Pineville Survey

Final Report

Paul Archambault

and Dr. Dan L. Morrill

November 2004

            A.  Statement of Purpose.  To determine the historic significance of individual historic properties and collections of historic properties one must have an understanding and appreciation of the historic context within which they appear.  This paper sets forth the principal forces that have shaped the evolution of the built or man-made environment of Pineville, North Carolina.  The intent is to identify those properties that should be given some level of protection in order to safeguard the historic character of the town. 

            B.  Methodology.  Paul  Archambault, the principal investigator, worked under the supervision of Dr. Dan L. Morrill to conduct a comprehensive survey of the historic elements of the built environment of Pineville,  including photographing properties, conducting historical research, consulting archives and relevant public documents, and writing physical and architectural descriptions of each significant structure. The principal investigator also, when possible, interviewed individuals who had knowledge about specific properties or aspects of Pineville's history.  All findings were placed on the internet to make the information readily accessible for public review.  It is important to understand that certain properties, such as the former Pineville Academy (1867) on Gay Street (now Johnston Drive), although historic, were not included in this survey because they lack the requisite physical integrity.  Click Here For Full List Of Properties Surveyed.

    The principal investigator recognizes that some significant properties might have been inadvertently excluded and welcomes public input into this process.   Also, the principal investigator understands that some individuals might come forward with information that will supplement or correct information that is contained herein.  The survey of historic resources in the built or man-made environment is a process, not a product.

              C.  Historical Context.   

       1.  Introduction.  Pineville, N.C., located approximately eleven miles south of Charlotte, N.C. and incorporated in 1873, initially began as a railroad depot on the Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad, which opened in October 1852.   It gained greater  importance as an agricultural support center and textile town in the late 1800s and early 1900s.   The older buildings on Main Street, College Street, Johnston Drive (formerly Gay Street), Cone Avenue, Fisher Street, James Street, Dover Street, and Park Avenue, are reflective of the town's dramatic growth during these years.  Finally, the last two decades have witnessed a fundamental transformation of Pineville as the spread of suburban development, both residential and commercial, has engulfed much of the surrounding countryside.

      Prominent businessmen, such as C. S. Oakley, Samuel Younts, William Yandell, and Jim Miller, built or occupied the imposing older homes on Main Street.  The 300 block of Main Street contains a collection of corbeled brick store buildings that formed the commercial core of Pineville by the early 1900s.  Included among these structures was a general store, barbershop, post office, drugstore, and a doctor's office.  Unfortunately, Pineville has lost its train depot.    Pineville is fortunate, however,  in still having the Cone Mills Mill Village virtually intact, both in terms of housing and townscape.  Indeed, the mill village, particularly because of its street layout devised by Earle Sumner Draper, is important to Mecklenburg County as a whole. There are also two historic church buildings in the town --  Pineville Presbyterian Church and Lawrence Chapel Presbyterian Church.   Finally, the town does have a few remaining examples of middle class housing on its early outskirts, especially on College Street and Johnston Drive.

       2.  The Evolution of Pineville's Built Environment.   

    Before the presence of  railroads in Mecklenburg County,  crops from local farms were transported to market by river and roads.  The establishment of railroad lines in the 1850s allowed goods to be shipped more efficiently and more quickly.  By 1860, four  railroads crossed Mecklenburg County; and, as a result, several outlying towns came into existence along these new transportation routes.  They included Pineville, Huntersville, Matthews, Cornelius, and Davidson. [1]     By 1900, Pineville had become the largest of Mecklenburg County's outlying towns.  Like the others, Pineville's economy was based upon cotton.  In addition to having a cotton mill and its associated housing, the town provided supplies, tools, draft animals, and other assorted goods to the the cotton farmers who inhabited the surrounding countryside.

