperous farm¬
ing section, Kcrnersville has seen the
nearby metropolitan areas ring in on
all sides except the cast, but it has
maintained its identity as a proud, self-
sufficient and growing community. Now
it is highly industrialized, containing
21 plants, large and small. They in¬
clude textile, furniture, metal, rug,
machinery, milling, hosiery companies,
several of them locally owned.
Some 1,800 persons are employed,
many of them from nearby farms.
Some of Kcrncrsvillc's residents have
jobs in the cities.
The biggest event in Kcrnersville is
the fourth of July celebration, started
about 1937. It is an all-day festival
which includes everything from a horse
show to a square dance, and attracts
thousands from all over Piedmont
North Carolina. Last year the town
Forsyth's Towns Are
Quiet, Old, Charming
Kcrnersville claims it lias the
largest suburbs of any town in
this state.
By DOxXALD l>OKSO\
Kcrnersville says it has the largest
suburbs of any city its size in the
world. The most populous is Winston-
Salem, lying 10 miles to the north¬
west. Southeast 18 miles is Greensboro,
and southwest is High Point.
"We like to live in the center of
things," Kcrnersville people say, with¬
out cracking a smile. They also claim
to have more educational, medical,
shopping, cultural and recreational ad¬
vantages, for it is closer to all of them
Komcr’s Folly
1 6
THE STATE. January 30. 1954
