Caswell County, North Carolina

Caswell County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is located in the Piedmont Triad region, bordering Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 22,736.<ref name="2020CensusQuickFacts"/> Its county seat is Yanceyville.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref>

The towns of Yanceyville and Milton are the only two incorporated communities in Caswell County. Unincorporated communities in the county include Blanch, Casville, Cherry Grove, Leasburg, Pelham, Prospect Hill, Providence, and Semora.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Dan River and Hyco Lake are notable geographic features, with Hyco Lake serving as a popular recreation area.<ref name="ncpedia 2">Template:Cite web</ref>

The area that is now Caswell County has a history spanning at least 12,000 years, beginning with Indigenous habitation. Colonial-era settlement began in the mid-18th century, and the county became a hub for bright leaf tobacco farming in the 19th century, shaping the local economy, which relied heavily on enslaved labor before the Civil War.

The county was established in 1777 from the northern portion of Orange County during the American Revolutionary War and was named for Richard Caswell, the first governor of North Carolina.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Early settlers were Scotch-Irish, German, French Huguenot, and English migrants seeking fertile land.

Caswell County has played a role in significant national events, including the American Revolution, Reconstruction, and the civil rights movement. Today, the county is known for its historic landmarks, cultural tourism, and a diversifying economy across multiple sectors.

History

Early history, settlement, and growth

The area that is now Caswell County has evidence of Native American presence dating back at least 12,000 years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Indigenous peoples of the region included Siouan-speaking groups such as the Occaneechi, Shakori, and Eno.<ref name="ncpedia 2"/>Template:Sfn

Abundant evidence of Indigenous activity, including pottery fragments, arrowheads, and stone tools, has been discovered across Caswell County, reflecting its long history of Native American habitation and settlement.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn

In 1663, Charles II of England granted the land of Carolina (named for his father, Charles I) to eight noblemen, known as the Lords Proprietors. A second charter in 1665 expanded the colony's boundaries and reaffirmed their proprietorship.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1744, land including present-day Caswell County became part of the Granville District, when John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville retained rights to the northern half of North Carolina.<ref name='autoLea'/><ref name="auto6"/>

Caswell County was once part of the northern region of Orange County, which was established in 1752.<ref name="CountyNamesake">Template:Cite web</ref> Colonial records show that land grants in the area now comprising Caswell County were issued as early as 1748. There were Scotch-Irish, German, and English settlements along the Dan River and Hogans and Country Line creeks by 1751.<ref name="auto6"/>

The first recorded settlements occurred between 1750 and 1755, when eight to ten families migrated from within Orange County, as well as from Culpeper and Spotsylvania counties in Virginia.Template:Refn<ref name="auto0"/> The primary reason for resettlement was economic. They were searching for fertile land, which the lowlands of the Dan River and several creeks provided.<ref name="auto6">Template:Cite webTemplate:Additional source needed</ref>

The area grew rapidly after the initial settlements. Scotch-Irish and German families traversed the Great Wagon Road, which was the main route for settlement in the region, and had come by way of Virginia and Pennsylvania. English and French Huguenot migrants came from settled areas of eastern North Carolina, following the Great Trading Path. English colonists also came from Virginia, using the same network of roads and trails.<ref name="auto14">Template:Cite web</ref>

The area's culture was strongly influenced by Scotch-Irish and English traditions, shaping its social, spiritual, educational, and economic life.<ref name="auto10">"Caswell is Home of Flue-Cured Tobacco," The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), May 18, 1940, p11</ref> Local commerce centered on stores, mills, and tanneries, as well as home and shop trades such as blacksmithing, carpentry, coopering, pottery, wagon making, rope making, brewing and distilling, weaving, hat making, and tailoring.<ref name="auto5"/>

Enslaved Africans were brought to the area by migrating enslavers beginning in the 1750s, as well as by slave traders, primarily through the domestic slave trade from within North Carolina, Virginia, and other colonies (later states).<ref name="auto5">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Slavery in the region was facilitated by:

• Debt-based transactions, in which enslaved people of African descent were pledged as collateral for loans or debts, a common practice among landowners seeking to expand their farms or acquire supplies.<ref name="Scotch"/>
• Slave auction blocks, where traffickers sold enslaved people, often moving large groups through the region.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Intergenerational enslavement, wherein children born to enslaved mothers were automatically enslaved under colonial laws.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Legal frameworks to reinforce slavery in North Carolina were established before the area was extensively settled and continued to evolve as the region developed. For example, the 1741 slave codes restricted manumission, barred enslaved Black people from owning livestock or carrying guns, and permitted, without legal consequences, the killing of freedom seekers formally declared outlaws by public proclamation.<ref name="Slavery">Template:Cite web</ref>

In August 1774, the colony’s First Provincial Congress resolved to halt the importation of enslaved people after November 1, 1774, as an assertion of autonomy over British trade policies rather than an antislavery measure.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After independence, in 1786, the state banned the importation of enslaved people and raised the prohibitive duty on such imports, a measure that was later repealed in 1790; afterward, the state's enslaved population rose from 100,571 (1790) to 133,296 (1800).<ref name="Slavery2">Template:Cite web</ref> By 1794–1795, state laws barred importation by land or by water and barred arrivals from the West Indies to protect the domestic slave economy and what lawmakers saw as white security amid fears of Caribbean slave rebellions.<ref name="Slavery2" />

These and other legal measures, along with the expansion of agriculture, contributed to the growth of the enslaved population in Caswell County. The late‑18th‑century rise of tobacco cultivation further accelerated this increase.

Enslaved labor was typically concentrated on farms, with large plantations less common. Over half of enslavers enslaved fewer than five individuals, and only a small minority lived on farms with over 50 others. This smaller-scale system meant Black inhabitants performed diverse tasks and often interacted with those on neighboring farms, fostering social connections and marriages across properties.<ref name='Slavery'/>

Enslaved Black people in the region were primarily forced to do agricultural work, with some working as domestic laborers and a smaller number performing skilled labor.<ref name='Slavery'/> The local economy thrived due to their labor as tobacco production grew; however, the brutal and oppressive conditions that enslaved inhabitants faced led many to use escape, violent resistance, or theft of food and goods to survive.<ref name="Kay">Marvin L. Kay, et al. "'They Are Indeed the Constant Plague of their Tyrants': Slave Defence of a Moral Economy in Colonial North Carolina, 1748-1772," Slavery & Abolition, Dec 1985, Vol. 6 Issue 3, pp 37-56</ref>

Enduring harsh conditions under forced labor, Black inhabitants maintained resilience through cultural practices, family bonds, and subtle acts of resistance such as work slowdowns. They held on to their cultural heritage and found strength in their family or social ties, which provided emotional support and a sense of community.<ref name="SP">Template:Cite web</ref>

By 1800, nearly one-third (32%) of Caswell County's population was enslaved.<ref name='auto6'/>

The earliest white settlers in the mid-18th century were primarily yeoman farmers and planters. Later in the century, they were joined by middle-class settlers—historically referred to as the "new families."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="auto6"/>

Yeoman farmers accounted for more than half of the settler population.<ref name="auto6"/> Few if any were enslavers at this time. The yeomanry owned small family farms and lived in log homes. They farmed for subsistence, with surpluses going toward debt settlement or bartering for goods. Relying on the skilled and unskilled labor of family members, neighbors, and others, they supported the local agricultural economy by linking farms to early grist mills and sawmills.<ref name="auto14"/>

Yeoman farmers' economic independence reflected the region's social structure, which provided opportunities for advancement to settlers. For example, North Carolina's lack of a rigid class system enabled migrants to attain prominent government roles more easily. This particularly attracted middle-class settlers mainly from Virginia to the area, some of whom later became sheriffs, justices, militia officers, and state legislators.<ref name='autoLea'/>

Middle-class families, representing a smaller proportion of the settler population, played an important role in the area's early economic and social development. Families including the Coles, Holts, Stephens, and Upchurches were among the "new families" that contributed much to local prosperity by fostering business, trade, and settlement in and around Leasburg, Milton, and (later) Yanceyville.<ref name="auto6"/>

