# Eastern North Carolina Encyclopedia/Lenoir County

LENOIR COUNTY
LENOIR COUNTY is located in the Central Coastal Plain Section of North Carolina. It was the pioneer in ROAD BUILDING in the State, having already constructed six main highways of sheet asphalt on concrete, costing approximately two and three quarter million dollars. Its largest towns are: Kinston, the county seat, LaGrange, Pink Hill and Deep Run. All of which are served by railroads and paved highways.
THE SOIL AND CLIMATE is conducive to the profitable production of all crops adapted to the temperate zone. The average mean temperature is 62.4 degrees and the average annual rainfall 43.73 inches.
Its area embraces 390 square miles, of which 75.8 per cent is in farms. The 1920 population was 29,555.
AGRICULTURE is the predominating business of the inhabitants; the value of all crops totaling over $10,000,000.00 annually.
The average per acre production of the main crops are as follows for 1923: Cotton, three-fourths of a bale (State average, 290 pounds lint cotton); corn, 28 bushels (State average, 22.5 bushels); tobacco, 920 pounds (State average 700 pounds); (Lenoir's average for tobacco is second highest in the belt); oats, 21 bushels (State average, 22 bushels); white potatoes, 105 bushels (State average, 105 bushels); sweet potatoes, 140 bushels, the highest in the State (State average, 105 bushels); tame hay, 1.2 tons (State average, 1.2 tons); soy beans, 20 bushels, the highest in the state (State average, 17 bushels); winter wheat, 12 bushels (State average, 11.1 bushels); wild hay, 1 ton per acre (State average, 1 ton per acre.)
LENOIR COUNTY, with its equable climate, long growing season, and fertile arable soil is particularly adapted to dairying and stock raising in addition to the above mentioned crops.
THE SCHOOL SYSTEM is standard in every respect and amply provides educational advantages for all. Consolidation of the district schools into large grade and high schools is in process of realization, at which time all students will be transported in closed busses to and from school over the magnificent paved highways.
MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS total in value annually over $6,000,000.00.
LAGRANGE, the second town in the county, has a population of 1,400 citizens of the best Anglo-Saxon blood in the State. It is located 13 miles west of Kinston on the Central Highway, running from the mountains to the sea, and the Norfolk Southern Railroad, and is a thriving town having all of the conveniences ​of a modern city. The area comprising its trade territory is one of the most fertile sections in the county, and it offers many possibilities to anyone desiring to get away from the noise and bustle of the larger towns and cities and at the same time enjoy city advantages. Two well established banks provide for the financial needs of the territory.
PINK HILL, the third largest town, is located in the extreme southern part of the county, 17 miles from Kinston, on a paved highway and served by the Kinston Carolina Railroad. It has an excellent county consolidated school, and many facilities similar to those found in larger towns. It is in the center of a section which produces the highest grade of tobacco in the belt, and is adapted to the profitable production of peaches and dewberries as well as general crops. One growing bank provides for the financial needs.
DEEP RUN is a small town, recently incorporated, located midway between Kinston and Pink Hill on a paved highway and the Kinston Carolina Railroad. It promises to become a factor in the county's commercial life, and like Pink Hill is surrounded by a section adapted to fruits and dewberries as well as other crops.
FARMERS possessing practical scientific knowledge of general, dairy and live stock farming are needed in Lenoir County to help develop her natural resources, and Lenoir County offers to such many opportunities not found elsewhere.
KINSTON, NORTH CAROLINA
The county seat of Lenoir County, population 12,000, is located on the Neuse River, in the heart of the bright leaf tobacco belt. KINSTON is a modern, clean city, having 13 1-2 miles of paved streets; 30 miles of paved sidewalks; a standard school system, modern and adequate; churches of nearly all denominations ; adequate wholesome amusements; a country club in course of construction; a golf course; two water amusement parks.
KINSTON is served by four rail lines, the Atlantic Coast Line, the Norfolk Southern, the Kinston Carolina, and the Carolina, and is the center of the finest system of hard surfaced roads in the State, making communication with the outside world rapid and easy. The city owns and operates its water and light plant, having a supply sufficient for a city of double the present population.
ELECTRIC CURRENT for INDUSTRIAL use is furnished as low as two cents per K. W. H.; an excellent supply of pure artesian water at reasonable rates.
INDUSTRIES include two cotton mills, a hosiery mill, a packing plant, several lumber plants, five tobacco factories, an iron and mantle works, three ice cream plants, and a score of smaller industries.
​THREE STRONG BANKS, having a combined capital of $415,900.00; combined resources of $5,063,144.91; combined deposits of $4,292,037.38, amply provide for the financial needs of the city and trade territory, which embraces a population of over 50,000 people.
As a MARKET, Kinston ranks high, being one of the three largest tobacco and cotton markets in the State. Over 18,000 bales of cotton are handled annually, and over 30,000,000 pounds of tobacco was sold on its market this season, just closed.
KINSTON'S wholesale and retail territory has a radius of over 30 miles, which is served by five wholesale, and many more retail establishments.
Industrial plants are welcomed, especially those using as raw materials, agricultural and forest products; and unusual opportunities for successful operation are offered.
| KINSTON Has Within a Radius of Sixty Miles, Over 500,000 People | Bird's-eye view of Kinston, Lenoir County | Full Information Gladly Furnished by the Chamber of Commerce, Kinston, N. C. |