Editing Yanceyville, North Carolina (section)

==History==
{{Further|Caswell County, North Carolina#History}}

When [[Person County, North Carolina|Person County]] was created out of Caswell County in 1791, the original county seat, [[Leasburg, North Carolina|Leasburg]], was close to the eastern newly formed boundary line dividing the two. Commissioners were named in the county formation act to create a new county seat and courthouse near the geographical center of present Caswell County. Hence, the village of Caswell Court House (later Yanceyville) was founded.<ref name=Corbitt>David L. Corbitt, The Formation of North Carolina Counties 1663-1963 (Raleigh: State Department of Archives and History, 1950), p. 195</ref><ref name=first />

In 1833, Caswell Court House's name changed to Yanceyville when it was chartered as an incorporated town. Years later this initial charter was seemingly forgotten because a municipal charter was obtained from the [[North Carolina General Assembly|General Assembly]] again in 1877. In 1885, the state legislature passed a similar act, but why it was necessary is unknown. In 1899, the act authorizing the town's incorporation was repealed. In 1905, Yanceyville was incorporated again, only to have the charter repealed once more in 1915. The town remained an [[unincorporated community]] until a successful attempt at reorganization and incorporation occurred in 1986.<ref name="sketch"/>

The identity of Yanceyville's namesake has been a subject of historical debate. While the prevailing view attributes the name to U.S. Congressman Bartlett Yancey, Jr. (1785–1828), some evidence suggests it may honor his older brother, James Yancey (1768–1829), a legislator, merchant, planter, and educator.<ref name="history">{{cite web |title=History of Yanceyville |url=https://yanceyvillenc.gov/living-in-yanceyville/ |access-date=May 7, 2022 |website=yanceyvillenc.gov}}</ref> In 1977, historian [[William S. Powell]] reviewed the evidence and concluded that Bartlett Yancey, Jr. is the most likely namesake of the town.<ref name=first>{{cite web |title=Caswell County: The First Century, 1777–1877 |url=http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/sartin_ruby_1972.pdf |access-date=August 2, 2021 |website=libres.uncg.edu/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Yancey, James |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/yancey-james |access-date=August 2, 2021 |website=NCpedia}}</ref><ref name="sketch"/>

[[Caswell County Courthouse|Caswell County's historic courthouse]] is a prominent landmark and center of activity in Yanceyville. Its design combines [[Romanesque architecture|Italian Romanesque]] and [[Classical architecture|classical features]] in a manner unique to North Carolina courthouse architecture.<ref>{{cite web |title=Historic Sites |url=https://www.caswellcountync.gov/visitors |access-date=May 26, 2022 |website=www.caswellcountync.gov}}</ref> Located in [[Yanceyville Historic District|the town's historic district]] in Court Square, it has been restored and provides offices for county departments.

[[File:West side of Courthouse Square, Yanceyville (1940).jpg|thumb|Northwest corner of Court Square, 1940<ref>{{cite web|title=W. H. Hooper & Son|url=https://ncccha.blogspot.com/2012/02/w.html|access-date=February 2, 2022}}</ref>|alt=Houses and the county courthouse on Court Square in 1940]]

A new county courthouse was constructed in the mid-1970s and is located a few blocks north of Court Square.<ref>{{cite web |title=Caswell County |url=http://www.courthouses.co/us-states/n/north-carolina/caswell-county/|access-date=June 8, 2022}}</ref> Construction of the historic courthouse it replaced began in 1858, during the tail end of the area's prosperous "Boom Era," a period largely driven by [[tobacco]] cultivation and trade. Built with [[Slavery in the United States|enslaved labor]], the historic courthouse was completed in 1861, amid the early stages of the [[American Civil War]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Yanceyville in "Life" Magazine: 1941 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/ncccha/albums/72157600235212771 |access-date=April 28, 2022 |website=www.flickr.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Percival, William (fl. 1850s) |url=https://ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu/people/P000124 |access-date=April 28, 2022 |website=ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu}}</ref>

If Yanceyville had not been the county seat, it likely would have been abandoned as a [[ghost town]] after the war's end in 1865. [[Antebellum South|The previous plantation way of life]] had disappeared. Small farmers grew poorer, abandoned land eroded, and the region faced lower living standards and insufficient funds for public services. No clear geographic or commercial reason for the town's existence remained other than the purpose of functioning as the county's [[seat of government]].<ref name="sketch"/>{{sfn|Powell|1977}}

With no railroad, major waterway, or means to attract commerce, Yanceyville relied heavily on agriculture after the Civil War, focusing mainly on local tobacco farming tied to markets outside Caswell County. Land overuse had caused much soil erosion, leaving many farms with visible [[gullies]]. From 1880 to 1900, the economic hardships led to a significant population decline, and these challenges continued into the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web |title=Statistics for North Carolina: 13th Census, 1910 |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1910/abstract/supplement-nc.pdf |access-date=June 16, 2022 |website=www.census.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=United States Census Office: 11th Census, 1890 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q_RYAAAAYAAJ&q=yanceyville+township+population+1880&pg=PA255 |access-date=June 30, 2022 |website=Google books| year=1895 }}</ref><ref name="sketch"/>

Starting in the 1940s, the adoption of improved farming techniques helped stabilize agricultural productivity and reduce [[land degradation]] in Yanceyville. These advancements played a significant role in revitalizing the town’s economy.<ref name="sketch">{{cite web |title=Yanceyville: Historical Sketch |url=https://ncccha.org/memoranda/yanceyville.html |access-date=May 11, 2022 |website=Caswell County History|publisher=Caswell County Historical Association}}</ref> During the latter half of the 20th century and into the 21st, the local economy continued to develop, diversify, and expand beyond its historical reliance on tobacco cultivation.<ref name="history"/>