Due to the influx of the middle class, entrepreneurship and craftsmanship became prevalent in the area, with many settlers engaging in local trades and artisanal production.<ref name='autoLea'/> The new settlers relied on family labor and other workers, also on their small farms, but many later adopted enslaved labor as their prosperity grew.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The planter class, or gentry, represented the upper class and comprised the smallest segment of the white settler population. Most came from prosperous families, owned extensive landholdings, and were influenced by Enlightenment ideas. Through land ownership, agriculture, enslaved labor, and other means, they accumulated wealth and wielded influence that shaped the region's economic, political, and cultural landscape.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="auto6"/>

The Graves family, who migrated to the area from Virginia in the mid-1750s, exemplified this gentry class. John Graves (1715–1792), a prominent landowner and patriarch of the family, acquired extensive tracts of land along Country Line Creek and established a mill and plantation. His son Azariah Graves (1768–1850), along with other descendants, rose to prominence as planters, merchants, legislators, and community leaders, embodying the gentry's lasting influence.<ref name="auto0"/>

The Graves family also contributed to religion and education in the region. Azariah's brother, Rev. Barzillai Graves (1759–1827), pastored two local Baptist churches, reflecting his active role in the area's religious community. Azariah supported missionary efforts and is said to have hosted a school for young women on his plantation, where, by 1820, 56 people were enslaved according to census records.<ref name="auto0">Template:Cite web</ref>

While the Graves family embodied the height of gentry privilege and influence, the area’s smaller-scale, less prominent planters had fewer landholdings and lived more modestly. Often referred to as "middling planters," they occupied a position between the gentry and moderately prosperous families. These planters typically engaged in land speculation and trade. They established small mills, bred and sold livestock, and cultivated profitable crops such as wheat, corn, oats, and tobacco on their farms, relying on enslaved labor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the early 1780s, numerous children in the area, including those of mixed-race, were bound out as apprentices under fixed-term court-approved contracts with tradesmen or farmers. These apprentices were typically assigned agricultural labor or skilled trades.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, as enslaved labor became increasingly available, their reliance on bound apprentices declined.

Early agricultural production in the area was centered on corn, wheat, oats, and tobacco. Additional crops included sweet potatoes, rye, flax, peas, beans, hay, and cotton. Cattle, hogs, and sheep were also raised, and much wool was shorn. Most household necessities, including wool and cotton for clothing, were produced on farms, ensuring self-sufficiency.<ref name="survey"/>

Over time, tobacco became increasingly significant in the region's agricultural economy, with its extensive cultivation beginning around 1793. Until the early 1800s, it was grown as a secondary crop, with corn, wheat, and oats as the principal crops.<ref name='survey'>Template:Cite web</ref>

Changing market demand, pricing, soil exhaustion, and other factors, such as the availability of enslaved labor, access to trade routes, and relationships with British merchants had impacted the earlier regional trade in tobacco.

Between the early 1760s and early 1770s, many regional planters took credit loans from British-owned mercantile companies in the province to expand agricultural production. The loans funded land purchases and enslaved labor, while British merchants managed tobacco and other exports sent to Virginia warehouses and supplied imported goods.<ref name="Scotch">Template:Cite web</ref>

Initially, these companies offered favorable terms to planters, but over time, declining prices and high debts forced many to sell land or enslaved people to remain solvent. Due to the American Revolutionary War, most existing debts were never repaid. After the war, demand for tobacco rose significantly in the 1790s, as planters gained direct access to new international markets, bypassing British middlemen.<ref name="tabak">Template:Cite web</ref>

During the mid-18th century, the area later known as Caswell County was commonly referred to as the "backcountry" due to its remote location.<ref name='autoLea'/> As the region grew, it became home to mostly small to medium-sized farms, where settlers were notably progressive about building sustainable communities.<ref name='autoLea'/><ref name="auto6"/>

Among the first settlers, the Delone family migrated to the area in the early 1750s, while the Graves and Lea families, who intermarried, arrived in the mid-1750s; together, these families played significant roles in community development.<ref name="auto0"/> For example, in the late 1780s, Nicholas Delone and William Lea partnered to sell 100 acres, divided into 62 lots, to establish the area’s first incorporated town, Leasburg. The town was named for William Lea—a prominent merchant and civic leader.<ref name='auto6'/><ref name='autoLea'/>

Lea family members, namely John Lea, also contributed to early community development by initiating construction of the area’s first chapel (later known as Lea’s Chapel), near South Hyco Creek around 1750. Another William Lea, known as Capt. William Lea, was named "overseer of the road," responsible for keeping the chapel's road in good repair.<ref name='autoLea'/>

Older families such as the Leas were notable for fostering progressive community development through churches, schools, and businesses, while simultaneously opposing government spending and debt increases, particularly for post-Revolutionary War internal improvements.<ref name='auto6'/>

Before the Revolutionary War, as local communities grew, they were affected by broader regional events. For example, the region was impacted by the French and Indian War and the Regulator Movement—an uprising against the colonial government in Hillsborough and surrounding counties.<ref name="Reg">Template:Cite web</ref> During that time, John Lea, serving as sheriff of Orange County, was attacked by five men while attempting to serve a paper on a Regulator—a protester in the colonial uprising; he was tied to a tree and flogged.<ref name='autoLea'/>

The Regulator Movement heightened tensions among settlers and between protesters and the colonial government, although it was not directly about independence; many Regulators remained loyal to the British Crown. The movement reflected the frustrations of those backcountry settlers who were angered by perceived government corruption, unfair taxation, and other mistreatments, culminating in the Battle of Alamance in 1771.<ref name="Reg"/>

While not explicitly revolutionary, the uprising's stance on corruption and taxation echoed themes of the emerging revolutionary movement, which sought independence from the Crown. In backcountry communities across the region, the American Revolution would find much support.<ref name='auto6'/>

Education and religion

Formal education in the area was limited before the Revolutionary War. Between 1750 and 1775, an estimated one-third of white inhabitants could read, and fewer could write. By the period of 1775-1800, around half of the white population received a basic English education, which included reading, writing, and arithmetic.<ref name="Childers">Template:Cite web</ref>

From 1800 onwards, significant progress was made in education, with Robert H. Childers, a local educator and skilled penman, contributing notably; it is estimated that at least half of the county's white youth who developed good writing skills were taught directly or indirectly by him.<ref name="Childers"/>

Building on this momentum, plantation owners and citizens of (later) Yanceyville and Leasburg, seeking to promote the intellectual development of their youth, publicly proposed plans for the establishment of private academies in the winter of 1801.<ref name="auto6"/> Due to these efforts, academies and female seminaries were founded in the area and expanded over time. Notable institutions included:<ref name="auto6"/>

• Caswell Academy (est. 1802): offered courses in literature, morality, and religion, with a focus on preparing students for the University of North Carolina.
• Hico Academy (est. 1804): provided English education, Latin, Greek, and mathematics, with a focus on preparing students for university entrance.
• Springfield Academy (est. 1818): offered various subjects under the direction of William C. Love.

Female seminaries:

• Miss Prendergast's School (est. 1818): offered courses in orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, and needlework.
• Milton Female Academy (est. 1819): emphasized proper conduct, religious exercises, and academic subjects.
• Somerville Female Institute (est. 1848, Leasburg; Solomon Lea, founder): offered a comprehensive education, including sciences, literature, and arts, with a focus on preparing young women for higher education.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Academies and seminaries such as these were instrumental in shaping the region's educational landscape.

Formal education for the enslaved population, however, remained largely inaccessible, with anti-literacy laws enacted in 1818 and 1830 forbidding their instruction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Before the anti-literacy laws, groups like the Moravians and Quakers provided basic literacy lessons to enslaved people and free Black residents in North Carolina, although such instruction was not widespread. According to oral tradition, they continued this work, though its extent in the area remains unclear. Free public schools, first established in 1840 in neighboring Rockingham County, excluded African Americans. In rare instances, free Black youth could attend private schools.<ref name="NCgov"/>

The first Black schools in Caswell County were established following Reconstruction, with thirty-seven documented by 1896. In addition, Black churches often served as educational venues.<ref name="NCgov"/>

In 1897, a number of African American residents in Yanceyville chartered a school. Despite these efforts, Black schools remained segregated, underfunded, and faced significant disparities.<ref name="NCgov"/>

Religion played a central role in early settler and Black communities. While the early inhabitants brought their religious beliefs from their places of origin, the typical settler affiliation before the Revolution was with the Church of England.<ref name="auto6"/>

Before the area was settled in the 1750s, the First Great Awakening drew more free and enslaved Black people in the colony to Protestantism. In the 1700s, most enslaved people practiced African religions, which they often later blended with Christianity through syncretism. By the early 1800s, during the Second Great Awakening, many in the region had converted to Baptist and Methodist denominations while preserving African traditions.<ref name="church">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="church2">Template:Cite web</ref>

Black converts attended white churches but were segregated into balconies or designated pews. Fears of slave revolts prevented the establishment of independent Black churches until after the Civil War.<ref name="church2"/>

Lea's Chapel, established around 1750 as previously mentioned, functioned as a privately controlled "plantation chapel," serving local parishioners with services led by rectors and visiting preachers from various denominations. In 1779, the State of North Carolina granted the chapel and surrounding land to Capt. William Lea, a prominent citizen and landowner. His descendants later donated the property to the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1833.<ref name="autoLea">Template:Cite web</ref>

Other notable churches in the region included Red House Presbyterian Church, founded by Pennsylvania missionary Hugh McAden between 1755 and 1756, and Country Line Primitive Baptist Church, established in 1772.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

These and other early churches served as centers for worship and community life, shaping the area's religious and social development.

