Gulf Presbyterian Church

Gulf Presbyterian Church was organized in January of l882 by members of Buffalo and Euphronia Presbyterian Churches. John M McIver who had been an elder at Euphronia was elected the first elder and J Giles Foushee l864 the first deacon.


The Methodist Church on Plank road is ancient also, but no information is available on it in the Willcox book.

Gulf Map 1851

This is an interesting old map of Gulf, NC (originally Gulph). It is in the George W. Willcox book about the area. Current maps show the entrance of Indian Creek at "the point" of RiverBend plantation. The course of the River seems different from this map, but I doubt that the riverbed has changed. More likely, the river was drawn out and its course simplified by the mapmaker. This places the Palmer plantation of 1,000 acres at RB and the Logan property.

Robert Palmer purchased the property in 1814 from Lewis LeRoy who purchased it from William Williams the brother of  Benjamin Williams who owned the property originally. Benjamin was governor of NC (1799) and the second owner of the House in the Horseshoe first owned by Philip Alston. RiverBend was once owned by the Governor of NC and before that, the Tuscarora tribe.

Appraisal Appeal

Several landowners were advised yesterday that their property appraisal had been re-adjusted. In my case this was less than I paid for the property originally.

History Buff Alert

While visiting JR Moore store recently, I discovered that in addition to managing  their marvelous store, they are area historians.

I learned that Wilcox Iron works is nearby. See Historical Marker. Also, in the 1930s Gulf was a thriving community with Doctors, Lawyers, banks. It was the end of the barge traffic on deep river and also directly on Plank road. It grew and was thriving, but eventually failed because all of the property was owned by 3 plantations in the area, and they refused to sell any land to new comers.

During the American Revolution the House in the Horseshoe played an important role and was the inspiration for the movie "The Patriot" even though it was filmed in SC. A regiment of the Continental Army had a winter encampment about 100 yards from the Presbyterian church on plank road. This is the first church on the left as you drive from Gulf to the RiverBend entrance.

A History of the House in the Horseshoe: Her People and Her Deep River Neighbors. George W. Willcox  Hardcover: 667 pages Publisher: Historical Research Services (1999) Language: English ISBN-10: 1570875073 ISBN-13: 978-1570875076

Appraisal Appeal

If you have not yet filed an appeal, it is not too late. Go to this link and fill out the form to the best of your ability. It is important for all owners to uniformly  consider the appraisals to be unrealistic.

Road to River

On a recent sunny day at RB, I fired up my bush hog and mowed the road from our main road to the river and cleared downed trees. There is a nice cul de sac for turn around at the end. The road entrance is just before reaching the utility line easement. Enjoy!

Python in Deep River

While looking at the Bulletin Board at Moore's Store near RB, I spied this article. Must be a pet release.

Property Tax Assessments

Recently, we have each received tax re-appraisal of our properties. According to the Lee County assessor's office, our valuation has gone up a whopping 50% over the past 3 years. There is a part of me that feels this is good; however, it is not realistic and will result in a high tax bill by year's end. We have a narrow window of opportunity to appeal (March 15), but the rules for appealing are strict. This is made worse by the fact that there are no sales in the area for the past 3 years. If everyone appeals in a like manner, it will improve our chances of a favorable ruling.

Mineral Rights

Many property owners have received a call from John Murawski of the News/Observer. He is reporter developing an article on Lee county rural properties whose owners do not have mineral rights. This includes all of the Riverbend community owners. A link to current and prior articles and others are located below.
February 16, 2013
November 18,2011
Huffington Post Feb 9, 2013
Reuter's Feb 8, 2013

To complete your own search of the related issues, click this link for a Google search. There are hundreds of important posts/articles on this issue. The title transfer to us is recorded separately from the mineral and natural gas deeds. Our property mineral rights were bought from Weyerhauser in 1975 by Dan Butler. In 2010 He leased all of the 2,691 acres of mineral rights he owns in Lee County to Whitmar Exploration Co., a Colorado fracking operation. Each of our properties has different mineral deeds and these are recorded separately from our purchase deeds.

Gas exploration on our property and nearby properties is an emotionally charged and highly political issue. Property owners have little protection as the law currently is written. After March 2015 the fracking moratorium is lifted. As noted in an earlier post, if a property owner applies for a mortgage and is denied because of the "split estate" the mineral rights revert to the owner.

RiverBend Hikers

A sunny late December day was an ideal opportunity for my visiting family to enjoy a hike through RB. Wildlife was abundant. This is a very special area. Let's all work to protect it in the new year!

Liz, Chris, Eli and Liam crossing a stream

YooHoo!! Successful crossing.

Endor Iron Works

The 150 year old Endor Iron works will be restored next year and become the centerpiece of a 400 acre park. It is a short canoe ride from RiverBend. See N&O link for more information.

Mineral Rights

I have recently learned that our mineral rights are owned by an individual named Butler who lives in Southern Pines. He purchased all RB owner's MRs from  Weyerhaeuser, the company that originally owned the property. His contract requires him to sell the MRs to the current property owner if they are required to own it as a condition of obtaining a mortgage. The coal deposits at RB are part of a strategic national reserve and are very large. They were mined during the civil war by the confederates but had a high sulfur content which allowed rebel steam ships to be identified "over the horizon." Because of this high sulfur content, commercial mining has been abandoned since then. New technologies however, are available to clean the emissions.

Steve Lanning has recently done some additional gravel repairs to the main road. Still no buyers for the properties for sale: Rosenburg, Stringham, Lanning.

Deer hunting season always attracts some unwelcome visitors. Mike Packer of the Poor Boys Hunting Club is carefully monitoring the situation at RB. The Settlege's cable has been cut by a bolt cutter and the Brinks lock at the back gate was destroyed. This was done between Nov 23rd and Nov 27th. If anyone observed details that will help identify the vandals/trespassers, please contact me. 

Deer Season Underway

Think Safety. Property owners should be aware that deer hunting season extends to January 1, 2013. Safe practice requires the wear of "blaze orange" outerwear. This requirement can be sufficed by the snap on bib available from WalMart or other stores. Cost is usually less than $5.
We currently have a contracted group, PoBoys Hunting Club. They have actively deterred trespassers and the amount of vandalism has dropped. As of Nov 17th they had bagged four deer among their group.We owe them the privacy they purchased with the lease.

Mike and Marihelen Stringham have decided to sell their parcel. Their asking price is under $60k and this is quite good for this area.