Voices of Yesterday
Historical reenactors, hosted by the Lewisville Historical Society, at Lewisville, NC’s 25th Anniversary Celebration
Going Back in Time
During Lewisville’s 25th Anniversary Celebration, held on August 13, 2016, the Lewisville Historical Society hosted reenactors who, for a few minutes, took audiences back in time, more than 100 to 200 years. Standing near the Nissen Wagon Museum (located on the western corner of Shallowford Square), reenactors represented four men who long ago impacted the town of Lewisville.
Men of Renown
Who were those four pivotal men?
One man was Lewisville’s founder, Lewis Case Laugenour (portrayed above, top left). Another was J. Wilson Carroll (portrayed above, top right), who was hired as the principal of the newly formed Lewisville Academy in 1901. Then there’s Morgan Bryan (portrayed above, bottom left), a man whose family settled along the Yadkin River, just north of the Shallow Ford, before the Moravians settled in this area. We also heard from George Elias Nissen (portrayed above, bottom right), whose family manufactured a popular vehicle of transportation in the latter 1800s, the Nissen wagon.
Audio Clips and More Photos
TO HEAR AUDIO CLIPS and see MORE PHOTOS of these Historical Society reenactments, please continue to the NEXT SECTION. CLICK to HEAR AUDIO CLIPS and see MORE PHOTOS of the Historical Society reenactors
Yesterday’s Journeys
The Nissen Wagon that is usually housed in the Nissen Wagon Museum at Shallowford Square in Lewisville, North Carolina was pulled out recently for an up-close inspection by attendees of the 4th Annual Yadkin Valley History Fair & Conference.
Let’s Go!
Let’s take a trip together, shall we? We’ll journey back in time — as far back as 300 years ago — and get a glimpse of the various modes of transportation used in Piedmont North Carolina, beginning with the early settlers. And while we’re at it, we’ll stop by a few local historic sites.
In the 1700s and 1800s, traveling was downright hard and was often dangerous. With a little help from the folks who sponsored the 4th Annual Yadkin Valley History Fair & Conference on Saturday, August 8, 2009, we’ll learn about such challenges as making one’s way over the Indian trails, dirt roads and treacherous rivers of earlier times.
Please continue to the NEXT SECTION for more HISTORY, PHOTOS and AUDIO on early transportation in the Yadkin Valley/Piedmont area of North Carolina. CLICK for more on Yesterday’s Journeys
Graveyard Tour – Lewisville Baptist Church
This artistically rendered photo is a close-up of the manufacturer's nameplate on the original pig iron fence that surrounds a small group of historic gravestones in the center of the Lewisville Baptist Church graveyard.
The Next Stop on the Tour
The fourth of six stops on the 2009 Historic Graveyard Tour that was held on May 2, 2009 in Lewisville took us to the graveyard at Lewisville Baptist Church. (Click to read the previous post on the Historic Graveyard Tour at Panther Creek Plantation.)
Although the graveyard at Lewisville Baptist Church is not as old as some of the other graveyards on the tour, such as the Shiloh Lutheran Church and the Concord United Methodist Church graveyards, it nevertheless holds historic significance.
Leading this segment of the graveyard tour was Mary Alice Warren, a member of Lewisville Baptist Church. Mary Alice concentrated her brief talk on the center portion of the graveyard that includes the gravestones of Lewisville’s founder, Lewis Laugenour, and his wife, Betty.
For more INFO, PHOTOS and AUDIO related to the LEWISVILLE BAPTIST CHURCH GRAVEYARD, please continue to the NEXT SECTION.
CLICK for more on the Lewisville Baptist Church Graveyard
Nissen Wagon Museum
The Nissen Wagon Museum, a nicely designed structure located at Shallowford Square, houses an original Nissen wagon. The wagon was built by the Nissen Wagon Company, which was begun by John P. Nissen in 1834. John’s son, George E. Nissen, later co-owned the business with his brother, William, and lived in the historic Nissen House in Lewisville, North Carolina.
The Nissen Wagon
Continuing on our history journey today, we’ll focus on the Nissen wagon. I think it’s reasonable to assume that many a Nissen wagon traveled the Great Wagon Road and crossed the Shallow Ford between the 1800s and the early 1900s (CLICK the preceding links to read my previous posts).
After all, by 1919 Nissen Wagon Works, as it was later named, was producing over 15,000 wagons per year, or about fifty wagons per day. The business was located in Waughtown, North Carolina (in the present-day Winston-Salem) and was operated by various members of the Nissen family from 1834 until 1925, when it was sold to F. B. Reamy for about one million dollars. Under new ownership, Nissen wagons continued to be produced until the 1940s, when the popularity of automobiles eclipsed demand for the wagons. [Source: StoppingPoints.com]
For further information on the Nissen wagon and to see additional photos, please continue to the NEXT SECTION. CLICK for more on the Nissen wagon
