[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 71 (Monday, May 23, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E916-E917]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CELEBRATING THE HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF JONESVILLE ON ITS BICENTENNIAL

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                           HON. VIRGINIA FOXX

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 23, 2011

  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I recently attended a celebration of the 
bicentennial of the community of Jonesville, NC. Not only was I 
impressed by the level of volunteerism that

[[Page E917]]

made the celebration possible, but I was also amazed by the rich 
history of the town of Jonesville.
  According to the Jonesville Historical Society, the current town of 
Jonesville was called Allen's Settlement in the 1700's--name after 
pioneer businessman David Allen.
  Allen's Settlement took root near the bluffs that once stood on the 
south bank of the Yadkin, at the junction of current-day Elm Street--
West Main Street and River Road and was surrounded by wilderness, 
isolated farms and occasional plantations.
  David Allen owned an iron ore forge on the Big Elkin Creek, which was 
supplied with iron ore by the surrounding mountains and foothills. 
Examples of these types kind of ore mines, also known as ``pits,'' are 
still found in Jonesville, particularly adjacent to West Main Street, 
which was once called Iron Works Road.
  Most iron ore was transported across the Yadkin River in the shallows 
until a ferry was constructed near the mouth of Big Elkin Creek, 
according to the Historical Society. A section of the Old Ford Road is 
preserved today in Mineral Spring Park.
  In 1811, the town that is now Jonesville was initially incorporated 
as Martinsborough, most likely in honor of North Carolina's recent 
Governors, Alexander Martin and Josiah Martin.
  However, in 1815 the town name was changed to Jonesville in honor of 
Hardy Jones. Hardy Jones was the son of Samuel Jones, a settler from 
Virginia who fought in the American Revolution. It was Jones who 
established the Academy for which early Jonesville was famous. Jones' 
remains and a marker honoring his life can be found at Jonesville First 
United Methodist Church, which is also the site of the former 
Jonesville Male and Female Academy.
  The Jonesville Academy was moved from what is modern-day Bermuda Run 
to Jonesville by Hardy Jones in 1816. By the 1853-54 school year, 150 
students attended the academy, coming from every state in the country. 
The town of Jonesville grew in prominence thanks to the academy and the 
students it attracted from around the country and the south.
  However, soldiers from Union General George Stoneman's cavalry 
ransacked the school in the spring of 1865. Fortunately, the soldiers 
missed the academy's prized possession, a bell made of bronze and 99 
silver dollars. Today the bell resides atop the Jonesville First United 
Methodist Church.
  According to Moravian journals from the time, Jonesville also likely 
served as a stop for fugitive slaves trying to escape to freedom on the 
Underground Railroad.
  The town of Jonesville experienced unprecedented growth after 
Interstate 77 opened in 1974, and it was consequently named a 
``Governor's Community of Excellence'' in 1980. In 2001, Jonesville 
merged with the neighboring town of Arlington, which added about 800 
people to Jonesville's population and made it the town it is today.

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