INDUSTRIAL AND AGRICULTURAL
DEVELOPMENT OF
= BERTIE COUNTY =-
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«!/
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GEORGE K. WEAVER
A VISIT to Bertie County takes
us down to the northeastern sec¬
tion of the state to the fertile
agricultural area known as the Roan-
oke-Chowan. Bertie lies between the
Roanoke and Chowan rivers as they
approach and join Albemarle Sound;
a section rich in historical lore as well
as in productivity of its farms and
forests.
In the beginning it would l>c well
to point out that the county is pri¬
marily an agricultural county, with
its main industries being lumbering
and fishing. It is n diversified county,
agriculturally speaking, with the chief
money crop being peanuts. There are
also large acreages of cotton, tobacco,
corn and truck crops grown in the
county. The growing of hogs for home
and market has increased greatly
within the past few years so that it is
now a main source of income on many
Bertie farms.
The county is large, ranking eighth
in the state, and having 449,920 acres
within its borders, with approximate¬
ly 70 per cent of this in woods and
forest land. Its population is about
28,000, of which more than GO per
cent are Negroes.
Town of Windsor
On entering Bertie County from the
south the first town reached is Wind¬
sor, the county sent and largest town,
with a population around 1,800. It is
an old town with many old homes
and tree-lined streets, several miles of
which are paved.
There are many good stores which
make Windsor the trading center of
the rich farming region in which it is
located. There is a modern theatre, a
strong bank, two drug stores, a mod¬
ern hotel which docs credit to the
town, a small hospital, and a variety
of other business establishments.
Windsor is outstanding in that it
has three means of transportation.
Locuted as it is on U. S. Highway No.
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PlSjlt
Bertie County Courthouse.
IT. a main north-south coastal high¬
way, and on N. C. No. 80 loading to
Aulandcr, it has paved connections in
every direction. Windsor is the termi¬
nus and home office of the Carolina
Southern Railroad which connects
with the Atlantic Const Line at Ahos-
kie. Charlie I'ruden, the genial mana¬
ger of the railroad, is one of the best
boosters of the section and has done
much to bring industries and business
into Windsor.
The third means of transportation
from Windsor is by water, down the
Cashic (pronounced Cn-shy') River
and through the Albemarle Sound.
The Cashic flows along the eastern
edge of town and many logs and
pulpwood are shipped by barge down
the river, and gasoline is brought in
by boat.
Practically all the industry of
Windsor and of the county as a whole
is directly related to the two main
industries, farming and lumbering.
Two gins arc operated in Windsor by
(Jillarn Brothers, who also have large
fanning interests and hardware and
farm supply business. J. B. Gillnm,
Jr.. R. T. Gillam, and Humphrey
Gillnm are managers for these enter¬
prises.
Many Lumber Mills
There are a number of lumber mills
in and near Windsor. White and Las¬
siter are among the large operators.
Thompson and Company, of which
Lewis Thompson is manager, is an
old established lumber and building
supply plant located just outside
Windsor on the Aulander highway.
Coni bourn Lumber Company, managed
in Windsor by Uriah and Fenton
Co ul bourn, has mills at both Windsor
and Colerain and ships lumber to
northern markets by both water and
rail. George and Gilbert Rhodes op¬
erate another lumber and building
supply business just across the Cashie
in the community known as Bertie.
A couple of miles out on the Lewiston
highway is Wheeler Lumber Com¬
pany operated by Wheeler Cooper.
Carolina Cooperage Company, lo¬
cated in Windsor, is a specialty mill,
making wooden heads for kegs. It is
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