MORE Books of Local History by Eddie Ellis

---

IN THIS SMALL PLACE  is the result of a lifetime of historical research by the author. It is a series of interconnecting true stories about a small eastern North Carolina town (Havelock) and its surrounding environs (Craven County), its people and its past.

The book covers the period from the 1690s when the earliest European settlers arrived.  It explains the local Tuscarora Indian War, Civil War events, the coming of the railroad, the local production of illegal liquor, the naval stores industries, the founding of the City of Havelock and the establishment of Cherry Point, the world’s largest Marine Corps air station.  Included in the book is a never-before-published first person account of the Battle of New Bern during the Civil War by a Union  soldier.  Also included is a three-chapter biography of British Maj. Gen. Sir Henry Havelock, the city’s namesake.  In contrast to a typical local history, In This Small Place sets out to be more accessible than archetypal accounts of the past filled with dates and names.  This is accomplished through the author’s conversational, informal style and a light sprinkling of humor.

Despite the laid back approach, In This Small Place is being hailed by authoritative sources as a valuable historical resource.  Its details about the three centuries since the community’s settlement, the thoroughness of its research and the reproduction of rare artwork and photographs have drawn praise from historians, journalists and the reading public alike.

“The True Story Told for the First Time”

Here you will find never-before-revealed insights into the untold, compelling, and remarkable history of Havelock and eastern Craven County. Think nothing happened here until the coming of Cherry Point? Think again.

In this volume you will discover:

• The Havelock district was settled before the founding of New Bern.
• The massive Yankee invasion and three-year Civil War occupation of Havelock featuring a soldier’s gripping chronicle published here for the first time.
• Why the early settlers disappeared.
• Why the Havelock-Harlowe area became the notorious moonshining, bootlegging, rum-running capital of North Carolina.
• MCAS Cherry Point is not at Cherry Point.
• The bloody Indian war that caused local death and destruction.
• The inestimable impact of the railroad and the U.S. Marines.
• Important historic details about New Bern, Newport, Beaufort, Morehead City, Harlowe, Croatan, Riverdale, and more.

Readers Comments:

“I loved it. I can’t believe Havelock now has a resource like this.”

—Steve  Thompson, retired history teacher and Civil War researcher

“A loving, colorful account of Havelock’s place in history. Readers will be truly amazed…simply too interesting not to share.”

—Hunter Bretzius, Associate publisher/Executive editor, Havelock News

Original details, rare photos, illustrations and maps…

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgements

Foreword — by Skip Crayton

1. A Story to Tell
2. Why the Yankees Invaded Havelock
3. Union Fleet Foretells Change
4. Good Times, Bad Times
5. A Visit to the Old Homeplace
6. The Moon Shines on Havelock
7. Revenuers
8. Local Railroad Tales
9. Yanks vs. Rebs
10. Burning the Fort at Master’s Mill
11. Major Bryan Sells Some Land
12. Riding the “Shoofly Express”
13. A Spaniard Spends the Night
14. What Happened to the Local Indians?
15. Our Hero and Namesake
16. The Sepoy Mutiny
17. How Havelock Got Its Name
18. Send in the Marines
19. Tidbits, Morsels & Leftovers

NEW BERN HISTORY 101, now in its second edition, was first released in 2009, just before the 300th anniversary of New Bern, N.C.’s founding. The popular award-winning volume is subtitled “The Essential Facts for the Native, Newcomer or Visitor to the Colonial Capital of North Carolina.” The book includes highly-accessible true stories that run the gamut from the pre-historic Native Americans, New Bern’s founding in 1710, and the local drama and trauma during the American Revolution and the Civil War.

   *** Available locally at Tryon Palace, Mitchell Hardware & The Next Chapter Books ***

​Among many plaudits, one of North Carolina’s preeminent publications, Our State magazine, called New Bern History 101 “a definitive portrait of the city.” In addition, the North Carolina Society of Historians selected New Bern History 101 as its 2010 Book Award.

​As the only Swiss colony planted in America, New Bern’s place is unique in the nation’s story. Its key relationship with mother city Berne, or Bern, Switzerland is explained throughout the book. One chapter is devoted to stories of the ancient Bärengraben bear pits and to Berne’s affinity for the bruin that adorns its coat-of-arms; a coat-of-arms mimicked by New Bern’s own. Also explored is the convoluted rivalry of the colony’s two driving forces, Baron Christopher De Graffenried of Worb, Switzerland and British explorer John Lawson. Bitter companions. Only one survived to tell the tale.

Among the topics most often commented upon by readers are the three chapters on the 1862 Battle of New Bern, the Union invasion during the Civil War, and its aftermath; a dramatic retelling of the 1922 Great Fire of New Bern, the largest in North Carolina history; and an epic and fatal 1802 pistol duel between New Bern native and state governor Richard Dobbs Spaight with his archrival, John Stanly.

Other reader favorites includes riveting tales of the local Native Americans and their dire interaction with the original colonists; and the colonial period with the construction of magnificent Tryon Palace, and the festive visit of President George Washington. Learn here about the struggles of the early European settlers, the town’s relationship to its mother city, Berne, Switzerland, and the invention in New Bern of Pepsi-Cola. Even the pirate Blackbeard and a ghost or two make appearances.

Vintage photographs, maps and artwork, some published for the first time, are presented along with the most important hotspots and high points of New Bern’s rich 300-year history. With its informal manner and healthy dollops of humor juxtaposed against dramatic turns and phrasing, the book recounts the local impact of three wars—Indian, Revolutionary and Civil—and other crises faced by the city’s people, both black and white.

At 247-pages, the book serves up the essential historical tales of the state’s colonial capital plus mentions about Berne, Switzerland, North Carolina, the Neuse River, Havelock, Cherry Point, Beaufort, Kinston, Goldsboro, Craven and surrounding counties, information unearthed over several decades of research by the writer.

HISTORIC IMAGES OF HAVELOCK & CHERRY POINT: A Photographic Tour of the Community’s Past

The captivating community heritage of Havelock and Cherry Point is revealed through more than 170 rare photographs, illustrations and detailed captions. All the images were painstakingly collected by the local historian and author over four decades and most are seen here for the first time.

• The way of life before the coming of the U.S. Marines
• A never-before-published pioneer family portrait album
• Incredible views of old Havelock and the original Cherry Point
• Construction and early days of the Marine Corps Air Station
• The men, women and aircraft of World War II and beyond
• The founding and growth of the City of Havelock
• Portraits of war hero Major General Sir Henry Havelock
• Old homes, early businesses and moonshine stills
• Vintage boats, trains, planes, automobiles and more
• All vividly described in detail by Havelock’s historian

                 *** Available locally at the Havelock Chamber of Commerce ***