Hamlet Historical Highlights

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David
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Hamlet Historical Highlights

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Hamlet Historical Highlights

1867 First train passed through the area called Sandhills that would become Hamlet. It was a Wilmington-Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad train.
1869 First house was built by Angus McKinnon.
1871 Bridge across the Pee Dee River completed
1872 John Shortridge built a woolen mill on the banks of Marks Creek. The village became known as Shortridge Mills.
1872 Frank Marchant born.
1873 John Shortridge, Walter J. Terry and Elisha Champ Terry planted a sycamore tree and christened the town Hamlet.
1876 May 4. First post office opened.
1876 John Shortridge deeded the Hamlet “Wye” to the Railroad.
1877 August 10. First train of the Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Company pulled into Hamlet.
1878 T. B. Page opened the first general merchandise store.
1878 September 28. Hamlet Baptist Church was constituted. It also was used as a school.
1880 First newspaper published in Hamlet was the Central Argus.
1882 John Shortridge died.
1885 Jamison & Gresham built the Hamlet Hotel. 1887- Methodist Church was built on Raleigh Street.
1892 Hamlet “Enterprise” started as the first Hamlet newspaper by E. A. Lackey.
1894 The railroad moved its shops from Laurinburg to Hamlet.
1894 Hamlet's first physician, Dr. H. F. Kinsman, arrived in town.
1895 George Freeman deeded land to the city for the Mary Love Cemetery.
1896 First electric plant was built.
1897 February 9. Hamlet was incorporated.
1897 E. A. Lackey began laying out present Main Street. T.F. Boyd began building in East Hamlet.
1899 April 14. First Presbyterian Church was organized.
1900 Hamlet's population was 639
1900 April 1. The Seaboard Hotel was opened. It became well known to rail travelers for its excellent food.
1900 Seaboard Passenger Station was built.
1900 First municipal building was built on Raleigh Street.
1901 Terminal Hotel built.
1901 First building was built on Main Street by E. A. Lackey (Birmingham Drug Store building).
1902 Hamlet's first bank was organized.
1903 J. P. Gibbons opened a Coca-Cola bottling company.
1903 Vance St. School was built.
1903 Electric service comes to Hamlet.
1906 First Methodist Church present location completed.
1907 Hamlet “Messenger” newspaper was established.
1908 Pee Dee Academy was opened as a boarding and day school.
1908 Hamlet Water Company was the town's first water system.
1908 Boyd Lake started as a recreational area.
1909 Boyd Hotel burned.
1910 Hamlet's population was 2,183.
1911 Total number of telephones in Hamlet was 163.
1911 F.A. Lackey House built
1911 Watson-King undertakers chartered
1912 January 1. Terminal Hotel opened.
1912 February 12. First Boy Scout troop was organized.
1912 February 20. First movie theater opened.
1912 First street was paved in town.
1914 Hamlet Opera House opened.
1915 Hamlet Hospital and School of Nursing opened.
1916 Hamlet purchased its first motor driven fire truck.
1916 October 18. Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show played in Hamlet.
1918 Hamlet “News” newspaper was established.
1918 October 17. Hamlet was placed under quarantine because of the flu epidemic. Guards were placed at all entrances to town.
1918 E. A.(Oct. 11), Ollie(Oct. 12), and Fred(Oct.14)Lackey died from the flu epidemic.
1919 First Baptist Church sanctuary was dedicated.
1919 Hamlet Gin and Supply Co. opened.
1920 Rose's Store opened.
1920 The Hamlet “News” and “Messenger” combined.
1920 Buttercup Ice Cream Company opened.
1920 Hamlet's population was 3,659.
1921 Hamlet Woman's Club was organized.
1922 Purity Café opened
1922 Ty Cobb and the Detroit Tigers played in Hamlet at James Field, March 23. Admission was $1.75.
1922 Hamlet Woman's Club started a small subscription library that was the beginning of the Hamlet Public Library.
1922 Hamlet High School opened on Hamlet Ave.
1924 The last empty lot on Main Street was filled with the building of a two-story structure next to Central Hotel.
