Local History

Local History

CRIME ROUNDUP

The following people were either cited for traffic violations or charged with crimes during the past week by the Tarboro Police Department.

March 28, 2012
Legendary Locals & Twin County Hall of Fame
It is almost spring and each spring since 2004 the Twin County Hall of Fame has asked the public to nominate people worthy of being inducted. Nominations are collected and reviewed by a special committee of people representing both Edgecombe and Nash counties and Rocky Mount. The committee then proposes a list to the board to be inducted in the fall.

March 14, 2012 1 Photo
Mother seeks answers in daughter's death
A mother of the woman who was killed when she was run over by a car is still looking for answers to her daughter's death.

March 2, 2012
Tuskegee Airman Willie Howell Fuller Tarboro’s 'Red Tail'
With the showing of the movie Redtails in movie theaters today about the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, it is appropriate that we remember Tarboro’s own “Red Tail,” Willie Howell Fuller. Prior to Tuskegee Airmen, there had been no African American military pilots. Highly motivated, they proved themselves to be a particularly effective fighting squadron, escorting bombers. The Airmen were called “Red Tails” because they painted the tails of their P-51 Mustangs red.

February 1, 2012 1 Photo
Remembering history
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued Jan. 1, 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln. With the newfound freedom of slaves, during the brink of conflict with the American Civil War, many were able to connect with a world of opportunity. Education and worship were a few of these opportunities according to Lovie Rooks, retired Edgecombe County educator and Tarboro native.

January 16, 2012 2 Photos
W. A. Pattillo: Educator, Community Leader
When Walter Alexander Pattillo came to Tarboro 1912, he joined an established educational system that was already serving the black community. Building on that foundation, he developed a comprehensive union school (first grade through twelfth grade) for the area blacks.

December 21, 2011 1 Photo
Lawrence and Mary Eliza Cotten Fountain remains moved from family farm
We are two great grandchildren who initiated this project: Ardelia Harper Long “Dee” of Tarboro and William Buckley Fountain “Bill” of Richmond, VA.
This past June the remains of Lawrence Fountain (1832-1895) and his wife, Mary Eliza Cotten Fountain (1841-1921) were moved 3 and 3/10 miles from a cotton field on Route 33 to the William and Mary Hart Presbyterian Church cemetery in Leggett. They were placed beside their son, William Fountain.

December 14, 2011 1 Photo
Remembering the Veterans of World War I
Friday, November 11, 2011 was Veterans Day. It was designated to commemorate the service of all men and women in the armed forces. It is always on Nov. 11 because it was at 11 am on the 11th of November, 1918 that the armistice was signed to end World War I.
We have no surviving papers from 1911-1919 so we don’t know details of who served, who died, and what the folks at home were doing during this first major war of the twentieth century. However, two items were given to the Edgecombe County Memorial Library that reveal a little to us.

December 5, 2011 2 Photos
The Phillips Family Beneficiaries of Bricks School
Last month’s column was devoted to The Joseph Keasbey Brick School and Junior College near Enfield. This column looks at the Phillips family that benefited greatly from the education they received from the instruction and cultural exposure from Bricks School.

November 28, 2011 2 Photos
Bricks School
The first college for African Americans in Edgecombe County was The Joseph Keasbey Brick School and Junior College which operated from 1895-1933. The school stood on the former Estes plantation, located three miles south of Enfield. Thomas Sewall Inborden was the first Principal and served from 1895-1926. His history of the school describes some of the events that lead to the founding of the school.

October 19, 2011 2 Photos
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