La Grange - the Garden Spot Continues to Bloom
By: Patsy M. Boyette
Olde Kinston Gazette
September 1998

La Grange is a small eastern North Carolina town with rural surroundings and beautiful historical homes nestled among modern influences. The town's growth can be attributed to the construction of the Norfolk and Southern railroad, which runs through the center of the historical district. As history has revealed, the railroad was accidentally laid through the town, giving La Grange its ticket to growth by a twist of fate.

Today, it has a population of about 3,300 and is also known as the "Garden Spot" because of the beautiful vegetation in the area. La Grange can be traced back to the years just after the Revolutionary War, when it was a settlement called Moseley Hall. Moseley Hall was in Dobbs County, which was comprised of what is today Lenoir, Greene and Wayne Counties.

Matthew Moseley, a captain in the Virginia Militia during the Revolutionary War, settled in Dobbs County in 1777. His brother Thomas had settled in northeastern Dobbs County in 1762. Matthew Moseley married Elizabeth Herring Dunn of Bear Creek sometime after moving to the area. The couple enjoyed the kind of prosperity available in colonial days and built a large home near a settlement called Rantersville. Their plantation was called Moseley Plantation and the home was named Moseley Hall. Moseley Hall manor was located at the north end of Caswell Street on the west side of Highway 903.

With more people settling in the area, the township of Moseley Hall was formed in the late 1700s. Oftentimes, residents used the name of the largest home in the area to bestow on their settlement. In 1779, a portion of Dobbs County was divided and renamed Wayne County. Moseley Hall remained in Dobbs County, which would become Lenoir County in 1791.

Bucklesberry and Bear Creek, two small settlements near Moseley Hall, attracted many colonists intent on farming the fertile soil. After the Revolutionary War, rebuilding and planting new crops was a challenge the colonists faced with the strength of character earned enduring the many difficulties which were a part of colonial life.

Farmers were self sufficient and managed to supply most of their own needs through their crops and livestock. There was also an abundance of game in the area. With the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, cotton became the chief crop for colonists, and would prove to enhance the lives of those in Moseley Hall.

The manor Moseley Hall was a stagecoach junction for several years. Before railroads made transportation faster, the stagecoach was used to transport mail and supplies, as well as travelers.

Matthew and Elizabeth Moseley had a son in 1795 named William. He would eventually become the first governor of Florida when it was admitted to the Union. After his father's death and his mother's later remarriage, William sold Moseley Hall and Moseley Plantation, sometime in the 1840s. Council Simmons Wooten from Northhampton County purchased the property. He sold the land in individual lots and the manor to John D. Walters, who later sold it to Thomas R. Rouse. The manor burned in 1917, erasing an integral part of La Grange's heritage.

No public schools existed in Moseley Hall in the early 1800s. Education was conducted in the form of private lessons by a few individuals in their homes.

Businesses were prospering and, as the town grew, churches were built and other needs such as schools, doctors and a government became apparent. Residents began to discuss the possibility of incorporating the settlement.

The Norfolk and Southern Railroad Company built the railroad through Moseley Hall, begun in 1855 and completed in 1858. The railroad contributed substantially to Moseley Hall, bringing commerce as well as goods. According to historians, the railroad was originally to be built going through Institute, a small settlement near Moseley Hall. Institute was the home of Lenoir Collegiate Institute, a college preparatory school. It is speculated that surveyors mistakenly thought the settlement Moseley Hall was Institute, and construction on the railroad was begun there. When the error was discovered, it was decided to continue the course of construction through Moseley Hall, firmly boosting the settlement's growth. The railroad would also bring the Civil War closer to Moseley Hall. The town served as a supply and arsenal headquarters during the war.

When Lenoir County began preparing for the war, training camps were set up for soldiers. A training camp was established in Moseley Hall and named Blackjack Camp. Breastworks which were constructed for protection still exist today just north of La Grange, west of Highway 903. Moseley Hall's first church, Moseley Hall Missionary Baptist Church, served as a war time hospital, and another was located at Dempsey Wood's manor.

Hard times and hunger were sometimes the case during critical moments of the war. A lot of men were off fighting, leaving women behind to fend for their families as best they could. Yankee soldiers would often take what little food they had. In addition, the plantations had no one to tend them.

General Sherman's army passed through Moseley Hall in 1865 on its way to Goldsboro. The army had burned many dwellings in its wake and slaughtered much livestock. They marched through Moseley Hall Plantation, but Moseley Hall manor was spared. North Carolina as a whole suffered terribly from Sherman's wrath.

With slavery abolished in October 1865, Moseley Hall struggled to rebuild after the war. Plantations gave way to smaller farms. But by 1868, life was beginning to return to normal. Businesses were stabilizing and residents were seeing some growth in the area.