Formation and early county history

Caswell County was formed from the northern half of Orange County and officially established on June 1, 1777, during the Revolutionary War.Template:Sfn It was created so that governance could be more localized and efficient.<ref name="auto3"/> The legislative act establishing the county ordered its first court to be held at the homestead of Thomas Douglas and appointed commissioners to find a permanent location to build a county courthouse and prison.Template:Sfn

Caswell County was named for Richard Caswell, the first governor of North Carolina. He was also a delegate at the First and Second Continental Congresses and a senior officer of militia in the Southern theater of the Revolutionary War.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During the prelude to the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in 1781, Lord Cornwallis pursued General Nathanael Greene through Caswell County. Greene's retreat, called the "Race to the Dan," was a calculated ploy. His objective was to extend Cornwallis far beyond his supply base in Camden, South Carolina, so that his fighting power would be significantly diminished.<ref name="auto3"/>

Cornwallis and his troops marched through Camp Springs and Leasburg. They continued on to the Red House Church area of Semora in search of Presbyterian minister Hugh McAden, an ardent supporter of the Patriot cause. However, McAden had died a week earlier, foiling their plan to confront him.<ref name="auto6"/>

At the church, Cornwallis and his men burned many of McAden's papers and records, setting fire to a portion of the building. They are also said to have disturbed McAden's nearby grave.<ref name="auto6"/>

After the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, Cornwallis, on his way to Yorktown, Virginia, traveled again through northern Caswell County. It is unknown how many locally enslaved people fled to the British for safe haven before the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.<ref name="auto6"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

By the war's end in 1783, Caswell County had made significant contributions of personnel and materiel to the war effort. Little fighting occurred locally other than several skirmishes with Tories, resulting in some being killed.<ref name="auto6"/> County residents renowned for their Revolutionary War service include Lieutenant Colonel Henry "Hal" Dixon, John Herndon Graves, Dr. Lancelot Johnston, and Starling Gunn.<ref name="auto3"/>

Following the war, the county experienced notable social changes. A small number of free Black families settled in the area. Most of the men had served in the Continental Army or Navy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Usually skilled in a trade, they farmed in a manner similar to yeoman farmers but did not have equal rights. They encountered barriers such as limited access to fertile land, fewer legal protections, and social discrimination.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As the county continued to develop, its infrastructure needs became more pressing. By the mid-1780s, no county courthouse had been built, prompting the General Assembly to pass another act authorizing the construction of public buildings. As a result, a courthouse was established at Leasburg, which was incorporated in 1788 as the county’s first official seat of government.Template:Sfn

Caswell County's significant population growth had necessitated advancements in governance and infrastructure. A special state census in 1786 ranked it as the second-largest county with a population of 9,839—trailing only Halifax County, which had 489 more inhabitants.<ref name="auto3"/>

During his 1791 Southern tour to promote unity and address regional concerns, George Washington stayed at Revolutionary War veteran Dudley Gatewood's home in Caswell County from June 3-4. In his journal, Washington noted observations of the land and his efforts to gather insights from locals.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In February 1792, the eastern half of the county was legally separated to form Person County. Following this division, Caswell County's seat of government was relocated from Leasburg to a more central location. The community hosting the new county seat was originally called Caswell Court House. In 1833, the name was changed to Yanceyville.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Economic history (1800-2020s)

In the early 1800s, Caswell County's wealthy landowners were moving away from diversified farming and accelerating toward tobacco as a single cash crop. This agricultural conversion significantly impacted the growth of the enslaved population, which increased by 54 percent from 1800 to 1810.<ref name="auto6"/>

In 1810, the village of Caswell Court House (later Yanceyville) had one store and a hattery, two taverns, and approximately fifteen homes. Not long thereafter, silversmiths, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, coachmakers, and other tradesmen began opening businesses. Attorneys, doctors, preachers, and politicians were also drawn to the growing village and county seat.<ref name="sketch">Template:Cite web</ref>

Around 1830, Caswell County entered a period of economic expansion known as the Boom Era, which lasted until the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. Bright leaf tobacco emerged as the county’s dominant cash crop, but the era also saw industrialization flourish, with the rise of flour and lumber mills, a cotton factory, a foundry, and a silk company.<ref name="auto3"/>

Additionally, one of the era’s most notable achievements was the renowned furniture craftsmanship of Thomas Day, a free Black businessman in Milton. Day’s creations are now celebrated as a major contribution to American decorative arts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Furthermore, in Yanceyville roads were improved and formally named by 1841. By 1852, the town had grown prosperous enough to charter the Bank of Yanceyville, which boasted one of the highest market capitalizations in the state.<ref name="sketch"/>

File:Recto Bank of Yanceyville (North Carolina) 20 dollars 1856 urn-3 HBS.Baker.AC 1141665.jpeg

Bank of Yanceyville 20-dollar banknote from 1856

In 1839, on Abisha Slade's farm in Purley, an enslaved man named Stephen discovered the bright leaf tobacco flue-curing process.<ref name="Bright">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="auto3">Template:Cite web</ref> Slade perfected the curing method in 1856. The following year, his farm harvested Template:Convert of bright leaf tobacco on 100 acres of land, and the crop was sold at an exorbitant price in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Slade taught the flue-curing technique to many farmers in the area and elsewhere, helping to spread its adoption. Bright leaf tobacco became popular with smokers and North Carolina growers gained a dominant position in the tobacco industry as a result.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Bright"/>

The skyrocketing tobacco economy enriched many local residents. The lifestyle of many yeoman farmers shifted to that of planters.<ref name="auto6"/> Many of the newly wealthy built Greek Revival-style homes and sent their children to private academies.<ref name="auto3"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, the majority of Caswell County's inhabitants did not benefit. By 1850, enslaved African Americans accounted for 52 percent of the county's population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

By 1856, tobacco overshadowed all other forms of enterprise in Caswell County. Tobacco warehouses and manufacturing & processing plants dotted the skyline, with the largest centers located in Yanceyville and Milton.<ref name="auto6"/> During this time, Leasburg functioned as a regional center of education and included numerous mills and tobacco factories. The community also featured a racetrack, taverns, a tannery, a tailor, a carriage maker, cotton gins, and a brickyard, with commerce largely supported by the surrounding region’s tobacco-based economy.<ref name="CCHA-Leasburg"/>

Demand for labor kept growing as Caswell County’s tobacco-based economy expanded. The number of enslaved people in the county grew to 9,355 in 1860, from a total of 4,299 in 1810 and 2,788 in 1800.<ref name="auto6"/>

There were 26 free Black inhabitants residing in Caswell County in 1800, 90 in 1810, and 282 in 1860. The white population declined from a peak of 8,399 in 1850 to 6,578 in 1860. This was due to the western migration of small-scale farmers who were unable to compete with the larger tobacco planters.<ref name="auto6"/>

In 1858, construction began on Caswell County Courthouse. Built with enslaved labor, the courthouse was completed in 1861 around the start of the Civil War, which brought an end to the prosperous Boom Era.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After the Civil War, the collapse of the plantation economy severely disrupted agriculture in Caswell County. While there was a short-lived surge in tobacco output driven by tenant labor and reliance on extended family networks, the loss of enslaved labor left many farms insufficiently maintained and unable to sustain prewar production levels.<ref name="auto3"/>

In the years that followed, the county’s economy remained heavily dependent on tobacco, with limited agricultural diversification and land degradation the norm. Grain production declined and cotton cultivation ceased entirely.<ref name="survey"/> The area saw little industrial growth in the late 19th century, with development largely restricted to tobacco factories and minimal railway infrastructure.<ref name="auto3"/> In Leasburg, the rise of nearby Durham's tobacco industry later doomed its tobacco factories due to competition, causing many residents to relocate for better opportunities.<ref name="CCHA-Leasburg">Template:Cite web</ref>

Amid the weakened economy, the county's population declined between 1880 and 1900, showing signs of recovery only after 1910.<ref name="cen"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By that time, the introduction of telephone infrastructure in Yanceyville and Semora signaled a bright spot in local conditions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

However, the area still faced persistent agricultural challenges, including:<ref name="survey"/>

• Inadequate farming practices, such as shallow plowing and poor rotation
• Limited crop diversity due to heavy reliance on tobacco
• Underdeveloped livestock production

These issues weakened economic stability by reducing agricultural productivity and degrading soil health, negatively affecting the county's economic progress through the 1910s.

