But, there were important and significant events taking place during this period, too; events that were to influence the growth of the county, and were to be recounted to the children of teh future. Many structures were standing then that were to be imortant in the history of the area; some still stand, and some have vanished. One such building was the Railroad Hotel. Built by the railroad company primarily for the use of its passengers, it stood just south of the present passenger station. It had about 30 rooms--without bath--with a daily rate in 1900 of two dollars. This rate included three meals, a washbowl and a towel--and a chair on the front porch. The food served in the hotel dining room was famous all along the railroad. Quail, turkey, and chicken were often on the menu, and trains stopped regularly to allow their passengers to dine there. The conductors would wire from mCleansville or from Hillsboro to tell the number of passengers to be expected, and when the trains arrived at Burlington, food would be ready. Many notable public figures lunched there, including Thomas A. EDISON and Henry FORD. But the end came for the famous and popular hotel on teh morning of May 25, 1904. A disgruntled Negro employee poured kerosene on the floor of the kitchen and dining room and set it afire; flames soon enveloped the structure. Fortunately, all the guests, including Polk MILLER, a famous entertainer of the day, escaped unharmed; but the hotel was a total loss. The Negro was captured, tried, and sent to prison, but the hotel was never rebuilt. A vigorous national temperance crusade was going on in that period, and it reached into Alamance county. Visiting lecturers spoke at temperance lodges in various county communities and the famous Carrie NATION once swung her hatchet in Graham. Followed by a crowd of onlookers, she strode purposefully down Main Street toward the saloon which stood on Court Square, and city officials waited fearfully for the sounds of shattering glass and splintering wood. Their fears were unfounded, however, for she contented herself after she arrived with making a resounding temperance speech. Heavy rains in 1875 caused a series of damaging floods throughout the county. Thirty-five feet of the rock dam at DR. WILSON's mill on Haw River was washed away, and the bridge across Big Alamance Creek was severelly damaged. The bridge across the same stream at E.M. HOLT's factory was entirely swept away by the raging waters. A county editor the following month published this notice: " The bridge at Clem C. CURTIS' was repaired last week. Good crossing there now. You people on the other side bring us something to eat, and come to see us, and bring us some wood, and subscribe for our paper." Public roads were unpaved and ill-kept during this period in teh county, as all over the state, and the situation moved one editor to write: "The condition of some (public roads) are well nigh impassable, scarcely anywhere good. Transportation for famers at some seasons is next to impossible, there is a risk of breaking vehicles and getting fast in the mud. The cost of bad road to a community cannot be estimated. The statute in regard to keeping roads (up) is a dead law; roads should be kept up by taxation. The law (for appointed road overseers, etc) always was unjust but since the war it has been especially so. One class of men cut up the roads, and another class has them to work and keep in order." Troupes of itinerant performers traveled through the county and put on their shows in warehouses and other such makeshift auditoriums as could be employed. In 1875, such an amateur troupe played "Ten nights in a Barroom" at Company Shops, drawing a large audience from teh surrounding section. One of the greatest celebrations that had ever taken place in the county occurred at the unveiling of the monument at Alamance Battleground on May 29, 1880. It began with the assembly at Court Square in Graham of a band, several marshals, and a number of county and state dignitaries. They set out for the Battleground and, as the band played, rode majestically past the thousands of spectators who line the route. The parade moved slowly, and the band serenaded the onlookers, many of whom had never before heard a martial strain. There was no bridge then at the factory at Alamance, so the procession had to ford Amanace Creek between the dam and the factory. It passed on through the community, followed by a long line of private carriages, wagons, carts, buggies, horses, and pedestrians and soon arrived at the Battleground. As everyone gathered around to look,an unidentified little girl pulled the string, and the veil slipped off the impressive monument. Then the speaches got underway. The invocation was delivered by Dr. William LONG, later founder and president of Elon College, and then the featured speaker, Daniel G. FOWLE, later governor of North Carolina, was introduced by Thomas W. HOLT also later governor of the state. ==== NCORANGE Mailing List ==== Larry Noah - lrnoah@bigfoot.com - Listowner - NCORANGE mailing list Orange Co, NC USGenWeb site is at http://www.rootsweb.com/~ncorange USGenWeb Orange Co, NC Archives site is at http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/nc/orangnc.htm