1924 Hamlet Hospital installed the Victor deep therapy X-ray machine.
1924 October. New telephone switchboard became operational.
1924 Huguelets opened
1924 November. Twenty-four passenger and freight trains passed through Hamlet each day.
1925 Hamlet Hospital added two stories and brick veneered the building.
1925 City Hall and Fire Department Building opened on Main St.
1925 Bank of Hamlet closed. (Organized 1902)
1926 Roy and Neal Cadieu purchased the Hamlet News Co.
1926 John Coltrane born in Hamlet
1928 Richmond County Country Club started.
1929 The stock market crashed.
1930 Gordon & Land started
1930 Hamlet Ice Company began quick freezing fruits and vegetables.
1930 Hamlet’s population was 4,801
1931 First Legion Jr. Baseball team organized.
1931 Hamlet Hospital becomes nonprofit. Governed by a Board of Directors.
1932 Hamlet was host to State Firemen's Convention.
1932 Hamlet Belk’s opened
1932 Boyd Lake spillway installed.
1933 November. All banks in Hamlet had ceased operation.
1935 Capital Highway School opened.
1935 Hamlet had its own airport known as Royall Fields.
1935 E. A. Lackey estate auctioned.
1935 Levine’s Department Store opened.
1935 Seaboard Hotel demolished.
1936 Spring St Underpass built.
1936 Municipal (City) Lake completed.
1938 Municipal Park (Fairgrounds) built.
1938 First Christmas lights were used along the downtown streets.
1939 Bus terminal opened on Hamlet Ave.
1939 Underpass on the Bennettsville Highway completed.
1940 Sanitary Laundry opened.
1940 Hamlet's population was 5,111.
1940 Gymnasium added to Hamlet High
1941 February 22. New post office opened for business.
1941 Purity Café opens on Main St.
1941 Hamlet Library building on Rice St dedicated.
1941 Community Building at City Lake dedicated.
1941 U.S.O. was formed to meet needs of troops moving through town on trains.
1942 Frank Marchant died February 9.
1942 Police Chief John Fallaw killed May 5.
1942 Rockingham-Hamlet airport opened.
1943 Atkinson Billiards opened in the old “Y” building
1943 May 1. Camp Mackall dedicated
1943 Terminal Café opened.
1944 Depot underpass built.
1944 Hamlet Lions Club chartered.
1945 Mabry’s sold
1945 New street lights were installed on Main Street.
1945 Mary Rice Fashion Shop opened.
1946 The sycamore tree planted at the christening of Hamlet was cut down.
1946 Dr. H. F. Kinsman died August 24
1946 WAYN goes on the air. Sept. 1
1946 Hamlet beats Rockingham in Football. (6-0)
1947 Dr. W. D. James dies January 15.
1947 Memorial Park dedicated.
1947 Hamlet beats Rockingham in Football (13-6)
1947 Chester “Barney” Martin buys the Hamlet News Company.
1948 Hub grill opens.
1949 Lackey Furniture Store opened.
1949 Policeman Rex Howell shot by James Dixon.
1950 Hamlet's population was 5,061
1950 Colonial Store opened.
1950 Hamlet police cars were equipped with two-way radios.
1950 Masonic Lodge ground breaking.
1950 New Stop Light installed at Hylan Ave and Marlboro St. (Hwy 77)
1951 Bids were advertised for the new Monroe Avenue School and the new Fairview Heights School opened.
1951 Hamlet Fire Department organized a rescue squad.
1951 Fairview Heights School opened.
1951 Stewart Gordon Furniture Store opened on Hamlet Ave.
1952 Harrington’s opened.
1952 VFW opened new Clubhouse at the City Lake
1952 L.H. Williamson became Principal of Fairview Heights School
1952 Richmond Memorial Hospital opened.
1953 Dr. Lindsey moved to Hamlet.
1953 Nurses Home opened in the old Main St Hotel.
1953 Hamlet Red Rams Football Eastern 3A Champions (Jerry Sims named Honorable mention All-American)
1954 New railroad classification yard opened.
1954 Toll free telephone service between Rockingham and Hamlet.
1954 Hurricane Hazel
1954 Dr. Terry died October 26.
1954 Monroe Ave School opened.
1955 Fellowship Methodist Church ground breaking.
1955 Dr. Cloninger moved to Hamlet.
1957 Frank Wetzel killed Policeman W. L. Reese and James T. Brown.
1957 City Lake cleaning project.
1958 Ideal Farm Dairy discontinued local delivery of milk after 35 years serving the community.
1959 Levine’s Department Store closed after 40 years.
1960 Hamlet's population was 4,460
1960 O K Bowling opened.