Despite these challenges, Caswell County’s residents demonstrated resilience and community spirit during World War I. Local efforts included Red Cross work, military registration, and resource management to support soldiers and civilians, with women playing a prominent role.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Through the 1920s, Caswell County's population continued to grow. To provide better public facilities, the Caswell County Board of Education initiated school improvement projects. These efforts included replacing older, inadequate facilities with new buildings for both African American and white students. For Black students, this included six school construction projects, such as upgrades to Yanceyville School in 1924, funded by public and private contributions with significant support from the Rosenwald Fund.<ref name="NCgov"> Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1926, the area saw several other developments, including the construction of a county home for the poor as well as the founding of The Caswell Messenger newspaper and the Caswell County Chamber of Commerce.<ref name="sketch"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

However, during the Great Depression, many farmers and local businesses struggled with economic hardship, falling crop prices, and limited access to credit. To assist the community, the North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration (NCERA), a state New Deal program, funded projects in Caswell County from 1932 to 1935 to create jobs and improve infrastructure. These included constructing a civic center, renovating the courthouse, building a water treatment plant, and improving schools.<ref name="NCgov"/>

To further assist the community, the Yanceyville Rotary Club was founded in 1937, and its members successfully pioneered economic and community development projects.<ref name="auto10"/> The county's economy also benefited from the establishment of the Caswell Knitting Mill in 1939.<ref name="sketch"/>

File:Irwin House Milton Caswell County.jpg

Irwin House, Milton — WPA road construction, 1940

Additionally, the WPA’s rural road development initiatives, advancements in farming practices starting in the 1940s, and the economic impact of World War II had positive effects on the area.<ref name="auto3"/><ref name="sketch"/>

After World War II, and continuing into the 1950s and 1960s, Caswell County’s leaders widely recognized that sustained economic advancement depended on several key factors. These included developing and maintaining sufficient water resources for industrial expansion, improving infrastructure such as roads, providing new and diverse county-wide services, increasing cultural resources, and operating local government in a more business-like manner.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

By 1950, the county reached a peak population of 20,870, a figure that would not be surpassed until the 2000 census.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The economic upswing of the 1950s brought new businesses to the area, including the opening of a meatpacking operation in 1956 in the county’s southwest corner.<ref name="auto3"/>

Between the mid-1950s and mid-1980s, several textile mills opened in Yanceyville.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Royal Textile Mills, for example, restarted operations in 1975 and later supplied major customers, including the U.S. military<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This growth broadened the local tax base and increased public revenue.<ref name="auto3"/>

In 1975, Yanceyville‑born painter Maud Gatewood returned to Caswell County and a year later became the county’s first woman elected commissioner, where she advocated for economic development, land‑use planning, and expanded human services.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1986, S.R. Farmer Lake, a 365‑acre water supply reservoir with a public recreation area, was completed for Yanceyville. Under an agreement with Caswell County, the town has drawn drinking water from the lake; the Yanceyville Water Treatment Plant treats and distributes it to the community.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The opening of Piedmont Community College's branch campus in Yanceyville in 1988 marked another significant milestone.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The campus has served both adult learners seeking professional development and high school students enrolled in the Career and College Promise program, which offers opportunities to earn college credits, certificates, or associate degrees during their secondary education.<ref name="BYHS">Template:Cite web</ref> Its proximity to Bartlett Yancey High School has made vocational and academic pathways for local students more accessible.<ref name="Caswell">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1995, Caswell County entered the film industry when Canadian producer Zale Magder invested approximately five million dollars to build a film production complex in Yanceyville. This ambitious project was part of Magder's vision for a "Hollywood East," with amenities like jogging trails, a golf course, a restaurant, and a fitness center designed to attract filmmakers and movie stars.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Although Magder Studios ultimately declared bankruptcy in 1997, several films and commercials were produced at the site, which is now utilized as industrial space.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In April 1997, the state dedicated the Dan River Prison Work Farm, a minimum-custody facility near Yanceyville, and began moving inmates into the facility.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was built largely by inmate crews under Department of Correction engineers, with a North Carolina Department of Labor apprenticeship certifying completers as journey‑level craftsmen. The 650-inmate-capacity facility was planned to field 13 community‑work squads serving Caswell and seven neighboring counties and to operate greenhouse and field production supplying year‑round produce to 23 Piedmont‑area prisons. Hiring for the facility filled 165 positions, about half with Caswell County residents.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

At the start of the 21st century, the region faced challenges, including adapting to the Information Age and addressing the decline of the tobacco industry, which negatively impacted the local economy. At the same time, cultural tourism had been emerging as an important economic contributor.<ref name="Yanceyville">Template:Cite web</ref>

To support tourism and provide resources for travelers, the Piedmont Triad Visitor Center was established in Pelham in 1994. The center continues to offer information and assistance to those exploring the area's attractions and events.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Broadband internet initiatives in recent years, through efforts such as the state's Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program, have been underway in the county, increasing high-speed internet availability, which has benefited both residents and businesses.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

While only a limited number of tobacco farms remain in the area, the agriculture-based sector has adapted and thrived, with farmers diversifying into other types of farming to sustain the industry.<ref name="Yanceyville"/>

By the 2020s, the local economy, while maintaining its agricultural roots, had further diversified across multiple sectors, including manufacturing, healthcare, education, food service, retail, and other service industries.<ref name="Cherokee">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2020, the Caswell County Chamber of Commerce profiled a “vibrant art community” centered on Milton Studio Art Gallery in Milton, representing more than sixty regional artists and reflecting the county’s longstanding arts heritage, including earlier painters such as Maud Gatewood and Benjamin Forrest Williams.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

State and county-led investments in education, including the multi-million dollar renovation of Bartlett Yancey High School in 2022, have supported workforce development by modernizing facilities and broadening opportunities through Piedmont Community College.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

While water and sewer infrastructure needs have been pressing concerns in communities such as Yanceyville,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Caswell County's location, available commercial properties, land primed for development, relatively low property taxes, and other contributing factors have fostered its continued economic development.<ref name="auto4">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Cherokee"/>

Civil War period

In May 1861, North Carolina, albeit with some reluctance, joined the Confederacy, which by then was at war with the Union.<ref name="Civil War"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Caswell County provided troops, clothing, food, and tobacco in support of the war effort. Companies A, C, and D of the North Carolina Thirteenth Regiment consisted almost entirely of county enlistments. Men from the county served in North Carolina regiments that fought in many major Eastern Theater battles and suffered heavy casualties.<ref name="auto7"/><ref name="auto6"/>

At the 1860 U.S. census, 58.7 percent of Caswell County's population was enslaved.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In January 1862, numerous African Americans in the county fled slavery. Seven patrol squads comprising 34 individuals were dispatched to Yanceyville in search of them.<ref name="auto7">Template:Cite web</ref> Whether any found safe haven behind Union lines at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, or elsewhere is unknown.

