Wayne County, NC - Heritage Series Reprinted with permission of the Mount Olive Tribune and cannot be reproduced without permission. Transcribed by Sloan Mason. "Our Heritage" by Claude MOORE Mt. Olive Tribune 17 August 1984 SAMPSON'S STORY TOLD IN OUTDOOR DRAMA The Sampson County Bicentennial Commission have presented for the last two weekends an excellent outdoor drama entitled "This land of Ours" written and staged by Fred BURGESS of Clinton. It will be given for the last time tonight, Saturday night and Sunday night (August 17-19) at the Royal Lane Park Amphitheater, beginning at eight o'clock. I have read this drama and have seen it, and as a historian, I highly recommend it and more especially to the people of Sampson and adjoining counties who have deep roots in this area. Fred BURGESS, now the sports writer for the Sampson Independent, has become well known as a writer of plays, an actor and a stage director. He has been the real leader and motivation force behind the little theater group in Clinton. Fred wrote the outdoor drama. "A Man Called Micajah," which is given each summer at an outdoor theater in Autryville. In "This Land of Ours," the author takes real characters out of history who lived in Duplin-Sampson area in 1784, and romanticizes in order to make an interesting story. There are two acts and thirteen scenes. The first scene is at Hollingsworth Tavern which in history was located about 2 1/2 miles northeast of Turkey on the New Bern stage road. This was the gathering place for men who had business at the Old Duplin Courthouse nearby. Two scenes are at Kenan Manor in the same neighborhood, the home of General James KENAN. James KENAN and his wife, Sarah LOVE are leading figures in the drama. Sampson Hall is the setting for three scenes. This was the home of Col. John SAMPSON for whom the county was named and was located on the outskirts of the present town of Clinton. William WARREN plays the role of John SAMPSON, the leading character. There are twenty-seven other characters. One scene is at the home of Richard CLINTON (nephew of Col. SAMPSON) located on Sampson Street in Clinton where the Methodist Church now stands. One scene is on Bull Tail Creek, in the southern part of the county. Wells Chapel Baptist Church, organized in 1756 was located nearby and was originally called Bull Tail Church. Another scene is at the home of Silas MYHAND on Coharie Swamp. The first county court was held here in 1784. The place was already well known because of skirmishes between the Tories and the Patriots took place there during the Revolution. Tim MORRISEY, the artist at Sampson Technical College, plays the role of Governor Alexander MARTIN. There is not a dull moment during the drama. There is music and dancing. The solo voices are James HAMILTON, Barbara TAYLOR, and Jan BAREFOOT. There is special entertainment prior to each performance and the amphitheater has been sprayed for insects. ============================================================== 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. The 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, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Sloan Mason ==============================================================