Editing Eden, North Carolina (section)

==History==
[[File: Danville and Western Leaksville.jpg|thumb|Leaksville (now Eden) station of Danville and Western Railroad, 1912]]

By the mid-eighteenth century, the territory of present-day Eden was within a {{convert|70000|acre|km2|adj=on}} [[Estate (land)|estate]] owned by [[William Byrd II]], a [[Plantations in the American South|planter]] of [[Virginia]] and North Carolina. He originally called his estate "The Land of Eden".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncpedia.org/land-eden|title=Land of Eden|website=ncpedia.org|access-date=October 4, 2017}}</ref>

During the last years of his life, William Byrd II dreamed of bringing large numbers of Swiss Protestants to the "Land of Eden"; he eventually acquired more than {{convert|100000|acre|km2}} in Virginia. He envisioned an industrious, self-sufficient colony that would thrive on the abundance of the frontier. Byrd's dream was not to be realized. After years of negotiations, at least one boatload of Swiss did sail for "The Land of Eden" from Europe, but it was shipwrecked in a December gale off the coast of Virginia. None of the few survivors are believed to have reached Eden. Byrd died August 26, 1744. By that time, the "Land of Eden" began to be surrounded by small farms held by a wave of poor [[Scotch-Irish American|Scotch-Irish]] immigrants, whom Byrd had compared to the "Goths and Vandals."{{Citation needed|date=January 2013}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://newsoutherngentleman.wordpress.com/2013/11/30/an-architectural-history-of-home/|title=A Tale of Three Cities: An Architectural History of Home|last=Booth|first=Jim|work=Blog: New Southern Gentleman|access-date=May 14, 2017}}</ref>

"Eden" was inherited by William Byrd III, who shared none of his father's dreams of colonization. Young Byrd married Elizabeth Hill Carter in 1748. He sought to dispose of Eden to gain cash to support his grand lifestyle. He was finally successful on November 8, 1755, when he sold {{convert|26000|acre|km2}} in North Carolina to Simon and Francis Farley, two merchant brothers from the island of [[Antigua]]. By this time, yeoman settlement in the area was increasing at a considerable pace. The Farley brothers attempted to create plantations on some of the richest acres, but more frequently, settlers squatted on the land and built homesteads. In 1762 James Parke Farley, son of Francis Farley, went to Williamsburg to attend the [[College of William and Mary]]. He married Elizabeth Hill Byrd, daughter of William Byrd III and Elizabeth Hill Carter.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Many later settlers migrating to the Dan River Area knew little of William Byrd. They were familiar with an old Indian village in the area near Town Creek and the Farley holdings. This location became the center of settlement, and the {{convert|26000|acre|km2}} came to be called the Sauratown tract. In 1775, James Parke Farley and his new bride moved from cosmopolitan [[Williamsburg, Virginia]], to Sauratown.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

In the century that Sauratown was in existence, many families settled in the "Land of Eden", and their descendants have stayed in the area, including the Brodnax, Dillard, Ruffin, Morehead, Henry, and Winston families. Many Scots also settled in the area, including the Galloway, Scales, Watt, Lenox, Campbell, and Moir families. Other notable residents of the county include General [[Lighthorse Harry Lee]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2013}}

===20th century to present===
Following previous unsuccessful referendums, on September 12, 1967, residents of Leaksville, Draper, Spray, and the unincorporated Meadows Greens Sanitary District voted to consolidate their communities, 2,252 to 1,753 with 60 percent of eligible voters participating. Of these, 784 elected to call the new city Eden, [[Garden of Eden|a term]] surveyor [[William Byrd II]] had used to describe the region in the 1700s. The consolidation took immediate effect, and Eden became the largest city in Rockingham County.<ref>{{cite news| title = Tri-Cities Vote Consolidation; New Municipality Is Named Eden| newspaper = The Danville Register| page = 1-B| date = September 13, 1967| url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115620774/tri-cities-consolidate-and-form-eden/|issue=27548}}</ref>

* In 1970, the city had considerable growth. 
* In 2000, city population grew to 15,908. 
* In 2010, the [[US Census]] population was 15,527. 
* In 2014, 39,000 thousand tons of coal ash and 27 million gallons of contaminated water [[2014 Dan River coal ash spill|spilled into the Dan River]] near Eden from a coal-fired power plant owned by [[Duke Energy]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://greensboro.com/news/state/5-years-after-dan-river-coal-ash-spill-duke-energy-close-to-finishing-state-mandated/article_de8d0fa9-43e8-5b83-85d1-b253683a0548.amp.html|title=5 years after Dan River coal ash spill, Duke Energy close to finishing state-mandated cleanup at site|last=Fernandez|first=Jennifer|date=February 1, 2019|website=greensboro.com|publisher=Greensboro News & Record|access-date=October 5, 2020}}</ref>

In the late 1990s and early 2000s the local economy suffered due to the closure of several textile mills- an expected byproduct of the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]].  Fieldcrest Cannon laid off hundreds of corporate staff in the 1990s, Pluma closed its plant in 1999, and Spray Cotton Mills closed its yarn mill in 2001, and Pillowtex folded in 2003. Some former workers moved to larger cities in search of jobs.<ref>{{cite news| last = Chapman| first = Dan| title = Battered mill town braces for onslaught| newspaper = The Charlotte Observer| pages = 1D, 4D| date = December 26, 2004| url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115693672/eden-textile-mill-closures/}}</ref> The decline of textiles left the [[Miller Brewing Company]]'s facility the town's flagship industry, but it announced its closure in 2015. The loss of the brewery and the textile mills had a knock-off effect on local retail stores, many of which closed due to the loss of customers and competition from national chains such as [[Walmart]].<ref name= martin>{{cite news| last = Martin| first = Edward| title = Eden's tough transition as MillerCoors departs| newspaper = Business North Carolina| date = October 4, 2017| url = https://businessnc.com/edens-tough-transition-as-millercoors-departs/| access-date = January 3, 2023}}</ref>

On the third weekend of September; Eden hosts the annual River Fest each year to celebrate Eden's history. The [[Boone Road Historic District]], [[Bullard-Ray House]], [[Cascade Plantation]], [[Central Leaksville Historic District]], [[Dempsey-Reynolds-Taylor House]], [[First Baptist Church (Eden, North Carolina)|First Baptist Church]], [[Dr. Franklin King House-Idlewild]], [[Leaksville Commercial Historic District]], [[Leaksville-Spray Institute]], [[Lower Sauratown Plantation]], [[Mt. Sinai Baptist Church (Eden, North Carolina)|Mt. Sinai Baptist Church]], [[Site 31RK1]], [[Spray Industrial Historic District]], [[St. Luke's Episcopal Church (Eden, North Carolina)|St. Luke's Episcopal Church]], [[Tanyard Shoal Sluice]], [[Three Ledges Shoal Sluice]], and [[Wide Mouth Shoal Sluice]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>