A Walk Through Historic Belmont, NC!

My allergies are all in a kerflunkley uproar.

Meaning – that I woke up at 2am with my eyes watering and itching so bad I got up, put in eye drops, and tried to go back to sleep, but it really never happened – I toss, turn, toss, turn…kind of doze, but the deep sleep didn’t happen until about 6am, and then someone called on the phone at 7:45am?

What ever happened to not calling before 9am and not after 9pm? We are such an instantaneous, want it now, call it now society!

And I know it wasn’t a time zone thing ---- Anyway, I’m up. Eyes are still swollen and itchy, and more allergy meds and eye drops are working their way into my bleary self.

Too much machine excitement! It will throw your equilibrium off, I tell ya!

I mentioned in last nights post about the Barbie Retrieval—that I took some time to do a walk around town. That’s the other thing I love about antique malls ---the people who work there are just as in love with history as I am, and in this case, the lady who helped me load Barbie into the car gave me an “in a nutshell” run down of the history of Belmont, which is deeply rich in textile heritage. In fact --- that sign you see there at the beginning of this post? Did you pick up on the THREAD CONE right away?

Settlement in the Belmont, NC area actually dates back to the Colonial days, around 1750. There was a fort built here, and though there were some mills in the mid 1800s, the big build up of industry didn’t happen until AFTER the civil war. At one time, this area had 100 mills.

Gleaned from Wiki:

Belmont was still a small town at the turn of the 20th century, with a population of only 145. The organization of Chronicle Mills in 1901 marked the beginning of Belmont's development as a textile center. It was founded by Robert Lee Stowe Sr. (1866–1963), his brother Samuel Pinckney Stowe (1868–1956), and Abel Caleb Lineberger (1859–1948, son of Caleb John Lineberger, who had founded Gaston County's second textile mill, the Woodlawn, or "Pinhook," Mill in Lowell, North Carolina in 1852). Chronicle was the first of the nearly twenty mills built in Belmont through 1930, expanding the town population to 3,793.

Mills in this area were a mainstay of life. Of course, they don’t exist anymore ---but I love seeing the thread spool there still as a symbol of what this town was built on! Oh, and get this? Their bowling alley is called “Textile Lanes”. HA!

Carolina Thread Trail?! It was a beautiful day and I followed the sidewalk right down main street to see where it lead. Admit it. You would have taken a pic of this sign just for the design on it too, right?! :cD

Right there at the corner of the park was a sign! Okay, I can do this – I have my running shoes on, it’s a gorgeous day ---let’s try the 2 mile route!

I walked up streets, some quite hilly --- going from one sign post, to another sign post until…OOPS! I couldn’t find sign posts anymore! But look at this lovely stately home with all the blooming just taking over! See how our tree tops are greening up? I love a North Carolina Spring!

Well okay…Here’s a sign, but is it pointing the right way? And why do we now have a 2 Mile Route and a 3 Mile Route…where did the 1 Mile Route go?! Never mind, keep walking! Can you tell by the street that things are quite hilly here?

Another sign…looks like I haven’t lost it all completely, but I could swear I’ve done at LEAST a mile already, and this was NOT going into the best area of town……do I turn around and go back, or am I close to being done? And on I go ---

I passed another park…these pink puffball trees were just so vibrant on the side of the road!

I just HAD to touch them, they are SO SOFT! What kind of tree is this, anyone know?

UHhhhh…OKAY then! Now I’m REALLY confused! LOL! Where the heck AM I!?

I know where I am! I am out by the hospital --- I passed this on my drive into town. Would you look at THIS blooming wonder of a sight? I also love seeing the old buildings in the background. And yes, that is a Carolina Blue Sky!

And yes, I crossed that lawn to get a better picture of the tree. Another week, it won’t look like this at all.

The dogwoods are just SAUCER SIZED! Do you think it’s THIS pollen that glued my eyes shut in the middle of the night?

It’s about 5:30pm now – I’ve been walking over an hour. The sun is moving westward as I walked down a street full of stately old mansion-houses. Look at how the light streams on this one!

What is THIS PLANT!? I got a glimpse along the fence of one of the homes….I don’t know what this is at all!

But isn’t it interesting in a very texture-y way?

Oh. My. Goodness. I’m ready for Scarlett O’Hara to walk out onto that veranda -----

But I guess by 1907 Scarlett would have been an old lady!

I think we need THIS one for Quilter’s Retreats, don’t you?

The blooming bushes next to this simple cottage were just SO bounteous!

Look at the pink dogwood on the far right ---even in their untamed wildness –nature can’t be stopped!

Houses of many gables always strike my fancy. Let’s sit and stitch out on this porch! Tall glasses of iced tea? Mint Juleps?

I have no idea if I did the 2 or the 3 mile Route. I probably did both. Which makes 5. And somewhere in there was the 1 mile loop, which I never found! LOL! But it was a great way to explore a small North Carolina mill town and enjoy a lovely late afternoon in March. What fun would it have been to just drive 80 miles to the store to buy the pink Barbie machine, and drive straight 80 miles back again? This made my day! It lifted my spirits, it gave me time to think, and I got in 2, or 3, or 5 miles of exercise along the way. I got to marvel at blooming nature, and see glimpses of history. All in all, a much better choice!