Gate!

Finally, after years of discussion and planning, we have a secure front gate. David G and Brian G installed the gate over the past two weekends. The gate will not be locked until we have discussed the security strategies with all property owners, real estate agents and local neighbors. This gate will not prevent all trespassing, but will limit dumping, unauthorized hunting, vandalism and timber poaching. 

David and Brian at front gate of Riverbend Plantation, October 5, 2013

Auction

Steve Lanning's property (22 acres, parcels S and T) will be auctioned on October 28th at 5pm. Auction will be held at Bestfood Cafeteria, 220 E. 11th Street, Siler City, NC 27344. For more details see this link.

Strange bugs

I recently encountered an unusual phenomenon on the branches of beech trees on my property. Appeared to be a white foam coating from a distance, but up close there were many small insects. On the ground below the limb was a bluish discoloration of the leaves. Does anyone have an idea about this?

Insects on Beech Limb.

Forest floor beneath the limb.

Front Gate

Brian Green has contracted with C&J welding for the construction of a steel gate with lock enclosure.  It should be available within 2 weeks. Brian and I will install the gate and buy a lock. All owners and persons with valid access to RiverBend will receive the combination. There are other points of access to the property, but the front gate will greatly reduce the trespassing.

Deer Season 2013

Deer Season Lee County 2013-2014

Deer season starts soon in Lee County. Please be careful when visiting your property and wear blaze orange for your protection. Also, please be respectful of the members of "Poor Boys Hunting Club." They have paid a lot for the privilege of hunting at RB and they have been responsible and protective. The trespassing has decreased in the past year. The NC "Landowner Protection Act" contains many important provisions. You can view new rules here.

During recent weeks I have seen many deer. It will probably be a great year for hunters. I took this photo recently. This suggests that future years will be great also.

Charlie Daniels

Charlie Daniels will perform in Sanford soon. I learned this while standing in line at JR Moore store and listening to those ahead of me. Lisa said, "Great, that means he will be in to visit. He always comes to his home town when he is that close." This is how I learned what everyone else seems to know, that Charlie Daniels grew up in Gulf, NC and graduated from Carbonton High School.

His web site Link.


(From Wikipedia) Daniels was born October 28, 1936, in Wilmington, North Carolina, and raised on a musical diet that included Pentecostal gospel, local bluegrass bands and the rhythm & blues and country music from Nashville's 50,000-watt radio stations WLAC and WSM. Daniels grew up in the small town of Gulf located in Chatham County, North Carolina. His childhood home still stands in Gulf but is currently in a state of disrepair. He graduated from high school in 1955. Already skilled on guitar, fiddle, banjo, and mandolin, Daniels formed a rock 'n' roll band and hit the road.

Lee County Fire District

Lee County has proposed upgrading fire districts and improving the tax base for their support. We have each received a mailing recently regarding proposals that will be finalized in June. A meeting will be held on June 24. Our current fire rates of 12.9 cents per $100 valuation is about 40% higher than most other Lee County fire districts. Only the Clearwater district at 18 cents, is higher. Most are 7 or 8 cents. This may be due to the isolated nature of our district, the Northwest Pocket district.Go to the Lee County Website for more information.

Gulf Map

Map of Gulf, NC from recollections of locals.Note coal vein and vent shafts. These were both sealed off recently due to risk of injury.

Haughton-McIver House

Interesting old place with quite a distinguished history. Click link to learn more Haughton-McIver House  http://www.bellehavre.com/History.html

Security Update

Brian Greene will soon install a gate at the property entrance. Everyone will continue to have access but trespassers will hopefully be discouraged. There was recent damage to the back gate but Mike Packer repaired it quickly.

The front gate will be more difficult to damage because it is visible from Plank road. Now that satellite images are easily available, individuals looking for a route to the river can easily spot the main road. This is what happened recently when Charles Thompson, a police officer in his squad car, was seen by Mike Packer well down the main road. He told Mike that he saw the road and decided to drive down it. He was not aware of issues and did not drive down it for any other purpose.

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.