An Early 20th Century View Of Main Street

The Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad that extended from Charlotte to Columbia (1852), later the Charlotte, Columbia, and Augusta Railroad, played a pivotal role in the evolution of Pineville and its built environment in the second half of the 19^th century.  Pineville, originally a stagecoach stop named “Morrow’s Turnout,” developed around a  depot on the Charlotte, Columbia, and Augusta Railroad.  The station was named “Pineville” because of  the “many large and beautiful pines casting their shadows over the community.”[2]  During the Reconstruction Era following the Civil War, Mecklenburg County experienced substantial growth due to its cotton economy.  Pineville, like Huntersville, Cornelius, Matthews, and Davidson, was constructed around a booming cotton and mule market; and in 1873 Pineville was officially incorporated. [3]

This 1870 Timetable Of  The Charlotte, Columbia, and Augusta Railroad shows Morrow's or Pineville as the first stop south from Charlotte.

The growth in business activities and in the economy of Pineville and the Piedmont as a whole was  due in  part to influential businessmen.  In Charlotte,  D.A. Tompkins, R. M. Miller, E. A. Smith, and others were erecting cotton mills.  Mecklenburg County's outlying towns also had enterprising New South merchants and industrialists.[4]  Samuel Younts, a resident and a founder of Pineville, achieved prosperity in the town when he moved to Mecklenburg County soon after the Civil War.    Younts began his successful career when he opened a general store and later became a cotton salesman as well as a banker. All of the prominent Pineville leaders and businessmen, like Samuel Younts, Charles Oakley, William Yandell, and Bill Blankenship, built their homes on the most prestigious streets of Pineville, namely Main, Polk, College, and Gay (Johnston Drive).  These same businessmen were active in local politics and in local churches, including providing most of the money for building houses of worship for the residents of Pineville.  [5]

Younts House	Oakley House

Religion, specifically Christianity, has occupied a central place in Pineville's history, the primary dominations being Methodist, Presbyterian, and Baptist.  Before any churches were established in Pineville, Presbyterians and Methodists worshiped in a one-room schoolhouse at 401 Johnston Drive. Pineville has six congregations that date from the nineteenth century, although  the town has only two historic church structures.  They are the former Pineville Presbyterian Church and the former Lawrence Chapel Presbyterian Church.    

The Pineville Presbyterian Church was founded and constructed in 1876.  Samuel Younts and his son, John, deeded land on the corner of Main Street and College Street to the board of trustees of the Presbyterian Church on January 22, 1876.  The cost of construction was $2,000; and the church was reportedly built from brick made from clay on the banks of Sugar Creek. The first service took place on Sunday, April 2, 1876.   Reverend G.  S. Robinson delivered the sermon.[6]  

Methodists joined the Presbyterians in worshipping at the Pineville Presbyterian Church for two years.  As Pineville continued to grow in the late nineteenth century,  the Pineville Methodist Church was built on Polk Street.   The building was constructed of brick and was funded by Samuel Younts, J .A. Ardrey, M. M. Yandle, and Edward Yandle.  The Pineville Methodist Church has been replaced twice since 1881; and, unfortunately, the original building no longer exists.[7]

Lawrence Chapel Presbyterian Church	Pineville Presbyterian Church (1876)

The Lawrence Presbyterian Church purchased a lot on Myers Lane from Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Younts in 1888.  The original structure was replaced by the present building, and this sanctuary remained in service until 1974 when the congregation merged with the Metropolitan Presbyterian Church in Charlotte.  In 1975, the Lawrence Presbyterian Church sold the edifice to Pineville native, Edward Davis; and he currently uses the structure as a furniture upholstery business.[8]

Many residents, including inhabitants of the Dover or Cone Mills Mill Village, were Baptist and attended what is now Stough Memorial Baptist Church.  Reverend A. L. Stough, a German immigrant, founded the Pineville Baptist Church in 1903 and served as its pastor for three years.  Theretofore Baptists in Pineville had gone to nearby Flint Hill Baptist Church to worship.    In 1911, The Pineville Baptist Church was renamed “Stough Memorial Baptist Church.” The sanctuary was demolished, and the present brick building at 412 Johnston Drive was constructed in 1950.  [9]

