The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-01-27
(By BION BUTLER.)

RaYenwood, January 24.-IhlS Is
the most tragical story that i have
ever written. | have put in print
accidents that brought death 20 hun-
dreds Of men, trials that affected lives
ana characters. events that involved
men and affairs. But they are all
trivial compared with this story OF
Ravenwood.
1 came through RaVenWOod on the
train from Wilmington, and [ sat
looking out of the window at the
broad fields that mark the old pan
tation. Two men caught the name Of
the station.
Likely some Yankee name. Some
fellow came down here from >the
North. IT doesn't sound like anything
around here" one of them remarked.
But to me it did not sound like a
Yankee name. That name stuck to
me- and ] made inquiry about it
when ! arrived in New Bern. Then
fell in with G. e. Foy, who is one Of
abe men who now own the place,
and we came out in an automobile
and ran over Ravenwood and talked
about this country.
What do you think Of it?' Mr..
Foy asked. and [ told him sincerely
that / had never on neither CONT
nent seen anything that impressed
me more than Ravenwood. Eighteen
thousand acres-can you imagine such
an acreage? From the station a,
Ravenwood to the southeast corner OF
the property is nine miles. The bOun-
Diary is irregular. but one of the lines
is four miles long. The clearing a
The home lot where the old mansion
stood has 1900 acres in the field.
Yes that is simply size, and in thi:
big country size is not Of much conSe
Quence.
But Ravenwood is a vast level, fer
tile tract, principality. But that il
not the story.
The history of North Carolina il
wonderfully fascinating, for ever
slough it does not go back so ia
into civilization as the history of olde
countries, it has been so swift and ST
lively in it's movement, and involve
so many Of the old world threads o
narrative that it lacks little, if any
in comparison with the history of an
country on earth.
Some History.
Ravenwood is in Jones and Cravel
counties. Jones is a new county a
things go down in this part Of tn
state. 1t was cut out of Craven il
1873. Craven is older. 1t was on
of the original precincts of the Lord
proprietors, named for the Earl o
Craven, who was one of the noble
granted the charter by Charles Il
Craven was created in 1929, with tn
rest of the first bunch of eleven pre-
cincts. which subsequently wer
changed into counties, and from whic
all other counties in the State hav
been taken.
In 1909 the Lords proprietors sol
10 Baron dc Graffenreidt, ten thousan
acres of land. He brought out a larg
number of settlers from Switzerlan n
and the Bavarian Palatinate. The
settled at the place they founded d
New Bern
Trouble with the Indians disguise
Graffenreidt with his purchase, IN
he sold his lands to Thomas POllOcl
man whose name has been associa
led with many familiar features. Po
locksviile is one, Pollock street in Ne
Fern another, the Pollock road al
other. etc. To the Thomas Polloc
purchase George Pollock later adde
niue thousand acres close by.
The POllocks.
George Pollock and Thomas POlloC
were both men Of prominence in Il
colony, each serving as president
the colony and commander-in-chie
On the magnificent estate the Pc
locks lived like princes. The proper
remained in their hands for many
long year. and it became one Of II
foremost plantations of the SOut
streams Svailable for navigation tr;
FerseG It's territory, buildings we
erected, in the quarters were an arm
"a negroes. and it is said that Il
master had SO many slaves he d
not know them all
i;ayenwood was known and G