Thursday, February 3, 2022
The Banner News / banner-news.com
Page 7
HUNTER From Page 1 named Freedom neighborhood in Mt. Holly. He operated a livery stable on Main St. and ran a general store for the local African-American populace making him one of the first black business owners in the area. He also helped recently freed slaves find jobs and housing. Hunter was a strong believer in education. He learned to read, write, and do math. He also learned carpentry and blacksmithing. He served on the Public School Committee of District No. 12, which at the time was called the “colored” school district, and deeded land to what became Rollins School in 1887. Hunter also had strong faith. He Hunter’s is the first name on the Mt. Holly Historic was the founder of two Mount Holly Person of the Year plaque in the Mt. Holly Historical churches still in existence today: Rock Society Society museum. This is an archival photo of Ransom Hunter’s home in Mt. Holly. Grove Methodist Church, which beFrom Images of America came Burge Memorial United Methodist Manufacturing Mill was constructed on the Church, and Mt. Sinai Baptist Church. land which Hunter purchased in 1874 from Hunter sold land to Abel Peterson Rhyne R.C.G. Love. It was the fourth mill to be built derived from the famed yarn and Daniel Efird Rhyne to build the area’s in Gaston County and is the oldest surviving mill in Mount Holly, New first cotton mill in 1875. The Mount Holly cotton mill today. The name of the mill was Jersey, in hopes of taking after their success. The mill’s success and the prosperity of the area led local residents to petition the North Carolina General Assembly for the incorporation of Mount Holly in 1879. In 1913, Hunter sold the Mayes Manufacturing Company a stretch of land near the South Fork Catawba River and the Southern Railroad, where they built a cotton textile mill.[8] This headstone for the grave of Mt. Holly African-American Hunter died in 1918 at leader Ransom Hunter was dedicated in July 2014 by his dethe age of 93 in Mt. Holly. scendants. Photos by Alan Hodge He’s buried near a large oak in the cemetery at the corner Mt. Holly. his grave. In 2017, Hunter of Hawthorne and West CaIn July 2014, his descen- was named as the very first tawba Ave. in Mt. Holly. dants held a family reunion Mt. Holly Historic Person Hunter is still remembered and a new headstone was of the Year by the Mt. Holly for his many contributions to placed under the big tree near Historical Society.
What does music mean to you?
Mt. Holly Parks and Rec. signups Mt. Holly Parks and Rec. Youth Spring Sports The deadline to register for youth spring sports is February 18. Spring sports include: Tee-ball (ages 3-6) Baseball (ages 7-14) Soccer (ages 3-15)
Girls’ volleyball (ages 7-15) Girls’ softball (ages 7-15) You can register online at www.mtholly. us, or in person at the Mount Holly Municipal Complex. For more information call 704-951-3024 or email kent.womack@mtholly.us.
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