The first school in Pineville was located in what is now a home at 401 Johnston Drive.  The Pineville Academy, originally a boy’s school and a place of worship, was built in 1867.  Other private schools  stood on Main Street, College Street, and Polk Street between 1867 and 1914.  A two-story brick building on Polk Street served as the Pineville Farm Life Vocational Agriculture School and was built in 1914 by John Miller, Sr.  The school had grades one through eleven, and it remained in service until 1950 when the students began to attend East Mecklenburg High School.[10]

The Younts House (1873) is the oldest "high style" home in Pineville.   Younts erected a two-story, brick, gable-front-and-wing house with Italianate details that reflected his economic standing in the town.  The house has elaborate detailing on the interior and exterior, further exemplifying Mr. Younts’s wealth.  His home later served as the community hospital where Dr. Ralph Reid, son of a former Pineville doctor, worked long hours as the only physician in Pineville.[11]

During the post World War I expansion in Pineville,  homes, some with Craftsman style detailing,  were erected  for the foremen and the operatives or rank-and-file workers at the Cone Mills.  Bankers, merchants, and traders also built dwellings in styles that were representative of the early twentieth century.  People such as C. S. Oakley, President of the Pineville Loan and Savings Bank and the Pineville Lumber Company, and William Yandell constructed grand Craftsman Bungalow homes.  There was an obvious distinction between the homes of the wealthy and those of the mill workers in Pineville, indicating the class separation that existed in the town.

C. S. Oakley built his dwelling on Main Street in the early 1920s.  His grand town home with Prairie Style and Craftsman details is unique  in Pineville in terms of  architectural form. The two-story cross-gabled home with a gabled front porch and sophisticated architectural detailing is indicative of the owner's economic position.  The Oakley House subsequently became the abode of  some of Pineville’s leading citizens, including Richard Eubanks, plant manager for the Southern Cotton Oil Company, and, more recently,  Charles Yandell, a pharmacist, pharmaceutical salesman, and former Pineville Mayor.  William Yandell was also a  prominent Pineville businessman.  William, Charles Yandell's father, constructed his Craftsman Bungalow home on the corner of Main and Johnston in the early 1900s.  It  is prototypically Craftsman Bungalow, with a full-width porch supported by tapered posts, a low-pitched, gabled roof  which has exposed rafter ends ,and decorative support brackets.  [12]

        In 1902, Pineville's cotton business received a major boost when the Dover Yarn Mills was purchased by the larger Chadwick-Hoskins Mills, which initially employed approximately two hundred people in its Pineville plant.[17]     In 1915, Jim and Leitner Miller strengthened the local cotton infrastructure when they constructed a cotton gin;  and increasing numbers of  farmers from the surrounding countryside began bringing  wagonloads of  cotton to town  to sell as the mainstay of their livelihood.[18]  These developments led to the construction and expansion of a substantial mill village south of Main Street.  Most of the textile employees, including those in Pineville,  were former white yeoman farmers who had migrated with their families to town in search of employment. Families in the mill village led a largely self-sufficient, essentially rural lifestyle. They cultivated gardens and raised chickens, cows, and pigs.

      As a general rule, cotton mills rented homes to their workers and their families for one dollar per week along with water, ice, coal, and wood for the stoves.  Workers labored long hours and experienced harsh conditions in the mill.  A typical work week lasted six days and averaged 12 to 16 hours per day.  Pineville natives and residents such as Harold Smith and Holt Earnheart recall their fathers working double shifts and coming home to "catch a few hours of sleep."  Smith’s father became an employee of the the mill in Pineville at the age of six in 1908, and he continued working there until 1968.[19]