In the spring of 1862, salt used for meat preservation was rationed, which was a statewide measure. As the war raged on, the county's inhabitants faced food shortages. Daily necessities were in short supply. Speculators benefitted while most remained in need.<ref name="auto7"/>

The minutes of the Caswell County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions from January 1863 to July 1866 were lost or destroyed; as a result, that court’s proceedings for this period—including matters affecting the county’s enslaved population—are not preserved in its minute books.<ref name="auto7" />

Following the Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863), enslaved people in areas of rebellion were recognized as free by the U.S. federal government and could obtain military protection upon reaching Union lines or as federal troops advanced.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Because Caswell County remained behind Confederate lines until Union forces advanced into the North Carolina Piedmont during the Carolinas campaign in March–April 1865, opportunities to reach Union protection were limited. While numerous African Americans fled or tried to flee the region between 1863 and the war’s end to gain freedom permanently, most remained confined behind Confederate lines until April 1865.<ref name="Civil War">Template:Cite web</ref>

Reconstruction era

After the Civil War during Reconstruction, the pattern of daily life in Caswell County dramatically changed. The previous plantation way of life had disappeared. Struggling small farmers fell into deeper poverty. Abandoned land and eroded soil permeated the landscape. The area struggled with a decreased standard of living and inadequate public revenue for essential services.<ref name="auto6" />Template:Sfn

Many white citizens in the county resented the war's outcome and its aftermath, as did others in the North Carolina Piedmont area. Regional newspapers actively fomented their bitterness. When Congressional Reconstruction was established in 1867,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> it was characterized as an effort by Radical Republicans to force Black suffrage upon them. To resist perceived threats to the racial and social order, numerous county residents joined the Conservative Party, a loose coalition of prewar Democrats and former Whigs.<ref name="auto13">Template:Cite web</ref>

African Americans in the area had experienced immense jubilation when informed of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Their freedom was then safeguarded by Union troops, the Freedmen's Bureau, and the protection of the Thirteenth Amendment. However, in 1866 restrictive state laws called Black Codes were passed in North Carolina by former Confederate legislators who had returned to power as Conservatives.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Enacted to regain control over African Americans, these laws were nullified by congressional civil rights legislation later in 1866.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In January 1868, thirteen African American delegates representing 19 majority-Black counties attended the state's constitutional convention in Raleigh. They were North Carolina's first Black Caucus. Their members included a Republican legislator from Caswell County named Wilson Carey. At the convention, he opposed a Conservative proposal to increase white immigration, arguing that the focus should remain on African American North Carolinians whose labor "built up the State to where it was."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The 1868 constitutional convention passed resolutions abolishing slavery, adopting universal male suffrage, removing property and religious qualifications for voting and office holding, and establishing a uniform public school system. Because the convention gave North Carolina a new constitution in 1868 that protected the rights of African Americans, the state was readmitted to the Union that same year on July 4 upon ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment.<ref name="Reconstruction"/>

In 1869, the Republican-controlled General Assembly ratified the Fifteenth Amendment.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ensuring the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, the Fifteenth Amendment became a part of the U.S. Constitution in February 1870.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In that year's U.S. census, African Americans represented approximately 59 percent of Caswell County's population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Over a span of roughly four years, from December 1865 to February 1870, they had gained constitutional protections of freedom and voting rights, as well as access to employment, public accommodations, land, and political participation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

County and statewide Conservatives vehemently opposed Black enfranchisement, seeing it as a threat to their power and the perceived racial hierarchy. Their hostility had intensified when Republican gubernatorial candidate William W. Holden endorsed universal male suffrage at the party's state convention in March 1867.<ref name="auto13" />

The suffrage resolution's passage and Holden's victory in 1868 substantially added to the continuing friction. This growing animosity helped make Caswell County and the region a hotbed of Ku Klux Klan activity. African Americans and their supporters in the area were subsequently subjected to a campaign of violence, intimidation, and murder to prevent them from voting.<ref name="auto13" />

On February 26, 1870, the Klan lynched Wyatt Outlaw, an African American town commissioner and constable in Alamance County. As Klan violence spread into nearby Caswell County, the Republican state senator of the area, John W. Stephens, became increasingly fearful of attack.Template:Sfn On May 21, he went to the courthouse in Yanceyville to convince the former Democratic county sheriff, Frank A. Wiley, to seek re-election as a Republican with his support and thus achieve a political reconciliation in the county.Template:Sfn

Wiley had secretly agreed to work with the Klan and lured Stephens into a trap, whereby he was choked with a rope and stabbed to death by Klansmen in a vacant courthouse room. The county’s sheriff, Jessie C. Griffith, himself a Klansman and prominent Conservative, made little effort to investigate the assassination.Template:Sfn

Holden was outraged by the murders of Wyatt Outlaw and John W. Stephens.Template:Sfn Conferring with his advisers, he decided to raise a militia to combat the Klan in Caswell and Alamance counties.Template:Sfn By July 8, he declared both counties to be in a state of insurrection.Template:Sfn

About 350 militiamen, led by Colonel George Washington Kirk, arrived on July 18 and established headquarters in Yanceyville.Template:Sfn The militia arrested 19 men in the county as well as several dozen more in Alamance County, and Klan activities in both counties promptly ceased.Template:Sfn The prisoners were initially denied habeas corpus before being turned over to local courts, which did not convict any of the accused.Template:Sfn On November 10, Holden declared that there was no longer a state of insurrection in Alamance and Caswell counties.Template:Sfn

In December 1870, the state legislature, which had a Conservative majority that had come into power on the heels of the political backlash they had spearheaded against Holden over the incident, impeached him on eight charges. He was convicted on six of them and removed from office in March 1871. Holden's removal severely weakened the Republican Party in the state.<ref name="auto13"/>

The Conservative Party proceeded to institute white supremacy in state government in 1876.<ref name="Reconstruction"/> They dropped the name "Conservative" that same year to become the Democratic Party.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> When federal troops left the next year, ending Reconstruction, the stage was set for the further passage of Jim Crow laws.<ref name="Reconstruction">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Civil rights movement

In the 20th century, during the era of school segregation in the United States, many African American students in Caswell County attended Caswell County Training School, later renamed Caswell County High School in the early 1960s.<ref name="auto88"/> Vanessa Siddle Walker's 1996 book, Their Highest Potential: An African American School Community in the Segregated South, provides detailed insights into this school, which is no longer in operation and now a designated site on the National Register of Historic Places in Caswell County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

By the end of the 1960s, Caswell County's public schools were beginning to fully integrate.<ref name="auto2"/> A decade and a half earlier in 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.

In a later decision by the Court in May 1955 known as Brown II, school districts were given the ambiguous order to desegregate "with all deliberate speed."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Like many school boards in the South at the time, the Caswell County Board of Education interpreted the Court's ambiguity in a manner that served to delay, obstruct, and slow the process of racially integrating its schools.<ref>The "Brown II," "All Deliberate Speed" Decision ~ Civil Rights Movement Archive</ref><ref name="ncpedia">Template:Cite web</ref>

The Board of Education's resistance to integration had already been emboldened by North Carolina's passage of the Pupil Assignment Act in April 1955. The legislation gave county school boards full school placement authority.<ref name="ncpedia"/> Driven by the act's power, the Pearshall Plan's passage, and the prevailing anti-integration sentiment of the white community, the school district kept assigning children to schools in a segregated manner.<ref name="auto2">Template:Cite web</ref>

In response to these developments, fifteen local African American parents presented a petition to the school district in August 1956 calling for the abolition of segregation, which the board refused to consider. Undeterred, the parents organized protests that included the NAACP. A federal lawsuit was subsequently filed in December 1956 asking for the immediate desegregation of Caswell County and North Carolina schools.<ref>"Desegregation Action is Filed," The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), December 11, 1956, p1</ref>

In August 1957, 43 local students, many of whom were plaintiffs via their parents in the federal court case, applied for admission to public schools that were closer to their homes than the segregated ones they had been assigned.<ref>"43 Negroes Seek Entry into Schools," The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC), August 6, 1957, p4-A</ref> The school board denied their applications and continued to reject them through 1962.<ref name="auto2"/> Nevertheless, the federal lawsuit kept moving forward.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In December 1961, U.S. District Court Judge Edwin M. Stanley ruled that two brothers, Charlie and Fred Saunders, could promptly attend Archibald Murphey Elementary School, a now-closed, formerly all-white school near Milton. However, when the new semester began in January, they did not enroll. The Ku Klux Klan had sent a threatening letter to the Saunders family previously.<ref name="auto9">"Caswell Negroes' Appeal Step Taken," The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC), January 31, 1962, p12-A</ref>

