The Wilmington morning star., 1947-03-09
BY GIL SMITH
Star-NeWs Staff Writer

considered n OF the most prom
Using towns in Southeastern North
Carolina, young Whiteville today
stands on the threshold of a bril-
liant future, but looking back or
past achievements, it's hard tc
see what the community can dc
that hasn't already been filed in
the annals of it's history.
This is a big-time town with q
small : time population. lis diff
cult to sc how the 1000 residents
can support the many stores If
the downtown area. but it's being
done day after day.
The stranger TO Whiteville
might easily pass the city with
out knowing it, because of strange
uuirk in the towns birth and sub
seqUent growth. The courthouse is
situated in the middle Of the east
west highway, and the traveller
circling the ancient structure en-
route to far-flung regions, might
get the idea Whiteville is tiny.
with little or no business district.
But, if he will travel south about
a mile, he'll enter a beehive Of
business-the real Whiteville.
According to city officials this
oddly occurred when original cit
liens living in what is now called
Uptown" or Vineland. heard the
Atlantic Coast Line railroad was
building a track through the city.
They felt the noise of the trains
would be too great, and ACL en-
tered the area a mile south oil
the city. But. as years passed, the
value of the train service was
realized by the growing city, ano
now the tracks split the business
area, as stores and industry
sprung up on either side OF the
rails.
Between the old and the new
Whiteville, are located some Of
the most beautiful homes in east
ern North Carolina, giving a good
first impression of the city, which
itself is located amid a setting OF
lofty pines and stately m%agnolias.
The towns name comes from
one of it's early residents, James
B. White, who history says was
a big-time operator back in the
18G0's. He owned all the land
worth owning. and gave the city
the site for its courthouse.
AS is the rule in eastern Tar
heelia. tobacco is the No. l prod
uct here. Whiteville. however is
one OF the largest markets for the
valuable leaf. . 1T doesn't only
7row the crop but sells it. to the
tune of better than 33, 900, O0C
pounds a year. Last year farmers
brought their tobacco to White
vile markets where the average
price per hundred pounds was
$50. SO. second highest in the Dor
der belt. Total revenue for the
smoking leaf in 1916 was over
ST. 900, 900. which buys a lot OF
shoes Cor the children OF White
vile.
From August to October, when
the border belt opens, its a boom
town here. The chant Of the to-
bacco a%uctioneer is the loudest
noise in the area, but every time
he holders, Whiteville farmers
swap the golden leaf for the green
kind.
Folks here could conceivably
exist on king tobacco alone, but
in their amazingly progressive
manner, they refuse to rest on
any laurels. Two of the largest
payrolls, for example. stem all
ROUND two lumber mills,
where over 200 persons are EN-
p,oyed.
Whiteville is still building. A
country club is being constructed
for golfers who now have to travel
outside the city to follow their
favorite sport. City planners are
todav seeking a site to construct
a large produce market, with a
view to building up the vast veg