 Construction of the mill village in Pineville began in the early 1900s,  and the village expanded substantially  in 1920 under the direction of noted town planner Earle Sumner Draper, who had been hired by Chadwick-Hoskins to oversee the project.  Draper's plan consisted of a semi-rural mill community with a grid pattern of streets, a boulevard with a median at the heart of the village, and  half-acre house sites, so residents could continue to grow vegetables and raise farm animals.  This arrangement, it was hoped, would allow the former farmers-turned-mill-hands to adapt to “city” or “town life.”[20]

          Pineville's mill houses, as in other Southern textile villages, were essentially utilitarian in scale and design.  The original mill workers’ homes, erected in the early 1900s, were white frame, gable-roofed and T-plan cottages.  Queen Anne cottage-style homes, located on the north end of the mill village on Dover Street, were constructed at about the same time for the mill’s overseers.  During the expansion of the town in the 1920s, story-and-a-half homes with Craftsman-Bungalow style porches were constructed on Cone Avenue for the foremen; and one-story square cottages with hip roofs, shed dormers, and inset porches were built for the operatives.[21] Interestingly, Earle Draper ordered plans and materials for these later houses from a company in Charleston, South Carolina called “Quick-bill Bungalows.” [22]

A typical mill workers house.	This more substantial home on Dover Street would have been for a foreman or overseer.

        

A "Quick-bill Bungalow" on Cone Ave.

       Only two paved roads existed in Pineville as late as the 1930s -- Highway 521 (Polk Street) and Highway 21 (Main Street).  Almost everybody who lived in Pineville or on surrounding farms conducted their business on Main Street.  The Younts family, and later the Yandell's and Miller's, owned a good portion of the stores on Main Street.[13] Main Street in Pineville, as in nearby Matthews, ran perpendicular to the railroad and consisted of one block of  businesses, which included general stores, drug stores, livery stables, banks, barbershops, hotels, and  a post office.[14] Main Street was bordered by trees, and the  commercial buildings were one or two stories tall and constructed of red brick. 

Main Street in Pineville

 The Miller family owned most of the stores that were on the north side of Main Street, including four grocery stores.  Robert Hair owned a drugstore on Main Street which had a soda fountain and one of the town's first television sets -- making the drugstore a popular gathering place for teenagers.    Other businesses on the northern side of Main Street included a hardware store managed by Charlie Howie, which served as a gathering place on Saturday nights for farmers, a feed and seed store owned by Bill Blankenship, a gun shop operated by Joseph Ardrey, and Bryant Bailes’s barbershop and pool room.[15]

William Yandell owned the businesses on the south side of Main Street.  They included a grocery store with a hotel upstairs at Main Street and Dover Street.  In addition, Yandell had an office where customers and tenants could pay rent, apply for a loan, or seek legal advice.  Main Street also contained Bill Blankenship’s ice house, Bo McCoy’s barbershop, a movie theater, post office, and filling station.[16]

            Growth in Pineville slowed markedly after the Great Depression of the 1930s, when cotton production declined precipitously in the Carolina Piedmont and agriculture as a whole became less important in Mecklenburg County.  In 1946, Cone Mills purchased the mill in Pineville, constructed additions to the plant, and renovated the mill village homes by adding bathrooms and asbestos shingles.  Somewhat later, Cone Mills sold the houses in the mill village and ceased being a landlord for its workers.  Inevitably, the mill houses began to evidence greater variety, as the new owners modified them to suit their individual needs and tastes.  [23]  A significant portion of the mill village survives, including Earle Sumner Draper's distinctive townscape.

Earle Sumner Draper

     The 1990s witnessed a fundamental transformation of Pineville's built or man-made environment.  No longer serving its initial role as a cotton trading and production center and as a place where farmers could come to obtain draft animals and supplies, the town has been virtually inundated by the impact of suburbanization.  The completion of I-485 to connect with I-77 and the widening of N.C. 51 gave rise to a plethora of retail establishments, including the very large Carolina Place Mall.  Polk Street, especially north of its intersection with Main Street, has lost its traditional small town character.  As for the historic commercial core of the town along Main Street, many of the historic brick buildings survive, but they are now mostly antique shops and consignment shops.