According to an affidavit submitted by the children's father, C.H. Saunders Sr., the KKK's threats caused him to miss a school board reassignment hearing ordered by the judge in August 1961, before his final judgment in December. Saunders also stated that he would be agreeable to transferring schools if his children's protection at Murphey Elementary could be assured.<ref name="auto9"/>

A year after the Saunders decision, Stanley ruled that the school district had been improperly administering the Pupil Assignment Act. In December 1962, he told the school boards of Caswell County and the city of Durham to allow every schoolchild complete freedom of choice regarding school placement.<ref>"Judge Rules on School Integration," The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC), December 22, 1962, p1</ref> On January 22, 1963, sixteen African American schoolchildren enrolled in four of the county's previously all-white schools.<ref name="auto2"/>

On their first day of school, a group of white men harassed and threatened one of the parents, Jasper Brown—a local civil rights leader and farmer. As Brown drove home, the men pursued and menaced him. Following a rear-end collision, the driver of the other vehicle exited with a firearm. Fearing for his life, Brown exchanged gunfire with the men, wounding two of them, before turning himself in to the police.<ref>"Two Area Men Wounded: Caswell Scene Now Calm," The Daily Times-News (Burlington, NC), January 23, 1963, p1</ref><ref name="auto2"/> The incident was soon reported to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy due to its gravity.<ref>"Two White Men Wounded in Caswell Integration," The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), January 23, 1963, p1</ref>

Several months later, Brown was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and served 90 days in jail. While awaiting trial, white men bombed his yard.Template:Sfn His four children and the 12 others who integrated the county's schools were physically threatened and emotionally abused throughout the semester. Despite requests from the NAACP and concerned families, no police protection was provided. Furthermore, the Board of Education refused to arrange school bus transportation.<ref>"Suit Claims Pupil Abuse in Caswell," The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), March 19, 1963, p9</ref><ref name="auto2"/>

By late 1967, only 57 African American children out of a Black student population of approximately 3,000 were attending integrated public schools in Caswell County.<ref>"Caswell Hearing Recessed," The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), August 17, 1966, p3</ref><ref name="auto2"/> While there had been some faculty and administration integration,<ref name="NCgov2">Template:Cite web</ref> the less than two percent enrollment rate effectively upheld segregation.

The school district's integration plan had not fostered sufficient desegregation.<ref name="auto1">"Caswell Answers Questions on School Desegregation," The Danville Register (Danville, VA), December 21, 1966, p1</ref> Its "freedom of choice" plan placed the burden of integration on individual African American students and parents, requiring them to cross the color line voluntarily.<ref name="auto1"/> If they did so, they faced social stigma, severe discrimination, and other hardships. Consequently, many families, though supportive of integration efforts, chose to keep their children safe in valued Black schools such as Caswell County High School.<ref name="auto88">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="auto2"/>

The school district's low integration rate resulted in the U.S. Office of Education citing the county in 1966 as one of seven in the state that were not in compliance with its civil rights Title IV guidelines. The bureau began taking steps to cut off federal funding.<ref>"Caswell Notified Compliance Lacking for U.S. Funds," The Danville Register (Danville, VA), December 6, 1966, p1</ref>

The school district was not in full compliance with federal integration standards until 1969.<ref name="auto">"Judge Rules Caswell in Compliance," The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC), April 11, 1969, p3</ref> In that year, the Caswell County Board of Education implemented a plan for complete desegregation after Judge Stanley ordered the school district in August 1968 to integrate starting in the 1969–1970 school year.<ref>Their Highest Potential: An African American School Community in the Segregated South by Vanessa Siddle Walker (University of North Carolina Press, 1996) p192</ref><ref>"Caswell Ordered To Integrate," The Daily Times-News (Burlington, NC), August 24, 1968, p1</ref><ref name="auto2"/>

When school integration and consolidation subsequently occurred, Bartlett Yancey High School in Yanceyville became the only public high school in the county after Caswell County High School's closure in 1969.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The closed high school building's educational use was promptly reconfigured. The new integrated school was named N.L. Dillard Junior High School in honor of Nicholas Longworth Dillard, the former principal of Caswell County High School. Integrated elementary schools were established based on zoning.<ref name="auto"/>

Notable political figures

Caswell County has produced notable political leaders throughout its history, including Donna Edwards, Archibald Debow Murphey, Romulus Mitchell Saunders, and Bartlett Yancey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Legislators from the county had considerable influence on state politics during the first half of the 19th century.<ref name="auto3"/> Bartlett Yancey was speaker of the North Carolina Senate from 1817 to 1827. Romulus Mitchell Saunders was concurrently speaker of the North Carolina House of Commons from 1819 to 1820.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Archibald D. Murphey has been called North Carolina's "Father of Education." Serving as a state senator, he proposed a publicly financed system of education in 1817. Murphey also made proposals regarding internal improvements and constitutional reform.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Donna Edwards, a former U.S. congresswoman who represented Maryland's 4th congressional district from 2008 to 2017 and the first African American woman to represent Maryland in Congress, was born in Yanceyville.<ref name="Edwards"/>

As a Democrat, Edwards served on key committees and championed various legislative initiatives. Her notable accomplishments include adding Maryland to the Afterschool Suppers Program, advocating for historically Black colleges and women's reproductive rights, and introducing a constitutional amendment to repeal the Supreme Court’s landmark Citizens United decision.<ref name="Edwards">Template:Cite web</ref>

Depiction in the arts

The 2008 documentary Meeting David Wilson followed an African American filmmaker tracing his family lineage, which led him from Ghana to Caswell County. There, he discovered that his ancestors had been enslaved on a tobacco plantation still owned by the same family that had controlled it before the Civil War. The filmmaker, David Wilson, met the current owner, also named David Wilson, to explore the land and the intertwined history of their families, shaped by the legacy of slavery.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Writers, including Alex Haley, and artists, such as Maud Gatewood, have also referenced Caswell County’s history in their work. The county was mentioned in Haley's 1977 television miniseries Roots, where it was cited as the location of champion cockfighter and plantation owner Tom Moore's (Chuck Connors) estate.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> When Gatewood designed the county seal in 1974, she included two large tobacco leaves as a symbol of the crop's long-standing prominence in the area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (0.78%) is water.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is bordered by Person, Orange, Alamance, and Rockingham counties, and the state of Virginia.Template:Sfn The Dan River flows through a part of the county. Hyco Lake is an important resource and a popular recreational site.<ref name="ncpedia 1">Template:Cite web</ref>

For a comprehensive overview of Caswell County's geography see When the Past Refused to Die: A History of Caswell County North Carolina 1777–1977, by William S. Powell (1977) at 1–22.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

State and local protected areas

• Animal Park at the Conservators Center
• R. Wayne Bailey-Caswell Game Land<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Major water bodies

Hyco Lake, North Carolina

Hyco Lake

• Country Line Creek<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Dan River
• S.R. Farmer Lake<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Hogans Creek<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Hyco Creek
• Hyco Lake
• Lynch Creek
• Moon Creek<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• North Fork Rattlesnake Creek<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• South Hyco Creek
• Sugartree Creek
• Wildwood Lake<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Adjacent counties

• Person County – east
• Orange County – southeast
• Alamance County – south
• Rockingham County – west
• Pittsylvania County, Virginia – north
• Halifax County, Virginia – north
• Danville, Virginia (independent city) – north

Demographics

2020 census

Caswell County racial composition<ref name="Census 2020">Template:Cite web</ref>

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	14,036	61.73%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	6,804	29.93%
Native American	65	0.29%
Asian	61	0.27%
Pacific Islander	13	0.06%
Other/Mixed	755	3.32%
Hispanic or Latino	1,002	4.41%

As of the 2020 census, there were 22,736 people and an estimated 8,993 households and 6,186 families residing in the county. In 2020, the estimated median age was 46.2 years. For every 100 females, there were an estimated 101.9 males.<ref name="Census 2020"/>

2010 census

Caswell County racial composition<ref name="Census 2010">Template:Cite web</ref>

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	14,513	61.19%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	7,991	33.69%
Native American	70	0.30%
Asian	60	0.25%
Pacific Islander	4	0.02%
Other/Mixed	337	1.42%
Hispanic or Latino	744	3.14%

At the 2010 census, there were 23,719 people and an estimated 8,788 households and 6,345 families residing in Caswell County.<ref name="Census 2010"/> In 2010, the estimated median age was 42.8 years. For every 100 females, there were an estimated 103.7 males.<ref name="ACS">Template:Cite web</ref>

2000 census

At the 2000 census,<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> there were 23,501 people and an estimated 8,670 households and 6,398 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 9,601 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 61.07% White, 36.52% African American, 1.77% Hispanic or Latino, 0.19% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.17% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races.

