On September 19, 1985, the Elizabeth II made its maiden voyage from Manteo to Ocracoke, Beaufort, New Bern and back again.
Topics Related to This Day in North Carolina History
On September 18, 1947, Bill France Sr. and four other racing entrepreneurs incorporated the Hillsboro Speedway in Orange County with the aim of bringing auto racing to central North Carolina.
Racing, however, long had been a pastime in the area. The land on which the speedway was built was located on property previously owned by tobacco magnate Julian Shakespeare Carr, who constructed a horse racing track. The site of the track later became the site of the Occoneechee Speedway.
On September 18, 1906, Amos Owens, a notorious moonshiner from Rutherford County, died.
Known as the “Cherry Bounce King,” Owens was renowned for the delightful mixture of whiskey, honey and cherries that he made at his “castle” on Cherry Mountain.
Described as a fearless yet energetic Irishman, Owens achieved success quickly. People from all over the South visited him to taste his celebrated beverage.
On September 17, 1918, Samarcand, the State Home and Industrial School for Girls, was established in as a correctional institute for young women in Moore County.
The concept of the school originated through the work of Presbyterian minister A. A. McGeachy, who believed the state needed a protective care center for delinquent juvenile girls, many of whom were homeless or prostitutes.
On September 17, 1862, Gen. Lawrence O’Bryan Branch was shot and killed by a sharpshooter at the Battle of Sharpsburg.
Born in 1820 in Halifax County, Branch was placed in the care of his uncle, U.S. senator and former North Carolina governor John Branch, following the death of both of his parents.
On September 16, 1802, Thomas Larkin, the first and only U.S. consul to the territory that became the state of California, was born.
On September 16, 1999, Hurricane Floyd made landfall at Cape Fear as a very strong category 2 storm. At its peak in the Atlantic, Floyd was among the largest category 4 storms on record. Even as it came ashore it was almost twice the size of a normal hurricane. The 12 to 20 inches of rain that fell as a result of Floyd, which arrived only ten days after another hurricane, caused every river in eastern North Carolina to flood.
On September 16, 1960, the first class of 88 students was admitted to Methodist College.
About five years earlier, citizens of Fayetteville offered the Methodist Church a 600-acre tract and $2 million to establish a school in their town. Fayetteville attorney and future governor Terry Sanford was elected the first chairman of the board of trustees and L. Stacy Weaver was chosen as the first president.