July 21 In the Footsteps of Flora McDonald

 

I am told that this pile of rocks was the chimney of Flora and Allen McDonald's North Carolina plantation. 

The home's springbox is located a short distance away. Note the large stone steps leading down to it. 

The Hall Cemetery

Roadside marker on Lovin Hill Rd

Wanna go? Here is how. It's in Montgomery County, NC. Look for Lovin Hill Road. It's best to access Lovin Hill Rd from its southern end on Rt 731, but either way works. Basically, keep your eyes peeled for the above marker. There is a pull in and a road here. Park but do not walk up the road by the marker. As you face the marker, turn right and walk a very short distance on Lovin Hill Road to another gated road. That is the one to walk up. At the top of the hill, there is a small opening and cemetery on the right. Continue walking past the cemetery, going about as far as you did from Lovin Hill Rd to the cemetery. there will be a side road on the left. It has a steel pipe in the ground near it. It's best to find the spring first and then retrace to locate the house. It is also best to go when the vegetation is down. After you have turned left onto this road, it goes down a hill and up and down. You will notice after several hundred yards, the right side of the roads begins to drop away. there is also a plain 4x4 post in the ground near this spot. The Loblolly Pines give way to a second growth forest here as well. As soon as you see the landscape drop down slightly from the road level, head down and there it is. To find the pile of rocks, retrace your steps on the road uphill. About halfway or slightly more than halfway up the hill, look to your right about 200 feet for the rock pile. You may have to meander around a bit. 

Now, how to find their mill site. That will have to be another blog entry after I have located it. 

Jul 21 Falls Reservoir and Moccasin Creek Waterfall

 

Our paddle today covers the length of Falls Reservoir. At 2 miles, it is the smallest of the Yadkin River lakes. Created in 1919 by ALCOA, now owned by Cube Hydro Carolina, the Falls Reservoir is a tiny 204 acres. However, our paddle was focused on the Narrows Dam which backs up Badin Lake. 

Along the way, I wanted to see if Moccasin Creek waterfall had water. It did. A first sighting of this waterfall for me. 

Swamp Rosemallow

We made our way toward the dam along the eastern shoreline. Finally we were in sight of the eastern spillway on the dam. The dam's storyline dates back to the late 1800s. An English engineer, Egbert Hambley formed the North Carolina Power Company in 1898. His scheme was to build a dam across the Yadkin to provide power for his mining company which was producing gold, copper and granite. The site he chose was about 2 miles upriver from the Narrows and the site of the present day dam. Using granite from his quarry, he began construction. Dam construction proved more costly then he envisioned. Things slowed until Hambley enticed George Whitney and a group of financiers from Pittsburgh to sign on. Whitney bought the Power company and renamed it Whitney Company. Construction continued in 1901. Not only would a dam be built, but a 4.5 mile long canal would take water from the dam to the Narrows where the powerhouse was to be built. The canal used valleys and low spots to maneuver 4.5 miles to travel reach a spot 2 miles downriver.  

Things took a turn in 1906 when Hambley died. Then in Oct of 1907, the panic of 1907 happened when a couple NY bankers tried to use a short squeeze on United Copper. The ensuing panic bankrupted George Whitney. Things lay idle until 1913 when Adrien Badin of L'Aluminium Francais bought the Whitney project. Their survey showed a better site for dam, at the Narrows. They proceeded to design and build a town to house the dam construction workers and later the aluminum smelter workers. The town of Badin is today on the National Register of Historic Places for the French influence of its architecture. Southern Aluminum Co was formed as a subsidiary of  L'Aluminium Francais. In 1914 war broke out in Europe. France being in the middle of it, called all reservists to come home and fight. That prompted ALCOA to purchase the project in 1915. The dam was completed and began producing power in 1917. The remnants of the Whitney dam can be seen when water levels are drawn down.

Our paddle to the dam was turned back by a very strong current. We paddled back toward the Falls Reservoir Boat Ramp. Along the way, I was caught in a strong current moving me from east to west. I'm guessing there is some topography underwater that caused that.  

Jul 1 Little River Paddle

 

The headwaters of Little River reach all the way to Asheboro. Roughly, I-73 forms the boundary between  Little River and Richland Creek with water east flowing into Deep River and the Cape Fear Basin. To the west, water forms Little River, destined for the Pee Dee Basin. 

Today's paddle is between Bruton Dam and Eure Dam. It is a section not paddled much as it is only accessible from private property. Our put in was about midpoint between the dams. we paddled up to a set of rapids and then back.

River Left has a series of cliffs which at one point appears to rise about 30 feet. I was not expecting to see that on Little River.