Stanly County History Center

06/26/2026

During October 1937, the Stanly News & Press announced the opening of the Efird Brothers Feed Mill on North Depot Street in Albemarle. The brothers, Crayon and Hugh Efird, said the mill had a “daily capacity of 50 tons of dairy feed and will make a complete line of feeds- consisting of horse and mule feed, dairy feed, hog feed, laying mash, starting mash, growing mash, and scratch feed.”

In March 1938, the Efird Brothers announced they had leased the mill to Early and Daniel of Cincinnati, one of the largest grain dealers in the nation. This business produced a well-known brand of feeds known as “Tuxedo.” The mill in Albemarle would serve as a distribution point for North and South Carolina along with a part of Virginia. At this time a new addition was being added to the north end of the mill that would serve as a salesroom, and a large warehouse was being planned for the south side.

During early 1940, the Southern Flour Mill and Stanly Flour Mills became the new distributors of the Tuxedo brand of feeds. What happened at the Efird Mill at this time is not clear. In May 1941, R.P. Stegall of Marshville became the new operator of the mill. The Stegall Provisions Company undertook repairs and restoration of the mill and warehouse, and they reopened the mill as a full-service feed mill.

In 1947 the mill became known as Traywick & Traywick which operated the business. Also known as Traywick Seed until at least the mid to late 1960s.

06/25/2026

Today’s picture is an ad from the September 4, 1962 Stanly News & Press for Vern’s 66 Service Station that was located at Finger. Please add comments or email me directly at [email protected] if you can help with the exact location of this business.

06/24/2026

We had 100 plus visitors this morning for our History Hunters program! Thank you so much to Albemarle Public Works for bringing out some of their trucks and employees to interact with the kids. Our official Big Truck Day is this Saturday, 10-1!

06/24/2026

The Stanly County Historical Society has an upcoming America250 presentation called “Presidential Connections to Stanly County”. We hope you will join us next month to hear stories about Stanly County residents with interesting Presidential connections and some residents who also met other heads of state! See the flyer for the details!

06/23/2026

The History Center is continuing our partnership with Albemarle Downtown on a weekly series of posts about things that have happened in Downtown Albemarle. Thanks to our friends at ADDC for sharing this story about the unusual water fountain at Central School North Third Street! See the picture and information below for all the details!

Charles Reap was superintendent of the Stanly County school system in the 1920s during the first great school consolidation. Years later, the October 14, 1969 edition of the Stanly News & Press included a story Reap shared about the fact that when the new schools were being constructed, they did not have plumbing but relied on nearby wells for water.

Before consolidation, each school had a bucket and dipper that was used by everyone. When the new schools were being built, according to Reap, a new system for providing water needed to be figured out. Decisions were made, “To provide a more sanitary system of drinking water at the schools and since very little money was available, hand pumps were installed at the schools. Drinking fountains were provided for the pupils by taking a pipe about four feet long, drilling a number of holes in the pipe and fitting it into the hand pump. As one child pumped by hand, a half dozen other children could drink from the hand-pumped fountain.” --- shown in today’s picture

According to Reap, the story of this new and innovative water fountain spread to surrounding counties. Later, after the schools were able to raise more funds, this system was replaced when the schools were outfitted with electricity, water, and plumbing.

{Lewis P. Bramlett - Stanly County Historical Society}

06/22/2026

Today’s newspaper clipping , from the January 7, 1964 edition of the Stanly News & Press, shows Henry Smith of Oakboro and his collection of license plates. According to the paper, Smith had what was considered a complete collection of tags, beginning in 1914 through 1963, that had taken him five years to put together.

The state first required use of a license plate in 1907 but there was no official state issued plate until 1913. Smith was still ”seeking a genuine 1913 tag to round out the set to his complete satisfaction.”

One other mention of Smith's collection appeared in the August 15, 1986 edition of the SNAP that said Smith was “known for his complete collection of car license plates which date back to 1913”.

Please add comments or email me directly at [email protected] if you know what happened to Henry Smith’s collection.

06/21/2026

William K. Wilson was born July 4, 1919 in Stanly County. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. After returning to Stanly County he lived in New London and worked in the pot room of the Alcoa plant in Badin. Wilson passed away on May 11, 1998 and is buried at New Hope – Cedar Grove Community Cemetery.

Please add comments or email me directly at [email protected] if you can add information about William Wilson's story.

The first picture is from the History Center collection and the second is courtesy of Dexter Hinson.

06/20/2026

Today’s pictures are all Stanly News & Press newspaper clippings that show the 1977 high school football teams from Albemarle, North Stanly, South Stanly and West Stanly. Do you have any team pictures from any sport from the Stanly County schools? Please add them in the comments or email them to me at [email protected]

06/19/2026

Big Truck Day is one week and a day away! Here are some pictures from last year, in case anyone needs a refresher on how fun it is!!!😉

06/19/2026

The Friends of the E.E. Waddell Center is hosting an event July 12 to honor some of the leaders and trailblazers who helped to shape the Kingville community. The Friends, along with their partners, the Kingville Alumni Association and the Stanly County Historical Society hope you will make plans to attend the event! See the flyer for all the details!