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Wilkes December 16, 2023 Jonce Gentry’s Home on the
Highway In 1959, 90-year-old Jonce Gentry
related family stories in The Elkin Tribune about growing up and
living in eastern Wilkes County on Highway 21. What caught my attention was that he
described living on “the old Gentry homeplace that was acquired by (his)
father, Squire Gentry in 1858,” consisting of about 500 acres that he
purchased for ten cents per acre.
The
article on Jonce Gentry appeared in The Elkin Tribune on March 16,
1959 Read the full 1959 newspaper
article here. Jonce Gentry’s full name was Jonathan
Newton Gentry. He was born in 1868 to
Joseph Finley Gentry (born 1832) and Rhoda C. Thompson. His father must have been known as Squire
among his friends and family, but county records usually refer to him as
Joseph F. Gentry. Wilkes County deeds
show several instances where Joseph F. Gentry purchased land on the watershed
of Big Elkin Creek. On January 25, 1858, Joseph F. Gentry
bought 23 acres from William Kennedy for $30.
That’s $1.30 per acre, which is a bit more than the ten cents per acre
that his son Jonce remembered it being.
In 1860, he purchased another 150 acres that adjoined this property at
a cost of $650, or $4.33 per acre. A
year later he purchased an adjoining 93.75 acres for $250 ($2.67 per acre)
and 62 acres for $98 ($1.58 per acre).
In 1863, he added 24 more acres in a land grant on nearby White Oak
Creek. Together, these purchases add
up to 352.75 acres, and there were likely other purchases to make the total
closer to 500 acres. The article includes a photo of Mr.
Gentry and his friend Vern Franklin standing in front of his house. He said his father built the original house
out of logs, and that his current house was built in 1914. I wonder if this house is still there. Yes it is!
The
1959 newspaper photo and a 2023 view from Google Street View show the house
on the west side of Highway 21. So exactly where was this land? In the article, Mr. Gentry says that the path
of the state highway between Elkin and Alleghany has been adjusted several
times over the years, but the portion of the road that passes in front of his
house has never moved. I was able to
draw and map each of the tracts mentioned above to determine that the Gentry
land was located on both sides of Highway 21, north of its intersection with
Traphill Rd, and south of its intersection with Old Railroad Grade Rd.
Map
of Joseph F. Gentry’s 352 acres, acquired between 1858 and 1863. When he was growing up, Mr. Gentry
remembers when livestock “drovers” and other travelers would spend the night
at their home. With it being so
conveniently located on the main road, it was a popular stop for people to
rest before undertaking the arduous task of climbing the mountain to Roaring
Gap. He remembers people coming from
as far north as Kentucky and West Virginia, and as far south and east as Raleigh
and Wilmington. 50 Years Earlier – From Elkin to
Doughton More than 50 years before Jonce Gentry
appeared in The Elkin Tribune, his father Joseph F. Gentry was part of
a story published by the Charlotte Daily Observer as part of a
continuing series by roving reporter Red Buck. His columns were also picked up by other
newspapers including The Monroe Journal. On October 13, 1908, the Journal had
a story from Buck who wrote about leaving the big city to visit the mountains
of North Carolina. He traveled up
Highway 21 to Elkin, a place which he found to be “one of the most prosperous
towns of its size in the State”. He
was impressed by the manufacturing operation run by Alexander Chatham and his
sons, noting that their wool blanks were popular across the entire state. The reporter was accompanied on this
portion of his adventure by Richard M. Chatham, the 42-year-old son of
Alexander Chatham who started the woolen mill in Elkin. Joined by Mr. Chatham’s horse Jim and dog
Sharp, the two men left Elkin for Roaring Gap.
Richard
M. Chatham is on the right. Charlie H.
Gwyn is on the left. Both are standing
in front of the Elk Inn in 1888.
Chatham was the chauffer and guide for reporter Red Buck in 1908. Photo
from the Elkin Historical Collection and “Images of America – Elkin”, by
Jason Couch. Like so many others, just before reaching
the foot of the mountain, Chatham and the reporter Buck stopped at the home
Joseph Finley Gentry, whom he described as “an old Wilkes citizen”. Mr. Gentry was 76 years old. Also at home with Mr. Gentry was his wife, their
son Jonce (age 40), and Jonce’s wife Sarah DeJournette (age 30). Jonce was referred to as John in the
article. Buck wrote that the Gentry
home was one of the most attractive in the mountains, having been built fifty
years ago of logs. It remained for
another six years before being replaced with the 1914 house that still stands
today. Among the Banter recorded by Buck was
an exchange between the elder Mrs. Gentry and Richard Chatham. She asked him, “Rich, why don’t you get
married”? He replied, “I’m afraid to.” To that, she said, “I don’t blame
you.” He eventually overcame his fears
because seven years later Rich Chatham did get married to Mary E.
Armfield. He was 49 years old, and she
was 20. They lived in Elkin on the
east side of Gwyn Ave.
Reporter
Red Buck’s journey from Elkin to Doughton was published in the October 13,
1908 edition of The Monroe Journal.
Click for larger
image. Up the Mountain to Roaring Gap In the next chapter of his travels,
reporter Red Buck continues his story with his departure from the Gentry home
with Richard Chatham. At the foot of
the Blue Ridge Mountains, Chatham told him they were five miles from the
top. They soon met John Holcomb, “a
unique character who literally lives by the public road”. Holcomb was “an untidy looking fellow” who
had a one-room log cabin with a mud chimney.
Buck describes his home as having been excavated from the side of the
mountain on a steep slope. One of the
interesting things about John Holcomb is that he makes money by pulling
people up the mountain with his ox.
Long before the highway was paved, the road up the mountain could be challenging,
especially after it had rained, and Holcomb served a valuable role in helping
people get where they were going.
Oxen
are pulling a wagon in this undated clipping, likely from the Wilkes
Journal-Patriot. As they continued their trip up the
mountain, Chatham pointed out a section of the road known as “the Otter Slide”. Coincidently, I wrote
an article about the Otter Slide Gap back in 2021. This is a point on the Wilkes-Surry county
line along the old railroad grade. Chatham
explained to the reporter how the place got its name. “Many years ago, when game was plentiful,
the otters used to cross here going from Elkin to Mitchell River and vice
versa. The natives called the crossing
place ‘the slide.’” As Red Buck wrote, “The longer you
live, the more you learn.” Yes indeed!
The
Otter Slide Gap was along the road that led to the top of the mountain, 1.3
miles north of the Gentry home. Red Buck continued this chapter with
more delightful discoveries and observations as he and his guide approached
the top of the mountain. I won’t
repeat it all here, but I encourage you to read the full article about this
leg of his journey which appeared in the Charlotte Daily Observer
on October 9, 1908. Not unlike Dorothy
finding curious characters along the Yellow Brick Road, Red Buck wrote about
meeting a chestnut tree named Tom and a dog that hunts turtles. Finally, upon reaching Roaring Gap after
dark, he looked south from the mountain top at the towns below, dotting the
landscape like thousands of jack-o-lanterns in a dark valley.
Their
journey from the foot of the mountain to Roaring Gap was published in the
October 9, 1908, edition of the Charlotte Daily Observer. Click for larger image. These three newspaper articles – one from
1959 and two from 1908 – give us this unique and enlightening look at what life
was like long ago on a section of the state highway that runs between Elkin
and Roaring Gap. I’m sure I’ll be
thinking about Red Buck’s adventure the next time I head up the mountain.
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