On December 12, 1906, George Ladshaw submitted a survey of the Green River basin in Henderson and Polk counties, proposing dams and hydroelectric power plants along the waterway.
His report on the “Available Power and Cost of Development” would have destroyed the riverbed and natural flow of the Green River, which today is legendary among kayakers for its exciting slides and drops. Other parts of the river are popular for tubing, canoeing and kayaking for beginners.
On December 12, 1957, the first Food Town—now known as Food Lion—opened in Salisbury. The chain began when brothers Ralph and Clifford Ketner teamed up with family friend Wilson Smith to leave Winn-Dixie and try their own hands in the grocery business.
On December 11, 1924, James B. Duke established the Duke Endowment with an initial gift of $40 million. The Endowment received an additional $67 million at Duke’s death the following year.
On December 10, 1825, former North Carolina Governor William Miller died in Key West, Florida.
Born around 1783 in Warren County, Miller worked as a private lawyer, the state’s attorney general and a member of the General Assembly before first being elected governor in 1814. He went on to serve three terms in the post, and was the first to occupy the newly completed Governor’s Palace at the south end of Raleigh’s Fayetteville Street.
On December 9, 1958, Chowan County native Robert Welch founded the John Birch Society in Indianapolis. Named for a Georgia missionary who was killed by Chinese communists just after the close of World War II, Welch got the society started with a 17-hour speech to a group of 11 businessmen from across the country.
On December 9, 1921, Ferdinand Foch, formerly the commander-in-chief of all allied armies in World War I, gave a speech at the Union County Courthouse praising America’s role in the conflict. He was joined by Gov. Cameron Morrison and former Gov. Thomas Bickett.