Out of the 8,670 households, 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.20% were married couples living together, 14.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.20% were non-families. 23.20% of all households consisted of individuals living alone and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.01.

The age distribution of the county's population consisted of 23.20% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 30.10% from 25 to 44, 26.00% from 45 to 64, and 13.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,018 and the median income for a family was $41,905. Males had a median income of $28,968 versus $22,339 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,470. About 10.90% of families and 14.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.30% of those under age 18 and 21.10% of those age 65 and over.

Government and politics

Seated in Yanceyville, Caswell County's government consists of 28 departments, an elected board of commissioners, a clerk to the board, and an appointed county manager.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county has additional central administration, Cooperative Extension, E-911, and Juvenile Crime Prevention Council staff.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The county lies within the bounds of the 22nd Prosecutorial District, the 17A Superior Court District, and the 17A District Court District.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Caswell County is part of the 13th congressional district and a member of the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Elected officials

In August 2025, Caswell County's elected officials were:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Tony Durden, Jr. (D), Caswell County Sheriff
• John Satterfield (D), Clerk of Superior Court
• Ginny S. Mitchell (D), Caswell County Register of Deeds

Caswell County Board of Commissioners:

• John Clagget (R)
• Finch Holt (R)
• Greg Ingram (D)
• Frank Rose (R), (Vice Chair)
• Tony Smith (R)
• Brian Totten (D)
• Tim Yarbrough (R), (Chairman)

North Carolina General Assembly representatives:

• Senate: Graig R. Meyer (D–23rd)
• House: Renee Price (D–50th)

U.S. House of Representatives:

• Brad Knott (R–13th)

Economy

Caswell County is in the Piedmont Triad and near Danville, Virginia and the Research Triangle, giving residents access to regional employment centers, services, and institutions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Yanceyville"/>

Prominent industries in the county include agriculture, manufacturing, education, food service, healthcare, retail, and other service industries. Manufactured goods include textiles, clothing, electronics, and industrial maintenance chemicals.<ref name="ncpedia 2"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The economy of Caswell County is rooted in agriculture, which continues to diversify beyond tobacco production. The area's location, commercial properties, land primed for development, and relatively low property tax rate have contributed to an increase in business activity and entrepreneurship.<ref name="CaswellC">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="auto4"/>

The county's agricultural sector produces hemp, tobacco, soybeans, corn, wheat, oats, barley, hay, alfalfa, beef cattle, sheep, swine, and poultry. The county also produces minerals such as soapstone, graphite, mica, corundum, microcline, and beryl.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ncpedia 2"/>

NC Cooperative Extension in Yanceyville connects local agribusinesses and farmers with crucial research-based information and technology.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Caswell County Local Foods Council manages the Caswell County Farmers Market in Yanceyville and initiates community-driven projects.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The county is home to two industrial parks: Pelham Business Park in Pelham and Yanceyville Business Park in Yanceyville.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cherokee Tobacco Company's planned production and distribution facility in the county will be at Pelham Business Park.<ref name="Cherokee"/> CoSquare, a coworking space that fosters entrepreneurship and remote work, is in Yanceyville's downtown historic district.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Caswell County has been described as being in a prime location for growth in the information technology and manufacturing sectors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On its website, the county lists the North Carolina Economic Development Association (NCEDA) and the Piedmont Triad Partnership as economic development partners.<ref name="CaswellC"/>

Caswell County is designated a Tier 1 county in North Carolina’s 2025 County Distress Rankings, a state system used to prioritize economic‑development funding and incentives.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Infrastructure

Utilities

File:Water tower in Yanceyville, North Carolina.jpg

Water tower in Yanceyville

• Caswell County's electric system is maintained by Duke Energy and Piedmont Electric Cooperative.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Telephone network: Brightspeed
• Wireless networks: AT&T Mobility, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon Wireless
• Broadband internet: Brightspeed and Comcast
• Cable television: Comcast

Public safety

Caswell County's public safety services are managed by several agencies:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Law Enforcement: The Caswell County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement services and operates the county detention center.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Fire Protection: Fire protection is handled by volunteer fire departments, including the Yanceyville Fire Department.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Emergency Medical Services (EMS): Caswell County Emergency Medical Services (CCEMS) delivers medical transport and pre-hospital emergency care.
• Emergency Management: Caswell Emergency Management (CEM) oversees disaster preparedness and response for the county.

Correctional facilities

• Caswell Correctional Center operates as a medium-custody facility of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Dan River Prison Work Farm, a minimum-custody facility of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Transportation

File:2017-06-26 10 29 04 View south along U.S. Route 29 Business (Main Street) entering Caswell County, North Carolina from Danville, Virginia.jpg

Entering Caswell County from Danville, Virginia, on US 29

Major highways

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Interstate 40 and Interstate 85 are the closest interstate highways to the county, located Template:Convert south in Graham. When I-785 is completed, it will run through Caswell County near Pelham.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Airports

• Yanceyville Municipal Airport<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Danville Regional Airport, located Template:Convert north of Yanceyville
• Person County Airport, located Template:Convert southeast of Yanceyville
• Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport, located Template:Convert southwest of Yanceyville
• Piedmont Triad International Airport, located Template:Convert southwest of Yanceyville
• Raleigh-Durham International Airport, located Template:Convert southeast of Yanceyville

Public transit

• Caswell County Area Transportation System (CATS)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Nearby rail access

Danville station, located Template:Convert north of Yanceyville<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Education

Higher education

• Piedmont Community College's branch campus in Caswell County is located in Yanceyville.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Primary and secondary education

The Caswell County public school system has six schools ranging from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. The school district operates one high school, one middle school, and four elementary schools:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Bartlett Yancey High School
• N.L. Dillard Middle School
• North Elementary School
• Oakwood Elementary School
• South Elementary School
• Stoney Creek Elementary School

Libraries

Gunn Memorial Public Library (in Yanceyville) offers summer reading programs for children of all ages.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Healthcare

Caswell Family Medical Center is the county's largest primary care provider, also offering urgent care, specialty care, and behavioral health services.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Other health care providers in the county include:

• Caswell County Health Department Clinic, offering primary care for all ages and public health services such as family planning, maternal health, and WIC nutrition assistance<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Caswell House, a senior living facility providing accommodations and support<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Sovah Family Medicine-Yanceyville, a family medicine practice<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Yanceyville Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Arts, culture, and recreation

Arts

File:Yanceyville Pavilion.jpg

Yanceyville Pavilion

The Caswell County Civic Center, located in Yanceyville, has a full-size professionally equipped stage, a 912-seat auditorium, and meeting and banquet facilities for up to 500. It also includes accessories for concerts, theatre, and social functions, as well as a lobby art gallery.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Events and performances are also held at the Yanceyville Pavilion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Additional arts-related attractions include:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Yancey1"/>

• Caswell Council for the Arts (in Yanceyville)
• Milton Studio Art Gallery (in Milton)
• Yanceyville Museum of Art

Historic landmarks

Downtown Yanceyville's historic district contains an antebellum courthouse designed by William Percival and several other examples of antebellum architecture. In addition to the Yanceyville Historic District, the following are included on the National Register of Historic Places in Caswell County:<ref name="nris">Template:NRISref</ref><ref name=nrhpinv>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Bartlett Yancey House
• Caswell County Training School (later Caswell County High School)
• Graves House
• Garland-Buford House
• Milton Historic District
• Poteat House
• Red House Presbyterian Church
• Thomas Day House and Union Tavern
• Warren House and Warren's Store
• Woodside

Other cultural attractions

File:Caswell County Veterans Memorial, March 2021.jpg

Caswell County Veterans Memorial, Yanceyville

Caswell County hosts three major festivals annually:

• The Bright Leaf Hoedown, held in late September in downtown Yanceyville, has live entertainment, food vendors, crafts, and hosts nonprofit organizations, drawing over 5,000 guests.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• The Caswell County Historical Association hosts an annual Heritage Festival in Yanceyville every May. This event celebrates local history through tours, living history reenactments, games, vendors, and live music.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• The Spring Fling, a two-day event, takes place in late April or early May at the Providence Volunteer Fire Department.<ref>Annual Events Template:Webarchive, Caswell County Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved March 18, 2013.</ref>

