Creedmoor, North Carolina

Creedmoor, North Carolina
City
Nickname(s): Mule Town
Location of Creedmoor, North Carolina Location of Creedmoor, North Carolina
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Granville
Founded	April 10, 1885
Incorporated	1905
Government
• Founder	Robert Fleming
• Mayor	Darryl D. Moss
• Incorporator	Thomas Lyon
Area
• Total	3.1 sq mi (8.0 km2)
• Land	2.9 sq mi (7.4 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (0.6 km2)
Elevation	374 ft (114 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	4,124
• Density	1,330.3/sq mi (515.5/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	27522, 27564
Area code(s)	919
FIPS code	37-15320
GNIS feature ID	1019853
Website	http://www.cityofcreedmoor.org/

Creedmoor is a city in Granville County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,124 at the 2010 census.

History

Creedmoor's unusual name comes from a legend of an old lexicographer named Mr. Creed Moor who strolled through the town during the late 19th century. In 1885, a group of twenty five taxpayers of Granville County including American Civil War Confederate veteran Robert Fleming appeared before the Board of Commissioners for the County of Granville with a petition from the Dutchville Township. The petition made a proposition to subscribe ten thousand dollars to the capital stock of the Oxford and Clarksville Railroad Company. Under the provisions of the act of the General Assembly of North Carolina which was entitled “An Act to Incorporate,” the Oxford and Clarksville Railroad Company was notified on 28 February 1885. The proposal was thereby approved under the provisions of the General Assembly of North Carolina. As a result it was ordered that the election of subscribing the said sum of ten thousand dollars to the capital stock of the said railroad company be submitted to the qualified voters of the Dutchville Township and that an election be held in the said township at the proper voting place therein on 8 October 1887. Over the next few years, the Creedmoor served as a railroad depot between the Clarksville and Oxford Railroads and the Raleigh and Gaston Railroads. In 1886, Thomas B. Lyon applied to the Postal Department for a post office to be located in Creedmoor. Lyon’s request was granted on 10 April 1886. John Harmon was appointed as the first postmaster. In September of that same year, Samuel C. Lyon, son of Thomas B. Lyon, was appointed postmaster.

Creedmoor was incorporated in 1905, having previously been known as Creedmore. The first mayor was Joseph L. Peed (1859–1936). In 1888 Lyon sold part of his land to the Durham and Northern Railroad for track to run through the town. Linking Creedmoor to Henderson and Durham was a major cause of growth of this town. The old Seaboard train depot building still stands at its location on Elm St. making it over 120 years old. Also previously located on Elm street was the original location of The First Baptist Church of Creedmoor, built in 1895. The present church building built in 1950 stands on Main Street. Mr. Lyon's body is entombed on the grounds of the original cemetery for the church, whereas Mr. Fleming's body is entombed in a small family plot on Fleming St. a road named for the founder, adjacent to Elm St. In 1917, electricity came to Creedmoor when G. H. Dove and F. J. McDuffy flipped a switch in their plant which was located on Railroad Street. Although the town is rich with history (home to four buildings on the National Registry of Historical Places) it does not hold the title of a Historical District unlike nearby Oxford and Wake Forest.

Impact of Tobacco

Tobacco was extremely important in the early history of the town. Four tobacco warehouses were built in the town in the early 1900s. Tobacco was a cash crop in Creedmoor and since the building of the railroad it made shipping the plant to nearby Oxford's Tobacco Research Facility and Durham's thriving smoking tobacco industry, with its companies like W. T. Blackwell and Company Tobacco Factory, American Tobacco Company, and Liggett & Myers. At one time Creedmoor was a larger tobacco market than Durham. Area farmers did not limit themselves to tobacco only, but also grew cotton, a profitable crop.

The Mule Trade

In the wake of Creedmoor’s tobacco era, mules came to Creedmoor. About forty train car loads of mules were pulled into the town each year. Mules were the ideal farm animals because their hooves were smaller than those of a horse. Their smaller feet helped them pass through rows of tobacco without stepping on the crop. In 1906, Jim Netherly & Mr. Cooper founded the Creedmoor Supply Company, which sold feed, mules, horses, buggies, and even some groceries and seeds to meet the demands of local farmers. G.M. Chappell opened a barn that auctioned mules, horses, and cows from 1938 to 1962. At one point in time, Creedmoor was considered to be the largest mule trading center in the world and was widely referred to as Mule Town. By 1940, over 500,000 dollars were traded and spent on mules each year. It was not until the mid-nineteen fifties that the town removed the slogan One of the Largest Retail Livestock Markets in North Carolina from the official letterhead. By then, the mule trade was no longer a major part of the local economy.

