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CHOWAN
BEACH
RECREATION ASSOCIATION, INC.
CHOWAN BEACH, NORTH CAROLINA
The History
of Chowan Beach
by George Farrell and Rawl Gelinas
Preface Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10
Part Four
William
J.
Holley
was
born in Bertie County and had recently
moved to Chowan County when he bought
Bandon at auction in 1852. He moved into
Bandon Plantation the next year. Although
he belonged to a wealthy family, his
assets were tied up in property of various
sorts and it took him four years to pay
off Bandon. However, within three years
after that he was again prosperous.
The
Chowan
River was by now not only a major source
of commercial fishing but also one of the
main routes of transportation. In 1836, a
regular steamboat route had been
established between Edenton and what would
become Franklin, Virginia, where the
Norfolk Railroad crossed the river. Around
1850, the Albemarle Steam Navigation
Company, which would serve the area for
over 75 years, was formed and Holley's
Wharf was one of its stops. Among the
goods being shipped were corn, timber,
fish (from Parson Earl's herring
business?) and meat products. It is
interesting to note that although the
plantation retained the name Bandon for
its entire existence, the wharf became so
busy and so well known during William
Holley's time that it is still referred to
as Holley's Wharf.
The
goods
shipped from this wharf helped Mr Holley
become one of the wealthiest planters in
the area by 1860, with lands and personal
property valued at more than $100,000.
Bandon was flourishing. There was no
reason for Mr. Holley to make any major
changes in the running of the plantation
and so things continued much as they had
during the ownership of Charles Earl
Johnson. William Holley had three
daughters and one son by his first wife
and another daughter by his second. Oddly
enough he seems to have named two of his
daughters Elizabeth, the oldest and the
youngest. The latter was known as Pattie
and would be his heir.
Bandon
Plantation
was at the height of its glory, as was
much of the antebellum South, during the
latter years of Daniel Earl Johnson's
ownership and the early years of William
Holley's. But by 1860, the halcyon days of
the South, and of Bandon, were fast coming
to an end. The War Between the States was
about to wreak its havoc.
On To Part Five
Copyright © 2013 The Chowan
Beach Recreation Association, Inc.
Portions Copyright © 2010 George Farrell
and Rawl Gelinas