Editing Caswell County, North Carolina (section)

===Industrialization and growth===
====Early 19th century to World War II====
In the early 1800s, Caswell County's wealthy landowners were moving away from [[agricultural diversification|diversified farming]] and accelerating toward tobacco as a single cash crop. This agricultural conversion considerably affected the growth of the enslaved population, which rose 54 percent from 1800 to 1810.<ref name="auto6"/>

In 1810, the village of Caswell Court House (later [[Yanceyville]]) had one store and a [[hattery]], two [[taverns]], and approximately fifteen homes. Not long thereafter, silversmiths, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, coachmakers, and other tradesmen began opening businesses. Attorneys, doctors, preachers, and politicians were also drawn to the growing village and county seat.<ref name="sketch">{{cite web| title=Historical Sketch| url=https://ncccha.org/memoranda/yanceyville.html|access-date=May 11, 2022}}</ref>

Around 1830, the "Boom Era" began and continued until the [[American Civil War]]. During this period, the county experienced significant growth, characterized by the growth of flour and lumber mills. One of the era’s most notable achievements was the renowned furniture craftsmanship of [[Thomas Day (cabinetmaker)|Thomas Day]], a free Black businessman in [[Milton, North Carolina|Milton]], whose creations are now celebrated as a major contribution to American decorative arts.<ref>{{cite web| title=Thomas Day, Black Craftsman| url=https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/thomas-day-black-craftsman|access-date=May 12, 2025}}</ref>

Additionally, this period saw the development of a cotton factory, a foundry, and a silk company. In Yanceyville, roads were improved and formally named by 1841. By 1852, the town had grown prosperous enough to charter the Bank of Yanceyville, which boasted one of the highest market capitalizations in the state.<ref name="sketch"/>

[[File:Recto Bank of Yanceyville (North Carolina) 20 dollars 1856 urn-3 HBS.Baker.AC 1141665.jpeg|thumb|Bank of Yanceyville 20-dollar banknote from 1856]]

In 1839, on Abisha Slade's farm in [[Purley, North Carolina|Purley]], an enslaved man named Stephen discovered the [[Types of tobacco|bright leaf tobacco]] [[flue-cured tobacco|flue-curing]] process.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bright Leaf Tobacco|url=https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/bright-leaf-tobacco|publisher=NCpedia.org|access-date=July 8, 2021}}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{cite web| title=History of Caswell County| url=https://ncccha.org/memoranda/caswellcounty.html| publisher=NCCCHA.org|access-date=August 3, 2021}}</ref> 
Slade perfected the curing method in 1856. The following year, his farm harvested {{convert|20000|lb|kg}} of bright leaf tobacco on 100 acres of land, and the crop was sold at an exorbitant price in [[Lynchburg, Virginia]]. Slade taught the flue-curing technique to many farmers in the area and elsewhere. Bright leaf tobacco became popular with smokers and North Carolina growers gained a dominant position in the tobacco industry as a result.<ref>{{cite web| title=Slade, Abisha| url=https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/slade-abisha|access-date=August 18, 2021}}</ref>

The skyrocketing tobacco economy enriched many local residents. The lifestyle of many yeoman farmers shifted to that of planters.<ref name="auto6"/> Many of the newly wealthy built [[Greek Revival architecture|Greek Revival-style]] homes and sent their children to private academies.<ref name="auto3"/><ref>{{cite web| title=Architecture|url=https://ncccha.org/memoranda/architecture.html |access-date=March 30, 2025}}</ref> However, the majority of Caswell County's inhabitants did not benefit. By 1850, enslaved African Americans accounted for 52 percent of the county's population.<ref>{{cite web| title=Historical Perspectives of Caswell County|url=https://ncccha.org/memoranda/mcphersonmemo.html|access-date=August 10, 2021}}</ref>

By 1856, tobacco overshadowed all other forms of enterprise in Caswell County. Tobacco warehouses and manufacturing & processing plants dotted the skyline, with the largest centers located in Yanceyville and Milton.<ref name="auto6"/> The growth of the industry and increase in raw tobacco production created an expanding need for labor. The number of enslaved people grew to 9,355 in 1860, from a total of 4,299 in 1810 and 2,788 in 1800.<ref name="auto6"/> 
 
There were 26 free Black inhabitants residing in Caswell County in 1800, 90 in 1810, and 282 in 1860. The [[White Americans|white]] population declined from a peak of 8,399 in 1850 to 6,578 in 1860. This was due to the western migration of small-scale farmers who were unable to compete with the larger tobacco planters.<ref name="auto6"/>

