I 9 0 7 HALIFAX C O U NTY V IR G IN IA ” A H AND BO O K P rep are d u nder the Direction of the B O A R D O F SU P E R V ISO RS A LF R E D J M O R R IS O N EVERETT WADDEY C O R ICHM OND, VIRG INIA C O N TENTS — PART I. DESCRIPTIVE I . II . TH E COU NTY . II I. IV . —TH T V . E OWNS . —TH E OU NT Y VI. BUSINESS OF THE C R — ScH O OLS E . VII . AND CHURCH S — . L NE L E . VIII MINERA S AND MI RA WAT RS . — IX . WATER POWERS . — X . SUG G ESTIONS . — XI. STATISTI CS . — PART II. HISTORICAL . —1 —1 52 I. 676 7 . — 2— 1 1 . II. 75 776 — — 1 1 0. III . 776 83 — - 1 0 1 5 . IV . 83 86 - — V . 1865 1 907 . T e r r r n l n a ain h w ite m en e his a k ow e e ts to t . ust t d c dgm C p W . G Morton to a ain M ren to he R ev Flourno oul in to Mr . t t . ; C p . F ch; y B d ; T E Di erson and to the ount O ials . ck ; C y ffic . HALIFAX COUNTY 5 Cou Go er me in he T r n enni l r nty v n nt t e ke t a Yea . u d e ir Sixt uit . J I I M R SD E H ouston. g ( h C c ) . W LL A BARK AL , ’ ommonwealth s Attorne n. D OU DI H ousto C y WOO B L N, Treasu r r e . S LEY ou t oston. , h B ou nt and ircuit r C y C Cle k CRADDDCK . She i r H n. P . SH EPH D ousto ff W AR , B r oard of Su pe visors . H . L CY air an ano S C A (Ch m ) Ro ke District cottsburg . R . S . B U anist r Dis S e tri t ou t oston. BAR O R , B c h B L. I E R C ir Distri t In ram . W , B ch c . g C C aln t tri t o o u D o is o o o o o o o o o o o o W c . D W . OWE N” T E is n . DIC E S Meadsville D ri t H ousto R . D t . K R ON, c , F E . A. I I S Mount ar el Distmct Tur evill e W LK N , C m b F n . is ir a R . TUC R ed a nk D tri t ili K, B c V g Dr. v R P . TH O R NTO N Stau nton Distri t Re u li an ro e , c , p b c G S u perintendent ofPu blic S chools Pa es . F . TH S . E . SD E R D O BARK AL , c Commissioner of Accou nts and Commissioner in Chancery . L H n. E J. T I S EIG H ous to B N WA K N , mmissioners o R e enu e o v . C f is ri ou t oston. U ES ourt H ous e D t t . S H . W Q ARL , C c h B s r ter rin s . H S rn i t i t . l us S t e . T. TR Y M ou D B A N A , h c C p g ’ r n is ri l a s Mill . T. D No er t t . WE t D G CAR LL, h c C y Su perintendent of the P oor H T . TH M P R R . D S US D O ON , O ON, F Exa miner ofRecords for SixthJu dicial Circuit WILEIAM P . SD E Hous ton. BARK AL , Cou nty Su rveyor H Houston. M . E C FR N , r r o ations M ayors of the Fou Co p r . Y ir ilina . A. H HO T E S EY H ouston. ES R . L A L , A , V g lover. n . A. G Y SEP H STEBBI S JR Sou t osto . E JO N , , h B C GR OR , C * 2 1 1 Die Feb . 907 d , 8 HALIFAX COUNTY T H E C O UNTY . Study the map of Halifax County which accompanies — t h . t sa his andbook Compu e the area of the county y , 27 30 — 800 miles by some square miles , and then make a few comparisons . Halifax county is larger than Saxe — s Coburg Gotha , a German State and an hereditary con ti u n l i t tio a monarchy . Halifax county s larger than Buck inghamshire in England ; and little smaller than the land ' surface of the State of Rhode Island . The population of Buckinghamshire in England is almost The population of Saxe - Coburg—Gotha in Germany is more than — Buckinghamshire and Saxe Coburg- Gotha are both of them agricultural regions . In 1 900 the po ula ul w as tion of Halifax county, an agric tural county , i i s We . Therefore , it pla n that have room for more citizens This book Is In part intended to Show that we have more — than roomi that in the great industrial awakening of the South there are few sections which should offer more to the ’ farmer , the manufacturer and the man of commerce than f Halifax county o fers. II . TH E COUNTY . Vir inIa The County of Halifax in g lies in. the Middle Region of the state and extends over half a degree of — — latitude from the Virginia North Carolina boundary ° \ l 36 he 3 a b . paral el , to t 7th p rallel and a little eyond The 79th parallel of longitude traverses the county . Hali fax county forms a part of the great undulating plain whi ch e gently rises from the limit of tidewater to the low, brok n ‘ ranges of hills that make the outlines of the Blue Ridge HALIFAX COUNTY 9 Mountains . There is the width of one county between H alifax and the Piedmont country . The mountains to the west protect us from cy clones and tornadoes . The gulf s t w e have tream tempers our climate , our winters are shor , . extremes neither of heat nor of cold . Rain is abundant . Streams and springs are everywhere We . have health . Our lands respond to good treatment and yield wealth . Our location makes it practicable forus to raise not only s one crop a year , but two crops a year or even three crop - i . re s s a year We are discovering that our a stock country , — — that stock cattle and sheep and hogs pay and pay handsomely if we give them half a chance . Our tim ber has been culled , but we have timber in plenty , and we have wood b y the million cords . Although an agricultural county we manufacture and we have only just begun to see what the possibilities are in the manu a u n f ct ri g line . Our waterpower is such that our two great rivers might be half lined w ith mills and factories ; our two lesser rivers likewise ; and our smaller streams could h . furnis almost as much power again . Although an agri cultural county we have ten banks with deposits aggregating a million and a quarter dollars and more . Our county has e be n financed with home capital , and what that means will be understood when it is remarked that more than one of our b ank officials came home - after the civil war to face H ruin . alifax is an agricultural county , but its mineral deposits are of great value . Grain lands , pasturage , to s — i bacco land , fruit lands river bottoms and h ghlands — s hf s it power sites , mine , climate , healt ulne s is the truth f 1 50 that we have much to o fer , and the whole within but sea s miles of the coast , direct communication , and Wa h ington and the northern cities only a few hours away . HALIFAX COUNTY TH E COUNTY . Wh C y is this ounty of Halifax , with all its natural t * - n nn n advan ages , Sparsely settled in the Ter Ce te i al 1 907 ? year , Simply because more than forty years are necessary to make conditions normal after a war that has ’ been fought at peoples doors . Lands which before the Civil War were worth four and five times their present r i b e rating , afte the war were thrown out of cultivat on , cause neither capital nor labor was to be had for the proper w n orking of them . Pla tations before the war were little dominions . The extensive system was the only system in m h repute . The war changed the basis of profit fro t e ' extensive to the intensive system , but it requires time for a people to understand fully that conditions have been changed . The extensive system still pays well if the investor has f . su ficient capital . For the average farmer in the county e and for the average settler the intensive , diversified syst m w a — is a ill p y best that , the careful handling of an acre ge 200 “ 200 not exceeding . Thoroughly fence acres , work each part of the place to the best advantage , keep enough u s stock to make man re , raise hog and good forage crops , confine the money crop to an area small enough to be f handled with high e ficiency .