The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-07-23
IDEAL COUNTRY
NE|GHORHOOD
The Future of the State
Depends Upon Rural
Communities.
STORY OF PROGRESS
The Fertile Tobacco Lands Have Made
the Green Level Sections OF Wake
ProsperOus-.-R Religion, Educa-
tion and Industry Compose
The Trinity that Blesses
Western Wake.
BY PERCY j. OLIVE.

BY PERCY j. OLIVE.
To the Editor: The population of
North Carolina is largely rural; there
are no cities of $4,000 Inhabitants, and
few of ], 900 or over. So, if one would
wish to inquire as to the. future of the
State. his first question would be,
what of the rural communities?
Though Wake county has the capital
of the State. one of the larger cities,
the inquiry would be as pertinently
directed here as elsewhere for even
Wake, with a territory of $50 square
miles, and a population of 5000, has
in cities and towns only 1900 per-
sons.
In Wake county no more certain
and satisfactory answer can come
than from the community of Green
Level, in White Oak township, six
miles from the town of Apex.
Green Level, which consists proper
ly of a Baptist church, a Masonic
lodge room, a saw mill, a store and a
blacksmith shop, is name which,
though formerly confined to narrower
limits. is now used to designate a con-
siderable section of country compris
ing one of the most prosperous COM
munities of tobacco farmers to be
Green Level has been public place
for many decades: its existence hav-
ing preceded the civil war for num-
ber of years In antc-bellum times
ii was the muster ground for the
militia of a section of Wake county.
and in those days and for a brief Pc
riod following the war there was the
crossroads bar-room; and here oc-
Cured the questionable diversions and
tn WI rll lral
communities We're given. Cock-fght-
ing and gander-pullingS were favorite
pastimeS. Thus, until later times.
Green Level could boast of no superior
civilization; nor were the lines of its
people cast in too pleasant places. It's
history was that of many another ru-
raj community, whose inhabitants toll
ed along during the week with no
prospect and no expectation that their
labors would return them any but a
commonplace reward. Sunday was not
generally observed as a day sacred.
They had their holidays, and on these
occasions they would gather at their
assembly grounds and engage in their
sports-pastimes which now are ta-
booed as unseemly, immoral or cruel.
There were few church-goerS, but
be it not understood that there were
no exceptions, for there was Mt.
Pisgah church four miles away, Salem
six, and olives Chapel six, and these
churches had some faithful and corr
sistent members in the Green Level
territory. And from here, too, came
the great Baptist missionary, Matthew
T.. Yates, whose hnSmen have for
generations been among the most sub
stantial of its people. Noting, how
ever, the exception, these customs and
these paStimeS were the rule of the
past. and to them the people generally
were devotees. But then, as now,
these people have ever been noted for
their honor and honesty, and the great
social sin was and is unknown. -
There was little cotton raised there
ever; none now. There were bottom
lands which yielded well in corn and
other proVender, and the farmers
sought to produce the proverbi;I hog
and hominy. Cotton was the money
crop. but as the lands We're unsuitad
to its growth. little money found It's
way into the farmers pockets, ana
the cause of education could have but
few supporters among a people VINO
had a struggle to keep their homes
from being disposed of by the mort
gagee. Here and there. however, were
the more prosperous farmers whose
homes were not mortgGged, and VINO
had small savings to their credit; but
the lot of themselves and family was
hard.
Some years after the war a Sunday
school was organized at Green Lever
by Mr.. "Eilly" Yates, a member OF
Mt Pisgah church. and father of Mat
thew T. Yates. 1t is said this sunday
school displaced the bar-room and pc
came the occupant of its former home.
About this time, too, the Masonic
Lodge was organized, and later from
the Sunday school evolved the
church. These religious and moral or
ganiZations placed in their very midst
gradually divnrced the people from
their former customs and awakened
them to a nobler spiritual, moral ana
intellectual life.
Apace with the religious, moral
intellectual gT owth induced by these
potent forces marched the material
progress of the community, for about
the year 1880 the more enterprising
farmers began to experiment with the
production of tobacco. And, tobacco,
even though the delicate sensibilities
of the ultra-moralist should receive
a slight shock at sthe assertion, has
been the salvation of these farmers
and the means of the rapid financial,
moral, educational and religious de-
velopment Of the Green Level of to-
day.
1t is a peculiar soil which best pro-
duces the bright yellow leaf for which
Western Wake county is famous. and