In 1858, at the tail end of the opulent Boom Era, construction began on [[Caswell County Courthouse]]. Built using enslaved labor, it was completed in 1861 during the onset of the Civil War.<ref>{{cite web| title=Yanceyville in "Life" Magazine: 1941|date=April 26, 2022 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/ncccha/albums/72157600235212771|access-date=April 28, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title=Percival, William (fl. 1850s)|url=https://ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu/people/P000124|access-date=April 28, 2022}}</ref>

After the war, the county continued its economic dependence on tobacco and was averse to agricultural diversification. The [[Second Industrial Revolution]] in varying degrees passed it by. Other than a few tobacco mills, there was an absence of industry and no railroad.<ref name="auto3"/> The population significantly diminished until 1910 when it began to increase.<ref name="cen"/> By then, Yanceyville and [[Semora, North Carolina|Semora]] had phone service.<ref>{{cite journal| title=A Telephone Map of the United States Shows Where You Could Call Using Ma Bell in 1910| journal=Slate| date=March 16, 2015| url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/03/history-of-the-american-telephone-system-map-of-bell-coverage-in-1910.html|access-date=August 3, 2021| last1=Onion| first1=Rebecca}}</ref>

The county's population kept growing through the 1920s. To provide better public facilities, the [[Caswell County Schools|Caswell County Board of Education]] initiated school improvement projects.<ref>{{cite web| title=National Register of Historic Places: Caswell County Training School| url=https://files.nc.gov/ncdcr/nr/CS0081.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508160528/https://files.nc.gov/ncdcr/nr/CS0081.pdf |archive-date=May 8, 2019 |url-status=live|access-date=August 3, 2021}}</ref> During this time in 1926, [[Caswell Messenger|''The Caswell Messenger'']] began publication.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Messenger |first=The Caswell |title=caswellmessenger.com {{!}} Serving Caswell County since 1926 |url=https://www.caswellmessenger.com/ |access-date=November 11, 2022 |website=The Caswell Messenger |language=en}}</ref> However, during the [[Great Depression]], many farmers and local businesses struggled with economic hardship, falling crop prices, and limited access to credit.

In 1937, the Yanceyville [[Rotary International|Rotary Club]] was founded and its members successfully pioneered economic and community development projects.<ref name="auto10"/> [[FDR|Roosevelt's]] [[New Deal]] programs during the Depression years, improved farming techniques starting in the 1940s, and the economic impact of [[World War II]]  also contributed significantly to revitalizing the area.<ref name="sketch"/><ref name="auto3"/>

====Post–World War II to early 21st century====
After World War II, as Caswell County and the broader United States returned to civilian life, it became evident that new efforts were needed to overcome longstanding economic barriers. County leaders in the 1950s and 1960s recognized that economic advancement depended on developing sufficient water resources for industrial expansion, improving infrastructure such as roads, providing new and diverse county-wide services, increasing cultural resources, and operating local government in a more business-like manner.{{sfn|Powell|1977}} The history of Caswell County in the second half of the 20th century is marked by significant progress in these areas, though critical needs persisted. Moreover, the county's heritage from the earlier Boom Era of bright leaf tobacco and Greek Revival architecture served as both an opportunity and a challenge.{{sfn|Powell|1977}}

By 1950, Caswell County reached a peak of 20,870 inhabitants, which was not surpassed until the [[2000 United States census|2000 census]].<ref>{{cite web| title=United States Census Bureau| url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.1950.html|access-date=August 7, 2021}}</ref> The economic upswing of the 1950s saw new businesses entering the area. This included the opening of a meatpacking operation in 1956 in the county's southwest corner. Between the mid-1950s and mid-1980s, the county also attracted textile mills to Yanceyville.<ref>{{cite web| title=Caswell County Textile Industry| url=https://ncccha.org/pdf/textilemills/caswellcountytextilemillhistory.pdf|access-date=December 26, 2022}}</ref> Such growth enabled the local government to broaden its tax base and see increases in [[public revenue]].<ref name="auto3"/>

As the county entered the 21st century, it faced the aftermath of [[Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement|a crisis in the tobacco industry]], the urgent need for economic development in light of the [[Information Age]], and a national trend toward [[heritage tourism]] as a means of economic growth.<ref name="Yanceyville"/> Caswell County's economy continued to develop, diversify, and shift its growth away from tobacco production. Business and entrepreneurial activity increased due to the area's location, commercial properties, land primed for development, relatively low property tax rate, and other factors.<ref name="Yanceyville">{{cite web| title=History of Yanceyville| url=https://yanceyvillenc.gov/living-in-yanceyville/|access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref><ref name="auto4">{{Cite web|url=https://allincaswellnc.com/business-and-entrepreneurship|title=Business & Entrepreneurship|publisher=AllinCaswellNC.com|access-date=July 13, 2021}}</ref>