Dr. James Bryant Person House

This house now stands on the location of Selma’s first private school. This two and a half story frame house was built in 1906 for Dr. J.B. Person. Dr. Person (1873-1939) came to Selma in 1899 when he started his medical practice. In 1906 he became an associate of Dr. George D. Vick and remained partners with Dr. Vick until 1939, when Dr. Person died. In 1916 Dr. Person and Dr. Vick erected an office building in downtown Selma, the Person-Vick building, to house their medical offices. Also prominent in the economic and political life of Selma, Dr. Person served on the Board of Directors of the Peoples Bank and Trust Company and he was elected to the Town Council in 1927.
From Historic Architecture of Selma, NC by Thomas A. Greco

FORMAL EDUCATION BEGINS in 1869

In that same year, 1869, formal education began in Selma. A small private school was started in a shanty on the corner of what is now Massey and Anderson Streets, the present location of the James Person home. In 1871, Professor John C. Scarborough was in charge of the school, assisted by his wife. Within a short period of time several other private schools began operation. Dr. Wade Atkinson's mother, Mrs. Tom Atkinson, taught in a building where Charlie and Ellen Talton lived on the corner of S. Sumner and Noble Streets. Miss Margaret Etheredge was a pupil there at one time.
The year 1872 saw Selma developing as a real town with the chartering of the First Baptist Church (white). The 'name later was changed to the Selma Baptist Church. This first church was located on the corner of Watson and Sharp Streets. I n that same year came the chartering of the Masonic Lodge and further growth of businesses in the area; including barrooms, a government distillery located west of town, and a township clerk, Simon Godwin. Other firms and persons listed in the 1872 Directory were E. S. Moore, lawyer; W. H. Avera, S. H. Hood, and J. Rains and Brothers, general store merchants; C. H. Harriss and J. W. Vick, physicians; W. H. Avera and W. J. Barrow Co., turpentine distilleries; James H. Sasser, Primitive Baptist minister; Ray Phillips, Free Will Baptist minister; William B. Harrell, Missionary Baptist minister. The Selma Academy was also listed.
It must be noted here that when the original townships were formed, Selma Township included parts of Pine Level, Micro and Wilson's Mills. Therefore the names of merchants and farmers in these areas often are included in early township records.
From the History of Selma - Centennial Program.

1869 was a busy year.

Amedeo Preziosi - Butcher Shop in Bucharest Year: 1869
This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

1869 A BUSY YEAR
By the year 1869, Selma was a busy community, according to Benson's Directory. Listed were one church, Episcopal; one hotel owned by John W. Sharp; one lawyer; John W. Sharp. Manufacturers included the Selma Iron Works, seven turpentine distilleries in area owned by Thomas Oliver and Bro., Daniel Sellers, J. G. Rose, D. W. Adams, Allen Johnson and Son, C. P. Kenyon, and William J. Beard. Merchants listed as owners of general stores were J. S. Book and Co., S. H. Hood, A. M. Noble, and C. E. Preston. J. C. Colyer was proprietor of a grocery store. The Frost Iron Mine near Selma was said to be inexhaustible. In addition, there were two saw mills owned by Wilson and Waddell and R. H. Page. J. M. Richardson ran a tannery. Miss Carrie Hood was postmaster; no physicians were listed. Some prominent farmers were David Turner,' Daniel Sellers, J. W. Sharp, A. M. Noble, J. W. B. Watson, Perry Godwin, Joseph Richardson, and Milton Richardson.
From the History of Selma - Centennial Program.

SIPHONING BRANDY

John Mitchener also related an interesting story concerning Mitchener's Station, which he pointed out was built by the North Carolina Railroad Company out of long leaf pine lumber. I will state that the old building had a Confederate War record All plantations were assessed one tenth of everything raised on the farm for government purposes. This of course included apple brandy. Several barrels of this brandy were in the depot waiting for shipping orders, and all, to save room, were standing head on or head up as you may have it. Soldiers camping near there took in the situation, and with tubs, canteens, and buckets went under the floor and into the barrels above and drew every drop of brandy out, and it was not discovered until loading time and hands were setting the barrels in box cars for shipment. No arrests were made.'"
From the History of Selma - Centennial Program.

