The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1895-10-17

some Changed In Name and Territory
Others Abolished Altogether
Many Names That One Never Hears
Now-Power of the Legislature to
Create or Abolish Counties.-Some
Instructive Information.
lJudge Walter Clark. in Christian Adyo-
cate.]
/ Unlike States which are sovereign
and indestructible, and which were
creators of the Union, counties are
the creatures OF the Legislature, and
can be erected, abolished or re-estab-
llshed at will. AS stars have dsap.
peared from the quiet sky, so on our
roll OF counties names once shone
which have disappeared forever,
Like the lost pleiad
Seen no more below"
In 1865 the country on both sides
of Albemarle Sound was erected into
Albemarle county and that on the
west bank of the Cape Fear into Cla-
rendon county. About 1000 both
sides of Panlico river was erected into
Bath county. These three-Albemarle
Bath and Clarendon-were thus the
A, B, c of North Carolina history.
In 1871 the country north of Abe
marie sound was divided into Carteret
Berkely and Shaftesbury precincts.
In 1858 Carteret was changed to Cur
rltuck, Berkely became Pasquotank
and Perquimans, and Shaftesburg was
renamed Chowan. In 1922 another
precinct further South was named Car
teret, which in 1929 became the, pres
ent Carteret county. Bath county
was divided into Hyde, Wickham.
Pamticouch and Archdale precincts.
In 1929, when the government was
transferred by the Lords Proprietors to
the King, the precincts became coun-
ties; the names OF the last three above
mentioned being changed, and the
counties of Albemarle, Bath and Clar-
endon being abolished. Thus as early
as 1929 three counties had been abol-
ished and the names of six precincts
embryonic counties) had been altered
IA total Of nine. Since then seven
county names have disappeared as fol-
lows: Bladen county was at first Pei
ham. In 1879 Butte, named after the
unpopular Earl of Butte, was abolished
and its territory divided into the two
new counties, named after the patriots,
| Franklin and Warren. In the same
year the county which bore the name
OF the royal Governor Tryon, was di-
vided, and the new counties were
named in honor of Generals Lincoln
and Rutherford. Each of these has
since been sub-divided. Dobbs county,
named after another royal Governor,
retained its name till 1891 after the
revolution, when it was divided into
lenoir and Glasgow. Johnston and
Martin. though they also bore the
names Of royal Governors, continue to
do SO to this day, probably because we
had Republican Governors who were
named Martin and Johnston. Glas-
gov, named after the Secretary of
State, upon the discovery OF frauds
perpetrated by him upon the State,
was changed to Greene in 1899. In
1888 Cumberland county, named
after the bloody victor of Culloden,
was changed to Fayette county, but it
was changed back to Cumberland the
next year. In 1916 Polk county was
created. In I848 it was abolished, g,
After seven years it was again re-estab-
lished in 1855. In the case of Mills
VS. Williams. as North Carolina reports,
the Supreme Court affirmed the power
of the Legislature to abolish any
county at its pleasure. Thus 16
counties names have disappeared:
Carteret, Berkeley, Shaftesbury, Pam
ticouch, Wickham, Archaic, Abe
marle, Bath. Clarendon, Pelham, Butte,
Tryon, Faye,te, Dobbs, Glasgow and
Polk. Carteret was afterward be-
slowed on another county and Polk,
after an eclipse, was established.
AS to merely verbal or literal
changes, Duplin, named after Viscount
Duplin, has in the friction of the
years los, one of its cps" Edgecombe
named after the Earl of Mt. Edgcumb,
has materially changed its orthogra'
ply; Forsyth, which was named fol
Col. Benjamin Forsythe, who fell il
Canada in 1914, has lost its final "e''
in rolling down the years, and Cleve
land, named for Colonel Benjamin
Cleaveland, one of the heroes O.
Kings Mountain, has by legislative en-
actment lost the ga
: Among the numerous changes in
the names of towns may be noted Will
mington, formerly Newtoni Greenville
, once Martipborough; Fayetteville, for
merly Campbellton and Cross Creeks
: Kingston, publicanized by dropping
the "g;" Hillsboro, at first Childs-
: boro; Company Shops, now Burling
:: ton; and Salisbury, established as Cor
binton, in honor Of the obnoxious lanC
agent of Lord Granville, Francis Cor
bin, There have been similar change:
in the names OF other towns.
Townships were first established il
this State in 1868, but already
changes in the names of these have
been frequent. Probably the mos
singular has been in Halifax county
whose classical CHAIRMAN Of the county
commissi oners dubbed the eight town
ships first created Etruria, Arcadia
palmatia, Caledonia, Bucharla, For
mosa, Palmyra and Rapides. As
large part of the newly created mag
istrates were negroes, the effect wa
incongruous. A succeeding board o
commissioners, more pfosaic, ha
changed these names to Littleton