Schools and Historic Places

Creedmoor is home to four buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

• Cannady-Brogden Farm south of Creedmoor in Wake County
• James Mangum House
• First National Bank Building
• Obediah Winston Farm

Creedmoor High School opened in 1909 at the intersection of Main Street and Highway 56. Joel Anderson Pitts (1877–1958), a graduate of Duke University – then called Trinity College – was the first principal. This school served grades one through twelve until 1963, when white students went to South Granville High School. On January 9, 1970, Creedmoor School, at that time serving grades one through eight, burned down. Behind the former Creedmoor High School gym lies B.C. Roberts Ballfield, named after Battle Caviness Roberts who coached for the South Granville Athletic Association well into his years before his death in 1982.

Creedmoor is also the home of South Granville High School, G.C. Hawley Middle, and Creedmoor Elementary. The city is also home to Lake Rogers, a 175-acre (0.71 km²) lake that offers picnicing, fishing, playground and boating accommodations.

The Hawley School, dedicated in 1937 for educationalist Rev. Grover Cleveland Hawley, educated the local black students, The doors to Hawley School first opened for all local black students in September 1952 after many years of tireless and dedicated work spearheaded by Reverend Hawley. The new facility housed grades seven through twelve. In 1975, Hawley became a middle school serving grades five through eight from the Butner, Stem, and Creedmoor areas and eighth graders from Wilton. In September 1986, seventh graders from Wilton Elementary were moved to Hawley and in 1987, sixth graders from Wilton also began to attend Hawley. At the present time, Hawley Middle School teaches grades six through eight from the Creedmoor and Wilton area. Students from Butner and Stem now attend Butner-Stem Middle School.

The Dr. Joseph Thompson house at 213 S. Main Street was the town's first medical doctor and had an office in his home to the right of the building on the main floor. There is a porte-cochere that extends off that side as well. The home is an early craftsman period structure with a wrap-around porch. Though it is not on the Register of Historic Places it was built in 1910 on land purchased from the Lyon family.

The Cedar Creek Gallery built in 1968 on what used to be an old tobacco field in the community of Northside. The Gallery has grown from one building into over ten.

Creedmoor Cemetery located beside Creedmoor Elementary on Hwy. 56 is the final resting place of many prominent figures in the early days of Creedmoor. Entombed are the families of Peed, Mangum, Bragg, Mitchell, Roberts, Wheeler, Aiken, and many others.

Media

Like most towns, Creedmoor has a variety of media. Some of the more notable are listed below.

Newspapers

The Butner-Creedmoor News - The local newspaper company based on Main Street Creedmoor was established in 1965 inside of the former USO building on Main Street used during World War II. (http://www.granvilleonline.com/index.php)

Other newspapers distributed throughout the city are...

• The Herald-Sun, from Durham
• The News & Observer, from Raleigh
• The Oxford Ledger
• The Franklin Times

Radio Stations

• WCMC-FM 99.9 FM - The Fan - Sports
• W256AH 99.1 FM (WRTP) - Christian Contemporary
• WDRU 1030 AM - Religious

Local TV Stations

• WTVD - ABC - Durham/ Raleigh, NC
• WRAL-TV - CBS - Raleigh, NC
• WRAZ (TV) - Fox - Raleigh/ Durham/ Fayetteville, NC
• WNCN - NBC - Raleigh/ Durham/ Goldsboro, NC
• WUNC-TV PBS - Chapel Hill

Geography

Creedmoor is located at (36.123081, -78.683252). Creedmoor is in proximity to four major roads: Interstate 85, NC 56, NC 50, and US 15 (NC). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.1 square miles (8.0 km²), of which 2.9 square miles (7.5 km²) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) (7.14%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1910	324		—
1920	392		21.0%
1930	388		−1.0%
1940	640		64.9%
1950	852		33.1%
1960	862		1.2%
1970	1,405		63.0%
1980	1,641		16.8%
1990	1,504		−8.3%
2000	2,232		48.4%
2010	4,124		84.8%
Est. 2014	4,373		6.0%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2010, there were 4,124 people in 1,550 households residing in the city. The population density was 1330.3 people per square mile (515.5/km²). There were 1,728 housing units at an average density of 557.4 per square mile (216.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.5% White, 35.2% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 1.7% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.0% of the population.

There were 1,550 households out of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them. The average household size was 2.66. In the city the population was spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 13.5% from 25 to 34, 25.9% from 35 to 49, 16.3% from 50 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $60,417, and the mean income for a household was $66,187. The median and mean family income was $68,109 and $71,772, respectively. The per capita income for the city was $23,697. About 10.5% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 20.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Creedmoor's first mayor:

• Joseph L. Peed - The street Joe Peed Road located on southbound US-15 leaving the city is named in his honor.

First City Commissioners:

• J.F. Sanderford
• Isaac Bullock
• S.C. Lyon
• Claude Garner
• L.H. Longmire.

On November 2, 1999, Creedmoor elected Darryl Moss as Mayor.

The Creedmoor City Commissioners are Larry Robinson, Herman B. Wilkerson, Thomas Jackson, Jimmy Minor, and Del Mims. Former commissioners John Stallings and Otha Piper have both also served as mayor of Creedmoor in the past.

External links

• Official Creedmoor, NC website
• Mayor Moss