Small towns around us: in search of Mayberry (Charlotte, Greensboro: insurance, crime)

[NCgirl]

I tend to agree Chromekitty. It's different than it was before the mill houses and trees were torn down and replaced with the Saussy-Burbank neighborhood. Don't get me wrong, I love Saussy-Burbank houses but I think the feeling of the town has shifted over the years.

[LAMF]

Originally Posted by Chromekitty

you and I have had this talk before....
McAdenville is not a small town feel any longer, and hasn't been in quite a while. That was long gone when they removed the mill homes for the homes that are there now.

I have some neighbors who would disagree vehemently with your assessment. For most folks in McAdenville Village, the whole Mayberry thing is what they were looking for when they chose to move here, and try to maintain as best as possible, despite the inevitable disconnect between the village and the rest of the town. To my understanding, the old mill houses that were torn down were mostly rentals owned by Pharr and were not up to standards. The new homeowners have developed a fairly tight-knit community themselves and are making efforts to more closely integrate with the rest of the town. There are actually three village residents running for town council this year.

Personally, I am not much of a community-oriented kind of guy these days so I guess I am not the best judge of how Mayberry-ish it may actually be here.

[mullman]

Newton, NC
Gold Hill, NC
Faith, NC

[NCgirl]

LAMF - I don't think Chromkitty is saying that the Village itself is to blame. As you said many people move to towns like McAdenville looking for "Mayberry" and I don't think there is anything wrong with that. It's just that McAdenville has always been a working class mill town. The mill owned most of the town. Many lifelong residents would not be able to afford a new $200,000+ home. Here is a long but very interesting article. It was written in 2004.

Doffing the mill houses: doing that, Pharr Yarns begins to relinquish its role as laird of what could be America's last mill village.

There used to be lots of places like this in North Carolina. But most companies long ago loosened their grip, selling or leveling the mill houses where their employees lived. McAdenville might be the last mill village in the state--may be the last in America. "It's hard to prove if something is the last, but McAdenville is definitely among the last," says David Carlton, an associate professor of history at Vanderbilt University whose specialty is the industrialization of the South. He spent the first five years of his life in a mill village. He recently asked his colleagues in an Internet work group on textile history if anyone knew of any other places where a mill, in effect, still owns the town. None did.

The issue before the council is momentous. Pharr Yarns has requested a zoning variance that will allow it to build 200 homes, which could double the town's population by the next census and reverse a three-decade population decline. Forty-four mill houses, about half of the homes Pharr Yarns owns in McAdenville, are to be demolished to make way for the project. "It's a big-picture thing, and we're just a little town," Mayor Jerry Helton says at his car-repair shop a few days before the vote. After much deliberation, the council unanimously approves the request, setting the stage for the next step in the town's evolution.

[Chromekitty]

Originally Posted by LAMF

I have some neighbors who would disagree vehemently with your assessment. For most folks in McAdenville Village, the whole Mayberry thing is what they were looking for when they chose to move here, and try to maintain as best as possible, despite the inevitable disconnect between the village and the rest of the town. To my understanding, the old mill houses that were torn down were mostly rentals owned by Pharr and were not up to standards. The new homeowners have developed a fairly tight-knit community themselves and are making efforts to more closely integrate with the rest of the town. There are actually three village residents running for town council this year.

Personally, I am not much of a community-oriented kind of guy these days so I guess I am not the best judge of how Mayberry-ish it may actually be here.

Yes, the mill homes were owned by Pharr. And had been for many years.
As far as standards, that is a matter of preference and opinion as to if it was up to standards or not. Those little homes, were just fine. The residents of the homes were happy and content and then they were sold out. (but we won't go there)

The homes that are there now, are not what made McAdenville and sure what it wasn't about. McAdenville was a lovely little place with some of the finest people you could meet. Sadly, when the old mill homes were torn down and the new ones were built, the quaintness and simplicity was torn down too. Almost an entire town was torn down and it's people displaced, that is tragic.

Christmastown USA is not what it once was either....that can never be replaced or duplicated. Sadly, the town no longer has it in them.

[greatmom1871]

Try looking at Troutman, NC. It has a "Mayberry" look to me.... I was miserable when I went there to visit relatives.... lol

[LynchburgLover]

If you have enough money, there are lots of small cities with Historic Districts. That's where you'll find that Mayberry feel. Salisbury, for example. Or try east to Beaufort or Georgetown, SC.

[honestinsuranceguy]

Elkin to the north maybe Belmont for something closer

[NCgirl]

LOL it's funny that sometimes people don't read the OP. anifani821 is talking about a book, not actually looking for "Mayberry".

[thecandymancan]

I don't know how a town with a population of around 700 has now somehow lost its "small town feel" simply b/c it revitalized an area that was in decline. I guess some people think the last thing Gaston County needs is more middle-class neighborhoods.