Editing Stallings, North Carolina (section)

=== Stevens Mill ===
{{unreferenced section|date=August 2023}}
The history of the Stevens Mill area goes back to the establishment of a [[gristmill]] in the late 1700s. The mill was built and known as [[Blair's Mill]] for many years before it became Stevens Mill. The site of the mill also contained a handsome old [[Antebellum South|antebellum]] home of the Stevens family. The home was destroyed by fire in December 1894.

A history compiled by Houston V. Blair of Monroe, North Carolina, states: "The 'mill site' is known to have existed as early as December 1789 and was built as a grist mill by William Blair on approximately 1400 acres. When William Blair died Samuel Blair operated the mill along with his son James G. Blair until his death in 1836. The last mill at this site was constructed in 1826 on a massive stone foundation along Goose Creek, remnants of which still exist. Craftsmen who had just completed Philadelphia Presbyterian Church in Mint Hill, built Blair's Mill, as it was called then, as a four-story wooden structure. The water wheel that gave power to the mill was said to be some thirty feet in diameter. On February 3, 1849 James G. Blair sold Blair's Mill and 610 acres of land on the waters of Goose Creek to Amos Stevens. Thus, beginning in 1849 and in future generations Blair's Mill became known as Stevens Mill. The Stevens family operated the mill for almost 100 years thereafter."{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Rev. S. Hood wrote an article appearing in the ''Charlotte News'' in the early 1900s. It quoted Dr. Sam Stevens describing the four- story wooden structure as one of immense hewed logs [[Mortise and tenon|mortised]] and keyed with pins and built in 1826. The mill contained equipment for both flour and meal and was kept in good condition. Rev. Hood continued in his article to describe the mill in its earlier days: "Even in colonial days the scene, near the old stage coach line, must have been a community gathering place, or mustering ground for the local militia and perhaps was the scene of a large country store and water mill long before the present old building was erected."{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Newton Pyron, a local resident, recounts how he "attended the exhibition of John Robinson's shows on the yard of this old mill soon after the Civil War and got a free ticket 50 years later when the show came back to Charlotte." The John Robinson's shows were later acquired by, and are now known as, the [[Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus|Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus]].

The water-ground products from the mill were known throughout Union and Mecklenburg counties. Rev. Hood stated that it "was preferred and demanded by discriminating housewives in Charlotte and Monroe. For many generations farmers from miles around found their way to the Steven's water mill with their corn and wheat on men's backs, on mules, on ox carts, sleds, and later by motor vehicle."{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Although the small piece of land that contains the ruins of the mill is now part of the town of [[Mint Hill, North Carolina|Mint Hill]], most of the land that was once part of the mill property is now in the town of Stallings. Stevens Creek, which fed the mill, still runs out of Mecklenburg County under [[Interstate 485]] and through the Divide Golf Course. A major street, a neighborhood, and a shopping center have been named for the mill that once contributed greatly to the area.

Stallings has grown from a small town with only one municipal employee{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} to a town of 16,112 residents and the third largest municipality in Union County. For many years, the town continued the tradition of Mr. Stallings' picnic "long about August" by hosting a family event in the park event on the first weekend of August, but more recently the event has moved to September. Other events to bring the community together include an [[Easter egg hunt]], [[Earth Day]] celebrations, a music festival, and a [[Christmas tree]] lighting.