Thomas Boyd Speaks was born in Union Grove, NC in 1901 to John Peter (J.P.) Speaks and Gillie Lutissen Templeton. Thomas’ father John was a local farmer who lived just off NC-901 and had been in the community his whole life. With a sizeable property of almost 100 acres, he was probably able to keepContinue reading “The Bugle Boy Who Was Buried Twice”
Author Archives: Abandoned NC
Photo of the Day: The Fort
I found this in some of my old files. I think it’s Fort Fisher at Kure Beach.
The Minish Axe Murder
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”-Jeremiah 17:9 1883 was a bloody year in Iredell county. It’s another one of those spots in history where unseen forces conspired to display mankind’s depravity in uniquely awful ways. In addition to the story we’re going to look at today, thatContinue reading “The Minish Axe Murder”
Photo of The Day: The Guest House
This interesting looking house in Davie county seems to be undergoing something of a renovation and hopefully can prevented from further deterioration.
Olive Branch Church
The little hill in Davie County where Olive Branch Methodist Church once stood has been in use for over 200 years in one way or another.The church was organized on paper in 1804, but before that met in an old log schoolhouse building in roughly the same area. It may have been in use forContinue reading “Olive Branch Church”
Photo Of The Day
I’m going to try something new moving forward. I come across places that don’t always warrant a full explore, aren’t really abandoned, or are places I simply don’t have the time to look into. These places usually produce a picture or couple pictures and I may never see them again, but that’s no reason notContinue reading “Photo Of The Day”
Against my better judgement.
I’m now on Instagram. I’ll post updates there as well for anyone who isn’t interested in signing up for the mailing list or checking the site every so often. Might be an easier avenue to communicate with me as well.
September, 1975 in Statesville. Murders, rape, and a John Doe.
Humans seemed naturally wired to look for patterns in life. Sometimes coincidences have meaning and sometimes they may just be statistical improbabilities. Either way, the mind naturally wants to create order from chaos, and the more we do that, the more likely we are to refute the randomness of events that share the same spaceContinue reading “September, 1975 in Statesville. Murders, rape, and a John Doe.”
Speedway Dreams
Today, May 18th, 2022 is the 75th anniversary of the very first race at the old North Wilkesboro Speedway. Back in 1947 that would have been a dirt track race featuring a collection of random souped-up cars that were purchased commercially, driven by all sorts of characters. It would have been a far cry fromContinue reading “Speedway Dreams”
Dr. William Poston, one time driver for Dr. James Davis dies.
A remarkable man in his own right, Dr. Poston spent time during his formative years as Dr. Davis’ driver. Dr. Poston passed away on Wednesday. He was 100 years old.