|
Johnston County, North Carolina,
(population 136,802 in 2002) has always been a
market-driven agricultural area. Located in the
Piedmont Crescent between Goldsboro and Charlotte,
Johnston County offers balmy summer evenings and a
pleasant climate. Four distinct seasons with very
little snow and enough sun year-round to enable a
three-season growing climate and golf all year.
The Civil War brought agony and high tragedy to
Johnston County. Almost all of the eligible men
in the county's population fought in the war, and a
third of them died. Most who survived had physical
disabilities, and they returned to a county that had
been sacked, plundered and devastated in the 1865
wake of the Union Army. Johnston's first townships:
Bentonsville, Beulah, Boon Hill, Clayton, Elevation,
Ingrams, Meadow, O'Neals, Pleasant Grove,
Selma,
Smithfield, and Wilders, were created in 1869 in
an atmosphere of want and deprivation. By 1913, with
the creation of
Wilson's Mills, Cleveland, Banner, Pine Level,
and Micro townships, Johnston County had ensured
survival and was staking a claim on prosperity.
History buffs will love
Atkinson’s Milling Co., (240 years old and still
operating),
Alamance Battleground,
SELMA UNION DEPOT (originally built in 1924 -
restored and operational),
Bentonville Battleground, and the
Tobacco Farm Life Museum are only a few of the
Historic Properties in this area. Visit the
Johnston County Visitors Bureau website when
planning your trip here and do not miss the
American Music Jubilee.
Golfers enjoy the local pleasures of Neuse Golf
Club, Pine Hollow Golf Club, and Riverwood Golf
Club, as well as the easy access to most of North
Carolina's championship golf courses.
Shoppers will be amazed at the variety and quality
of the Johnston County merchants. From Carolina
Premium Outlets, an 83-store outlet center, to North
Carolina’s furniture, local crafts and food
products, and Selma's world-renowned uptown antique
stores, there is something for everyone here.
Johnston County is the birthplace of Ava Gardner and
the home of the
Ava Gardner Museum. Located in Smithfield, North
Carolina, this extensive collection of artifacts
representing Ava Gardner's life and career, was
predominately assembled by one man. In 1939, while
enrolled in secretarial school in Wilson, NC, Ava
Gardner kissed Tom Banks (age 12) on the cheek -
beginning a life-long devotion on the part of Mr.
(later, Doctor) Banks. Dr. Banks, with the aid of
his wife, even bought the house where Ava lived from
age 2 to 13, for his museum.
Dr. Banks suffered a stroke at the
Ava Gardner Museum in 1989 and died within days;
Ms Garner died five months later and was buried in
Johnston County in The
Town of Smithfield. Mrs. Banks donated the
collection to the Town of Smithfield.
"Grabtown Girl" is a book about Ava Gardner's
childhood in rural "Grabtown" (Smithfield) and
Johnston County.
Johnston County Schools and the
Johnston Community College have excellent
reputations, and
Duke University, and
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY AT RALEIGH are
within easy commuting distance.
Job Opportunities abound here. Nearby
Research Triangle Park is the largest planned
research park in the United States, and corporate
giants in Johnston County, such as Bayer, Andrew,
Eaton and Caterpillar, employ over 25,000 county
residents.
Transportation is excellent with Johnston County's
excellent road system,
Johnston County Airport, and Amtrak available.
|
