INDUSTRIAL AND AGRICULTURAL
DEVELOPMENT OF
STOKES COUNTY
mont section, Stokes is bordered
on the east by Rockingham, on
the south by Forsyth, on the west
by Surry, and on the north by
Virginia. Its total area is 480
square miles. It was formed in
1798 from Surry County and was
namd in honor of Colonel John
Stokes, Revolutionary soldier.
The population of the county.
1940 census, is 22,656. The larg¬
est town is Walnut Cove, with a
population of 1,084. The county
seat is Danbury. Other towns in
the county are King, Germanton,
Pine Hall, Sandy Ridge, Pinnacle
and Lawsonville. Germanton is
the oldest town in Stokes and was
the first county seat. It originally
was settled by Moravians.
The topography of Stokes varies
from rolling country to the
steep ridges of the Sauratown
mountains. Total farms, 3,867.
Total acres in farms, 261,163.
Acres of cropland harvested. 54,-
486. The forest area is approxi¬
mately 191.000 acres, comprising
62 per cent of the total land area.
Of this total acreage, approxi¬
mately 136,000 acres of forest land
are in farm woodlands. An aver¬
age of eight sawmills operate in the
county each year, producing ap¬
proximately four million feet of
lumber.
This is the hanging rock at Hanging Rock State Park. Stokes County.
After the war, it is going to prove a popular recreation place for many
thousands of people.
WE were talking to Mr.
В.
P.
Bailey in the Stokes County
courthouse.
"Tell us about some of the out¬
standing things in Stokes." we
suggested.
He thought a moment, and then
he said: "Well, for one thing,
w'e've just reduced the tax rate
from SI. 60 to SI. 25."
To say the least, that certainly
speaks well for the kind of county
administration that Stokes is get¬
ting. There are other counties in
the state that have a lower rate,
but please remember that Stokes
is 95 per cent rural, and it isn’t as
wealthy — from a tax standpoint —
as many other counties.
Located in the northern pied¬
So far as acreage is concerned,
the principal crop is corn. Ap¬
proximately 20,000 acres. Tobacco
is the principal cash crop and will
average around 14,000 acres a
year. Small grain crops for graz¬
ing and hay are also grown exten¬
sively.
Stokes is rapidly coming to the
front as one of the leading dairy¬
ing counties in the state. Recently
there was held a cattle show at
Lexington. Nineteen counties par¬
ticipated. Stokes was second in
the number of entries and also
second in the number of prizes
won. The Coble Company, of Lex¬
ington, maintains a receiving
station at Walnut Cove, and last