The rising economic situation and optimistic mood in the settlement once again brought talk of incorporating Moseley Hall as had been discussed prior to the war. Plans for a public school were also being made.

A few townspeople suggested naming the town La Grange in recognition of Marquis de Lafayette. His estate near Paris, France, was called La Grange. Lafayette was a general who served as a volunteer in the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War. La Grange is French for "the barn," an appropriate name considering the rural layout of the area.

Most people wanted to keep the name Moseley Hall, since that had been its name for many years. However, there was another town in North Carolina named Mosely Hall. Although the two had different spellings, it was decided they were similar enough to cause problems with mail delivery. The citizens finally chose La Grange, incorporating it on April 10, 1869. It remained in Moseley Hall Township.

The newborn town of La Grange faced an exciting era of development. The first newspaper, La Grange Vidette, although short lived, was established in 1875. The town had a distinct business district and more churches were being built to accommodate the people moving to the area. There was a hotel, a thriving buggy business and several mercantiles. The first bank opened sometime in the late 1800s.

Moseley Hall was also home to the inventor of the Gatling gun, Richard Jordan Gatling. He moved to Indianapolis in 1854 and patented his famous machine gun in 1862.

The first public school, La Grange Academy, was opened in 1869 by Dr. Preston W. Woodley. North Carolina began providing financial support to public schools in 1870. La Grange Academy was renamed Kinsey Seminary for Learning that year. Professor Joseph E. Kinsey had taught at La Grange Academy and sometime later procured it.

La Grange by 1880 also had a school for boys named Davis Military Academy, founded by Colonel Adam C. Davis. Davis was a former pupil at Kinsey Seminary of Learning. "School Town" became La Grange's nickname as the military school would eventually have an enrollment of 300 students from every state and even some foreign countries. The school also had a band, the only cadet orchestra in the country during that time. The school prospered, but an outbreak of meningitis closed it in 1889.

In July 1881, Kinsey Seminary of Learning became Kinsey Seminary for Girls because so many male pupils were enrolled at Davis Military Academy. Kinsey Seminary for Girls relocated to Wilson in 1897. The name was later changed to Atlantic Christian College. Losing these two schools adversely affected La Grange's economy.

Near the turn of the century, cotton was being replaced with tobacco as the major crop. Automobiles came to La Grange in 1898, bringing in the twentieth century and a new age.

La Grange also received its nickname in the early 1900s. It was dubbed the "Garden Spot" by Eugene Shaw, a porter on the railroad. Shaw was from La Grange and dearly loved the town. There were gardens up and down along the tracks as it made its way through town, and Shaw would call out the town's name followed by "the Garden Spot."

1907 was a big year for the town's citizens. Although electricity had been attempted, the results were not impressive. Lassiter's Mill began supplying the town in 1907. Carolina Telephone and Telegraph Company in Kinston also began supplying La Grange residents with telephone service in that year. Rural citizens, however, would have to wait a few years to enjoy such luxuries.

La Grange Graded School was also started in 1907, with nine grades.

By 1910, La Grange had a weekly newspaper, the Messenger-Sentinel. Things looked good for the pretty, prospering town.

But a town fire in 1911 changed the face of La Grange. A few boys set the fires which would destroy the business district. Most of the buildings in the section were wood and succumbed easily. After the fires were doused, most citizens rebuilt with brick. The boys were jailed and served several years for the arson. The greatest loss was in Town Hall, where nearly all the town's records were destroyed by the fire. A bright spot in the year 1911 was the construction of Highway 10, which began at Morehead City, ran through La Grange and on to Asheville. It eventually became Highway 70.

Despite some businesses closing during WWI, La Grange was doing well by this time. The Great Depression then came and went, leaving its mark on La Grange as it did the entire nation. WWII came on the heels of the Great Depression, and many families who suffered through the Depression now had to face rationing and more of making do with what they had.

The town's residents supported the war effort through scrap metal drives and war bonds. Air raid drills were begun in 1942, bringing the reality of war close to home. However, La Grange was in close proximity to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base as well as several other military bases, and its economy did benefit from the presence of military servicemen during the war.

Modern day La Grange is still a quaint and pretty town. With an already charming personality, La Grange has an ally to broaden her horizons. The La Grange Redevelopment Foundation, established by Conway Rose in 1996, plans to give the town a face lift.

The Foundation recently bought several old buildings downtown, which it intends to remodel for residential and commercial use. The Foundation hopes to draw retail commerce into La Grange to revitalize the town, giving it a much needed push towards progress and financial prosperity, while preserving the integrity of the small town atmosphere.

La Grange celebrates its heritage annually with The Garden Spot Festival, savoring its past as it boldly steps into the future.