STANLY COUNTY, NC - HOFFMAN - Marshall Hotel and early Stanly County
==========================================================================
     USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing
         free information on the Internet, data may be used by
         non-commercial entities, as long as this message
         remains on all copied material. These electronic
         pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit
         or for presentation by other persons or organizations.

         Persons or organizations desiring to use this material
         for purposes other than stated above must obtain the
         written consent of the file contributor.
		
	 The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives
	 to store the file permanently for free access.

         This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb
         Archives by: Jodie Gee		jgee2@sc.rr.com
==========================================================================
From the Notebook of Lilly Carter Hoffman:
 
I have been told that Henry Marshall built the first Stanly County Jail and 
also the Marshall Hotel which stood where the Central Hotel was built later. 
The jail was Stanly County property but Henry Marshall himself was owner of 
the hotel which he later gave to his son Joseph. Both buildings were frame 
structures and I remember them quite well. The hotel was an overnight stopping 
place for those who were traveling from Wadesboro to Salisbury. I remember the 
hotel as a two story building with a large roomy porch in front and along the 
side. I recall vividly the hand bell which an old colored man would come out 
ringing as he walked to and fro on the porch, calling the guests for the 
evening meal. The jail and the hotel were built in 1840's. The hotel became a 
famous hostelry during the War between the States. Many activities took place 
there.
 
May 12, 1945  Mr.W.A. Bivens, a member of one of the early families of 
Albemarle NC  wrote for the High Point Enterprise. He first spoke of a fire 
that burned an old landmark , then known as the Central Hotel. When built in 
1849 it was the Marshall Hotel. After it passed down from the Marshalls it was 
called the Stanly Hotel and after it burned, it was rebuilt as the Central 
Hotel.
The Hotel was just about as old as the town itself, dating back to 1849....in 
1861 on an upper porch, there stood one day the belle of the town while below 
her in line to march was a company of recruits for the Confederate army. The 
company began to march, a band struck up "The Old North State" and in a clear 
soprano, the belle of the town sang the state song. Hats were thrown into the 
air and there was an attempt at the rebel yell by the young recruits."
( Note LCH: Who was the belle of the town? I can't be positive but I believe she was none other than Lou Hearne, foster daughter of Joseph and Nora Marshall.}
 
 
I copied the following from the Stanly Enterprise in 1914 . It was written by 
Jack Ross. 

Dec 25, 1914
"Fifty-nine years ago today the following families made the population of the 
town, from memory of one who was there: Eben Hearne, Davidson Hearne, 
D.A. Underwood, A.C. Freeman, Henry Marshall, Elisha Moss, Dr.W. Wooley,
J.M. McCorkel, T.B. Haskell, R.J. McBane, Daniel Moyer, David Austin, John Rhine, Richard Harris and J.M. Bivens. 
At that time there were three dry good stores, three grog or whiskey shops, 
one tailor shop, one blacksmith shop, one church Basel G. Jones pastor, and 
the post office.
On that memorable day , Henry Marshall and his wife, Sally, gace a free dinner 
to the young single men of the town. They were J.O. Ross, M.S. Parker, B.L. 
Marshall, D.A. Parker, and W.J. Ross. Two only are living of the young men at 
this date."
 

The Stanly County Jail Burns :
 
When I was about six years old, during the night the old two story frame jail 
that Henry Marshall had built burned to the ground. I did not see the fire, 
but viewed the ruins the next morning. A prisoner, Will May( colored) had set 
the jail on fire and had escaped. The other prisoners remained but the guilty 
prisoner was soon caught as snow had fallen on the ground that night and he 
was easily captured by men who followed his foot prints in the snow.
 
 
The Marshall Hotel Catches on Fire:
 
I also remember the night the hotel burned. The church bells and the 
courthouse bell began to ring during the night. The town people were awakened 
and most went to the fire. The wooden store buildings along the same side of 
the street were burning and then the hotel caught on fire. It just seemed that 
the whole town burned. There were no facilities or water with which to put it 
out except a well on Second Street.