Additional points of interest and amenities include:<ref name="Yancey1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Caswell County Farmers Market (in Yanceyville)
• Caswell County Veterans Memorial (in Yanceyville)
• Caswell Horticulture Club (in Blanch)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Fulton-Walton Fellowship Center (in Yanceyville)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Milton Renaissance Foundation Museum & Visitors Center (in Milton)
• Piedmont Triad Visitor Center (in Pelham)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Old Caswell County Jail (in Yanceyville)
• Old Poteat School/Poteat One-Room School (in Yanceyville)
• Richmond-Miles History Museum (in Yanceyville)
• Shangri-La Miniature Stone Village (in Prospect Hill)
• Simmons Farm Museum (near Stony Creek)
• Town of Yanceyville 9/11 Memorial<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Town of Yanceyville Public Safety Memorial
• Yanceyville's municipal water tower (landmark)
• Yoder's Country Market (in Yanceyville)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Dialects

Caswell County’s proximity to Virginia, the Carolina coast, and the foothills of the Appalachian results in a mix of Southern American English dialects, including Virginia Piedmont, Coastal Southern, South Midland, and African American English.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Parks and recreation

Indoor and outdoor recreational facilities, as well as sports programs and activities, are offered by the Caswell County Department of Parks & Recreation.<ref name="parks&rec">Template:Cite web</ref>

The Caswell Senior Center offers recreation and fitness facilities focused on well-being.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Additional recreational areas include:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Animal Park at the Conservators Center (in Anderson Township)
• Caswell Community Arboretum (in Yanceyville)
• Caswell Game Land (near Yanceyville)
• Caswell Pines Golf Club (in Yanceyville Township)
• Cherokee Scout Reservation's Scouting America camp (near S.R. Farmer Lake)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Country Line Creek (in Caswell Game Land)
• The Dan River (in Milton)
• Flying Disc Clubhouse's disc golf course (in Yanceyville)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Hyco Creek (in Caswell Game Land)
• Hyco Lake (near Semora)
• Maud F. Gatewood Municipal Park (in Yanceyville)
• Orchard Lake Trail, a 2.9-mile (4.7 km) loop trail in Yanceyville suitable for birding, hiking, and mountain biking<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• S.R. Farmer Lake (in Yanceyville Township), offering fishing, boating, and hiking opportunities<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Yanceyville Park/Memorial Park (in Yanceyville)

Communities

File:Map of Caswell County North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels.PNG

Map of Caswell County with municipal and township labels

Towns

• Milton
• Yanceyville (county seat and largest community)

Unincorporated communities

• Blanch
• Camp Springs
• Casville
• Cherry Grove
• Estelle
• Fitch
• Frogsboro
• Hightowers
• Jericho
• Leasburg
• Milesville
• Osmond
• Pelham
• Prospect Hill
• Providence
• Purley
• Quick
• Semora
• Stony Creek

Townships

The following townships are in Caswell County:Template:Sfn Template:Div col

• Anderson
• Dan River
• Hightowers
• Leasburg
• Locust Hill
• Milton
• Pelham
• Stoney Creek
• Yanceyville

Notable people

Academia

• N.L. Dillard, educator and principal of Caswell County Training School (later Caswell County High School)
• A. Oveta Fuller (1955–2022), associate professor of microbiology at University of Michigan Medical School<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Henry Lee Graves (1813–1881), president of Baylor University
• William Louis Poteat (1856–1938), president of Wake Forest University, early advocate of Darwinian evolution
• Henry Roland Totten (1892–1974), botanist<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Vanessa Siddle Walker (born 1958), professor of African American Educational Studies at Emory University

Art, literature, and music

• The Badgett Sisters, folk and gospel group composed of sisters Celester, Connie, and Cleonia Badgett
• Glen Brown (1854–1932), architect and historian
• Max Drake (born 1952), musician
• Maud Gatewood (1934–2004), artist
• Carlton Haney (1928–2011), booking agent, festival promoter, and songwriter
• Mel Melton, musician<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Ida Isabella Poteat (1858–1940), artist and instructor
• Moses Roper (1815–1891), African American abolitionist, author, and orator
• Ray Scott (born 1969), country music artist
• Carolina Slim (1923–1953), Piedmont blues guitarist and singer
• Hazel Smith (1934–2018), journalist, publicist, singer-songwriter, television and radio show host, cookbook author
• Laurence Stallings (1894–1968), playwright, screenwriter, and novelist
• Benjamin Forrest Williams, artist and art curator

Athletes

• Mic'hael Brooks (born 1991), former NFL player who attended high school in Yanceyville
• John Gunn (1939–2010), race car driver<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Lee Pulliam (born 1988), stock car racing driver and team owner
• Neal Watlington (1922–2019), MLB player for the Philadelphia Athletics<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Carl Willis (born 1960), former MLB player and current pitching coach for the Cleveland Guardians<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Business

• Thomas Day (1801–1861), free Black furniture craftsman and cabinetmaker
• Edmund Richardson (1818–1886), entrepreneur who produced and marketed cotton
• Samuel Simeon Fels (1860–1950), businessman and philanthropist

Government and law

• Samuel Bason (1894–1986), member of the North Carolina Senate
• Bedford Brown (1795–1870), U.S. senator
• Wilson Carey (1831–c. 1905), Reconstruction era politician serving in the North Carolina House of Representatives
• Richard Caswell (1729–1789), first and fifth governor of North Carolina
• Archibald Dixon (1802–1876), U.S. senator
• Donna Edwards (born 1958), former U.S. representative
• Azariah Graves (1768–1850), general in the North Carolina militia during the War of 1812 and a state senator
• Calvin Graves (1804–1877), member of the North Carolina House of Commons and North Carolina Senate
• John Kerr Hendrick (1849–1921), U.S. representative
• Louisa Moore Holt (1833–1899), First Lady of North Carolina
• John Kerr (1782–1842), member of the U.S. House of Representatives
• John Kerr Jr. (1811–1879), congressional representative and jurist
• John H. Kerr (1873–1958), jurist and politician
• Benjamin J. Lea (1833–1894), lawyer and politician who served as a justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court
• Jacob E. Long (1880–1955), 15th lieutenant governor of North Carolina from 1925 to 1929
• Giles Mebane (1809–1899), speaker of the North Carolina Senate during most of the Civil War<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Anderson Mitchell (1800–1876), U.S. representative<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Archibald Debow Murphey (1777–1832), attorney, jurist, and politician, known as North Carolina's "Father of Education"
• Romulus Mitchell Saunders (1791–1867), U.S. representative
• John W. Stephens (1834–1870), North Carolina state senator, agent for the Freedmen's Bureau
• Jacob Thompson (1810–1885), U.S. secretary of the interior
• Hugh Webster (1943–2022), register of deeds for Alamance County and North Carolina state senator<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Marmaduke Williams (1774–1850), Democratic-Republican U.S. congressman
• George “Royal George” Williamson (1788–1856), member of the North Carolina Senate
• Elijah Benton Withers (1836–1898), member of the North Carolina House of Representatives
• Eugene Withers (1867–1925), lawyer and politician
• Bartlett Yancey (1785–1828), Democrat-Republican U.S. congressman

Miscellaneous

• Oscar Penn Fitzgerald (1829–1911), Methodist clergyman, journalist, and educator
• Henrietta Phelps Jeffries (1857–1926), African American midwife, founding member of Milton's Macedonia AME Church
• Peter U. Murphey (1810–1876), naval officer and captain of the Template:Ship during the Civil War
• Jourdan Saunders (1796–1875), domestic slave trader and farmer

See also

• Haw River Valley AVA, wine region partially located in the county
• List of counties in North Carolina
• Mack Ingram case, a 1951 false attempted rape accusation and conviction based on "leering"
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Caswell County, North Carolina
• Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, state-recognized tribe that resides in the county
• Virginia International Raceway, a nearby multi-purpose road course offering auto and motorcycle racing

Works cited

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• Walker, E.V. (1993). Caswell County Training School, 1933–1969: Relationships between Community and School. Harvard Educational Review, 63, 161–183.
• Template:Cite book

External links

• Template:Osmrelation
• Template:Official website
• Caswell County history website
• Caswell County Photograph Collection