The Town That Packed Up And Left Town-Part2

Land grant records for  central Nash County show that the first settlers built homes along the Tar River and Fishing Creek in the early 1700's. Fast forwarding to 1839,  we see the arrival of a dashing gentleman directly from England who went by the title of General Daniel Sanford Crenshaw. We know absolutely nothing about his military record nor anything else of his life in the old country. But we do know that in his brief 12 years as a resident of Nash County, he was a busy man.

First, he built a 2 storied house, a blacksmith shop, a school, a general store, and a Turpentine Distillary. Of these only the store remains standing. Remarkably, the hand drawn wood and shingles used to build Spring Hope's first store was recycled from a nearby closed down store built around 1830. It was all brought in by ox cart.It features a framework of mortise and tenon fashion along with wooden pegs, with no foundation save several large rocks.

As was the norm in that day, the building was a mulit-use structure. Besides being a general store, it also served as a post office, a way station for a stage coach line, and a livery stable. Other uses down through the years include a saloon, sheep house, and as late as 1970 a gathering place for Friday night card games.