RAILROAD IS IMPETUS

The impetus for the settlement that became Selma came from a plan the General Assembly in 1848 worked out to build a railroad. The legislators promised that if citizens would provide a million dollars for this venture, the state would furnish two million. Then the North Carolina Railroad would be built from Charlotte to Greensboro; thence to Raleigh, connecting with the Raleigh and Gaston Road; and on to Goldsboro, connecting with the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad there. That section of track from Raleigh and Goldsboro was to open Johnston County to all of the benefits that "modern" transportation provides. The 223-mile railroad was opened to trains in 1856. Of the many towns, which sprang up along the route, one was Selma just eleven years later. For the first time farmers and tradesmen of this area had a "road" on which to ship out goods and produce and receive much needed supplies from other areas.
From the History of Selma - Centennial Program.

How Selma got it's name.

Along with Col. Sharp, new residents of the prospective town were Captain A. M. Noble and Samuel Hines Hood, early merchants. Some other families moved into the area and soon decided their community needed a name. The pioneer residents held a meeting at which Mr. Noble and Mr. Hood voted in favor of naming the place Sharpsburg. Mr. Sharp said, "I'll be damned if you do." Whereupon they said.” All right; you suggest a name." Mr. Sharp thought for a minute or two. Finally he said, "Well, I'll tell you, boys. I've got a lot of affection in my heart for my old hometown of Selma, Alabama; and if you fellows wouldn't object too strenuously, I'd like to name this-here place Selma, in honor of the place where I was born." Mr. Hood said that it was all right with him, and so did Mr. Noble, and the name of Selma was officially adopted. It also has been pointed out that Mr. Sharp disliked the name of Sharpsburg because he had fought there during the War.
Among other early residents were Capt. D. H. Graves, a Union Army officer, who came South to buy cotton and to find a better climate for his wife, and whose daughter Leone, was the first girl born in Selma; Henry Millender, the first railroad agent and the first postmaster listed by the U. S. Post Office Department; Jackson Rains, a farmer and merchant whose son, Ira Thaddous, was the first boy born in Selma in 1871. Ira Rains just died in 1959.
Streets of Selma often have been named for well-known residents. Examples are Sellers, Parker, Richard's Alley, Green, Waddell, and Webb.
From the History of Selma - Centennial Program.

Mitchener Station – where Selma was born.

When Col. John W. Sharp (or Sharpe), a Confederate veteran, came to this county in the fall of 1866 seeking consignments of naval stores and cotton for his firm in Norfolk, Virginia, he became interested in locating a town at the Station. However, investigation showed that the lands around the depot belonged to the minor heirs' of Agrippa Mitchener. Steps were taken to get an order of sale of the lots, but this took time because of the estate laws. In the meantime, Col. Sharp met Mr. Daniel Sellers who owned much of the land south of the railroad here, purchased 50 acres (some reports say 200 acres) from Sellers, and started a movement to have the depot moved to its present site. In spite of efforts by Thomas H. Atkinson, Sr., an uncle of the Mitchener heirs, to clear the Mitchener land titles for sale, Col Sharp was able to have the station moved. The original depot was moved to the place where it now stands as a part of the Southern freight depot on Railroad Street.
The newly purchased property was platted by Surveyor Charley Massey, and on May 1, 1867, a public sale of lots was held. This was a gala occasion as crowds came to the area for a barbecue, the sale, and a dance that night. Incidentally, very few lots brought as much as $100.00. Thus Selma was born on May 1, 1867-born at a barbecue, sale and dance held in the passenger-freight depot.
From the History of Selma - Centennial Program.