The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-10-18
HAROETT FARMERS
MAY LOSE HOMES
Suit That Recalls Ancient
Penitentiary History
HlRuETT RECORDS BURNED

Tie Ten Thousand Acre Trac one
Owned by Swepson and Heck Where
on state Prison Was to BE Erected
Now i'm Litigation-No Right of Q
session Exercised for Thirty a
Ellington, y. c., Oct. 15.-Perhaps
the most important suit eve brought
in Harnett county will come to "A
hearing at the November term of the
Superior court for the trial Of civil
cases. The title Of the action is
Buckhorn Land and Timber Company
VS.. T. A. Harrington and others.
"Cthers' in this case represents about
forty or fifty families in Harnett and
Lee counties. The suit is brought By
the to o possession OF
about 10000 acres of land, which IS
occupied by the defendants, many OF
whom have lived all their lives on the
land, raised families and settled their
children on individual tracts.
The real beginning Of his case, as
appears from records, was November
26th, 1868, hen J. M. Heck and G. w.
SWepSon, representatives Of the Deep
River Manufacturing Co, bought TO-
600 acres of land, at 60 cents per acre,
from John w. Mckay, and others, and
convey 0u II - tlc DSSp
featuring Co. December Sth, 1858.
The Deep River Manufacturing Co,
then decided the property to one u. J.
Pruyn, a carget-bagger lobbyist, who
in 1869, while the carpet-bag LegIsla-
ture was in session, sold the land to
the State at $1,000 per acre, or $780,
600 for the tract, which was paid in
North Carolina bonds issued at that
time.
T'hara WAS a scheme on foot to hHll6
the State P~enitentiary on this land.
The owners were unable to make this
deal with the State, therefore,, they
conveyed to the manufacturing com
pany which in turn conveyed to Pruyn
and he, a very influential carpet-bag-
ger lobbyist, effected the much coveted
deal.
In 1872. when the Democratic Leg
i~slature assembled, q committee was
appointed to investigate the fraud. On
report of the Commission the Legisla-
ture re%pudiated both the land deal and
the bonds. A summons was then is
sued for Pruyn but he was never
found. AT this time Jno. CT. Williams,
president Of the State Bank OF Raj
eigh, held a majority Of these bonds
which had beer transferred to him by
Pruyn h and he took a
deed from the Carpet-bag Government
and then redeeded it to the Deep River
NJ anu dNLuIiIlS 70 Iitth, SWtpSoH VIZ
Williams together and formed what is
known as the American Iron and Steel
Co, and tool deed purporting to be a
deed from the Deep River Manufac-
turing Co, which had already decided
the property to Pruyn. After this
Heck went TO the Lobdell Car Wheel
Company, Of Wilmington, Del, and
induced the IObdell Company to take
stock in his company and also secured
from them a. loan of $500, 900, with
which to equip the large plant he rep
resented with smelters, Shafting and
other fixtures necessary in operating
this enormous plant With q part OF
this honey Heck and Swepson erected
a smelling plant which they operated
for awhile in 1876.
From 1875 to 1906 there was no
right of possession exercised upon the
10, O00-acre tract of lane in question.
During this lapse Of time the records
of Harnett county were destroyed by
fire, and the only trace of the deeds
that a be found are the deeds re-
ferred to in the Fraud COMMISSIONS
report.
After the carpet-baggers We're ex-
terminated and the ScalaWags sup
pressed, a number Of citizens entered
lands upon this tract and obtained
grants from the State, some went into
entry and surveys without grants.
while others just simply took up their
abode there. At present a large num-
Der of good citizens of Harnett and
Lee counties, who live on these lands
have built splendid homes. cleared.
cultivated and improved farms and
settled some Of their children thereon,
thinking, of course, they had a good
title.
In 1906 the Buckhorn Land and
Timber Company was organized and
made purchase of lands from Fanny
Heck, trustee of J. NJ. Heck. mort
gagOr, and William Lobdell, trustee of
Lobdell CaTWheel Company, mort
gagee, and brought suit against all the
people who occupy the lands claimed
by the p
The colony Of people who live on
this land have organized, listed their