INDUSTRIAL AND AGRICULTURAL
DEVELOPMENT OF
COLUMBUS COUNTY
The Columbus County Courthouse, located at Whiteville.
Til
К
industrial life* of Columbus
County is closely related to agri¬
culture, its chief enterprise. From
the products of its rich, fertile soil
have sprung a number of kindred in¬
dustries.
Columbus County, third largest in
North Carolina, contains 933 square
miles and a total of 38*5,065 acres of
land. The general tojMjgraphy of the
area is flat, and the soil, extremely
rich and fertile, contains a loamy,
sometimes sandy surface. In many
areas of tint county, the use of com¬
mercial fertilizer is practically un¬
necessary.
Named for the discoverer of Ameri¬
ca, Columbus was formed from Bla¬
den and Brunswick in 1S08. James
B. White, for whom the county seat,
Whiteville, is named, was a member
of the General Assembly in 1S09,
while Wynn Nance and Thomas
Frink sat in the House of Commons.
During the Bevolut ionarv War,
By It. LEWIS
what is now known as Columbus
County, was the scene of several
skirmishes between the Patriots and
British soldiers, one at what is known
as Pi re way, and another in Welches
Creek Township. Lord Cornwallis, in
his retreat from Guilford Courthouse
to Wilmington, traversed the north¬
east corner of the county.
In the soil of this county, more¬
over, lio tho la-t remains of Major
General Robert Howe, famous Rev¬
olutionary hero. He and Eliza¬
beth Hooper, daughter of William
Hooper, one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence, are both
buried near Wayman Church, and
markers have been erected at the spot
during the past few years.
Columbus County was not without
its further heroes in the War of Inde¬
pendence. Ensign Shndrnch Wooten,
who is buried in Western Prong
Cemetery in the uorthern end of the
county, as well ns Captain Absolom
Powell, of I-nke Waceamnw, were bril¬
liant and outstanding officers of this
conflict.
But it was probably during the
War Between the States that Colum¬
bus County made its most outstanding
contribution to the country. It had a
large number of officers and men fight¬
ing with the Confederate army, not a
few of them with outstanding per¬
formance.
Agriculture lias long been the main¬
stay in the economic life of this
county. In 1851, Columbus produced
1,366 bushels of wheat, 79,155 bushels
of com. 725 barrels of turpentine,
24,035 pounds of cotton, and 6,724
pounds of wool. People of that day,
however, lived almost exclusively from
the manufacture of yellow pine tim-
18