1960 Meacham and Taylor bought Stegall Barber Shop. Renamed City Barber Shop.
1960 Southern National Bank on Raleigh St opens.
1961 Hamlet gets dial telephone service
1962 Hamlet sewer plant(Main St.) opened.
1962 Hamlet gets long distance telephone dialing.
1962 Hamlet Fireworks started at the City Lake.
1962 Tom Smart buys Mabry’s Drug Store.
1962 First Baptist Church Educational Building dedicated.
1963 Red and White opened on Lackey St.
1963 Campbell Pharmacy opened new store on Raleigh St.
1963 Richmond County Country Club added second nine holes.
1963 Little League Field completed on Boyd’s Lake.
1963 Family Dollar Store opened at the corner of Front St. and Hamlet Ave.
1963 JFK assassinated.
1964 Tri-City Shopping Center opened.
1964 Richmond Technical Institute was established.
1964 Hamlet Theater opens.
1964 Babe Ruth All-Stars win the State Championship.
1964 Lewis car wash opened on Hwy 74 east.
1965 Hamlet Armory dedication.
1965 Jefferson St. – Terry St. connection paved.
1965 Curtis Turner wins the first race at the North Carolina Speedway.
1966 Boyd’s Lake dam broke.
1966 Roll away bleachers installed in HHS Gym.
1966 Wingate Williamson buys the Hamlet Theater.
1967 Consolidation of Hamlet, Rockingham, and Ellerbe School Boards.
1967 Hamlet schools started integration by choice.
1967 Principal W. L. Haltiwanger and Lina Flynt Bauersfeld retired from Hamlet High
1968 Arlo Caulder bought Ed’s Texaco
1968 Hamlet High baseball won the 3A State Championship
1968 L. A. Corning sold Buttercup Ice Cream to Coastal Diary of Wilson, N.C..
1969 February 15. Hamlet was hit by an ice storm that caused power outages and massive destruction to pine trees in town.
1970 Hamlet's population was 4,627
1970 Fairview Heights addition.
1971 Hamlet Belk’s closes.
1972 Last Class of Hamlet High
1972 Richmond Senior High opened.
1972 Peachtree Concert at the North Carolina Speedway
1973 Hamlet City Jail closed.
1973 Rice St. Bridge damaged by derailment
1973 Jeru Babb purchased the Hamlet News Messenger from Chester “Barney” Martin.
1976 Last Class of the Hamlet Hospital School of Nursing Graduated. RTI took over the curriculum.
1976 National Railroad Museum opened in part of the old Seaboard Air Line Railroad Depot.
1979 Hudson Pulp & Paper opened in the Marks Creek Industrial Park.
1980 Hamlet's population was 4,720
1980 New wing of the Hamlet Hospital opens
1981 Dedication of the Fire Department
1981 Neal Cadieu Jr. purchased the Hamlet News Messenger.
1983 Hamlet High School demolished.
1983 Seaboard Festival first year.
1984 Hamlet Gymnasium opened.
1984 Hamlet Sewer Plant became operational.
1984 Dobbin Heights incorporated.
1984 Seaboard Festival Day, Inc. was chartered as a nonprofit organization to promote Hamlet and its heritage.
1985 City Hall demolished.
1985 Hamlet Senior Center opened.
1986 Hamlet City Hall opened.
1989 New library wing was completed.
1990 Hamlet's population was 6,196
1990 Hamlet won the All-America City Award.
1990 Hamlet was the site of the filming of the movie Billy Bathgate.
1991 Maceo and Vela McEachern murdered.
1991 September 3. Tragic fire at Imperial Foods Product Plant resulted in the loss of twenty-five lives.
1993 April 9. The historic Terminal Hotel was gutted by fire.
1995 Last printing of the Hamlet News Messenger.
1995 Health Management Associates, Inc. (HMA) purchased the Hamlet Hospital.
1997 Lackey Furniture closed
1999 Cole Auditorium opened. October 29 Dedication
2000 Hamlet's population was 6,018
2000 Hamlet Hardware roof collapsed.
2000 Sandhills Regional Hospital opens new location on Highway 74
2003 Hamlet Depot moved to Main St location.
2004 Refurbished Depot opens
2005 F. A. Lackey Estate Auction
2010 Hamlet's population was 6,495
2012 Frank Wetzel died.
2015 100th Anniversary of the Hamlet Hospital & School of Nursing
2016 First Health buys Sandhills Regional Medical Center
2017 Sandhills Regional Medical Center closed
Linda Lancaster
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Re: Hamlet Historical Highlights

Post by Linda Lancaster »

Awesome information. I will always love my hometown, Hamlet.
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