[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 52 (Thursday, April 15, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E664-E665]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C.'s SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RICHARD BURR

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 15, 1999

  Mr. BURR of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and 
congratulate Alamance County, North Carolina for its upcoming 150th 
Anniversary. Alamance County's

[[Page E665]]

charter was granted on April 24, 1849, but its rich history goes back 
much farther. The area was first an important crossroads on the well-
known Indian Trading Path which connected villages in eastern Virginia, 
South Carolina, and eastern North Carolina. This path became an 
important avenue for trade and migration in the new colony, and it 
helped bring Alamance County's first European settlers--English and 
Irish Quakers, Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, and German Lutherans. Most 
of these settlers traveled many miles from Pennsylvania and northern 
Virginia to make Alamance County their home, and their legacy lives on 
today. The Cane Creek Meeting, established in 1751, is the oldest 
active Quaker meeting in North Carolina, and Hawfields Presbyterian 
Church, established in 1755, is the oldest Presbyterian Church in the 
county.
  A desire for freedom has always been deeply ingrained in the people 
of Alamance County. As a result of their frustration with land tenure 
problems, inequitable taxation, and inadequate representation in the 
colonial General Assembly, many of the county's residents joined the 
Regulator Movement--established to protest corrupt and inefficient 
county courts. The hostilities between the Regulators and the colonial 
government escalated into general insurrection and climaxed when Royal 
Governor William Tryon quelled the uprising by mustering a 1,000-man 
militia and defeating the Regulators on May 16, 1771 in the Battle of 
Alamance. While the county's loyalties were split early in the American 
Revolution, Alamance County played a key role in America's 
independence. General John Butler, a Swepsonville resident and one of 
our country's most distinguished Revolutionary War soldiers, led 
patriot troops in the battle of Moore's Creek Bridge and was later 
elected Brigadier General of the Hillsborough District. Moreover, 
Pyle's Massacre, a major American victory, occurred in Alamance County 
four miles west of the town of Graham.
  Before Alamance County's charter was granted in 1849, the area was 
part of Orange County. Residents of the section of Orange County west 
of the Eno River, however, felt removed from the county seat of 
Hillsborough, and in January, 1849, one of Orange County's 
Representatives in the General Assembly introduced legislation creating 
Alamance County. Separate legislation introduced at the same time 
established Graham (named after Governor William A. Graham) as the 
Alamance County Seat. On April 19, 1849, the residents of Orange County 
approved the creation of Alamance County by a narrow margin, and five 
days later, on April 24, 1849, Alamance County's Charter was granted--
the event we will celebrate next Saturday.
  Since its establishment, Alamance County has had a strong and growing 
economy. In 1856, the North Carolina Railroad was completed. Running 
from Goldsboro to Charlotte, the railroad spurred great economic growth 
in the county. Because of the efforts of Benjamin Trollinger and Edwin 
M. Holt (local mill owners and members of the railroad's board of 
directors), the North Carolina Railroad was run through the middle of 
Alamance County, and the railroad's repair and maintenance shops were 
located near Graham at Company Shops. In 1887, Company Shops' name was 
changed to Burlington which is now the county's largest municipality.
  The presence of the railroad was also a blessing to the county's 
emerging textile industry. Within a short period, many new mills 
opened, including Alamance County's most successful textile operation--
the Alamance Cotton Mill. Established by Edwin Michael Holt on the site 
of his father's grist mill on Alamance Creek, Alamance Cotton Mill 
contributed greatly to the prominence of the southern textile industry 
when it became the first mill south of the Potomac River to produce 
commercially dyed cotton plaids--known as Alamance plaids. The success 
of the mill enabled the Holt family's business to grow and include 22 
mills in Alamance County alone. Some of these mill holdings would later 
be consolidated into the multinational corporation Burlington 
Industries. Today, the textile industry continues to be a major source 
of the county's economic growth and stability.
  Mr. Speaker, after 150 years, Alamance County exemplifies the best 
attributes of a rural county. Its people have worked hard to develop 
its economy and community--all while preserving its heritage and 
culture. It is a friendly place where people still stroll the sidewalks 
in the evening and greet friends and strangers with a smile. I am proud 
to have Alamance County in my district, and I wish them success and 
happiness for the next 150 years.

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