The town of Clarkton turns 165 years old this year, and town leaders are planning a big celebration of the event on Memorial Day.
The Clarkton Spring Meet is from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday on Railroad Street. After the 10 a.m. parade, craft and food vendors, live entertainment and more will take place along Railroad.
Vendors and participants are still welcome. Call Melody Matthews at 910.840.7241 to sign up.
The area has a rich history, stretching back to before the American Revolution. Scottish settlers founded Brown Marsh Church in 1755. The current sanctuary was built in 1815 on the original ground, just north of town. Anna McNeill Whistler, known as the “Victorian Mona Lisa,” spent childhood summers at Oak Forest, near the town limits. She was reportedly born there. Tradition says that when James Whistler painted the timeless picture known as “Whistler’s Mother,” he based it on a sketch made at the family home in Clarkton.
Clarkton was founded in 1861, as Dalton Station, at the intersection of several farm roads and the new Wilmington and Rutherford Railroad line, which eventually became Seaboard. The town was named for John Hector Clark, one of the first businessmen in the area in 1874.
Growth slowed during the War Between the States, but exploded in the post-war years, as improvements in the lumber and cotton industries, and the popularity of North Carolina tobacco, brought an economic boom. Clarkton eventually became home to several major tobacco markets, and was home of the N.C. Tobacco Festival from 1947 until 1997.
While the tobacco markets eventually closed, cotton and peanuts grew in production. Today one of the busiest cotton gins in the state is located in the town, and E.J. Cox processes tons of peanuts products for shipment across the country every year.
When the railroad began to decline, the town purchased the 1915 train station and moved it two blocks to become the town hall and community center.
Clarkton Mayor Jerome Myers, who is also the town’s first black postmaster, said he hopes the event helps people take a second look at Clarkton.
“I am focused on building a growing, vibrant town that honors its heritage while creating opportunity for future generations,” Myers said in a press release. “It (the festival) will be a time to reconnect with neighbors, welcome visitors, and celebrate the generations that have helped shape Clarkton into the community it is today.)
