Traphill

Traphill is name of a rural community located in northeastern Wilkes County, North Carolina. The community is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Traphill is listed as a ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) by the U.S. Census Bureau. According to the 2000 Census, the population of Traphill was 1,936.

History

Trap Hill

Joining few other settlers on the northern edge of Wilkes County in 1775, William Blackburn settled in the present day area of Stone Mountain State Park. [1] Some estimate this site would be on the Longbottom Road side of the park. Blackburn devised an innovative rail-pen wild turkey trap. These traps and their eventual popularity are commonly recalled as the source of the town's name, although others have varied accounts. Many of the earliest settlers in the region settled on the headwaters of the roaring river.

Chang and Eng Bunker

In the 1839 Chang and Eng Bunker, the world-famous Siamese twins who were a popular attraction in Europe, Asia, and North America, settled in the Traphill community. The Twins purchased 110 acres, where they lived until 1849, when they moved to the present day Thurmond community of Surry County. They married two local sisters, Chang to Adelaide Yates and Eng to Sarah Ann Yates. Chang and Adelaide had ten children; Eng and Sarah had twelve. The Twins are rumored to have conducted each their own personal family life, living in two separate homes. The Twins only spent three and one half days in each house each week.

Traphill of the Civil War

During the American Civil War citizens of Traphill developed a reputation of union sympathizers, resulting from their political rejection of secession . Traphill resident John Quincy Adams Bryan often receives leading hundreds of men into the union Army. In August 1863, a militia of Traphill citizens organized, marched into Wilkesboro and raised a Union flag on the main pole while holding a rally. [2] Unionists were somewhat prevalent throughout western North Carolina, but Traphill's reputation invited deserters, outlaws and refugees. Traphill residents frequently helped deserters and escaped Union POWs evade Confederate troops and home guard. There are many reasons for these general unionist feelings. Perhaps the most logical, many Revolutionary War veterans settled in Traphill and their families remembered well what a United, sovereign nation meant.

20th Century into Present

Abolition of the 1920s allowed Traphill natives to turn a family tradition into a family business. The mass production and exportation of moonshine became the main source of income for many Traphill families, and until the 1980s, the town continued producing over a million gallons of white liquor each year. The town likely produced as much after this decade, only it can not be said without a doubt. When one says moonshine, they leave much open for interpretation. In the earlier 20th century, many folks used corn for alcohol production. This is likely the most common reference of original "moonshine," such as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_Brothers Osborne Brothers'] "Rocky Top", when speaking of the rocky terrain, "that's why all the folks on Rocky Top get their corn from a jar." However, it is likely a majority of Wilkes County liquor producers used sugar for the main alcohol-producing ingredient. Traphill residents made sugar and grain liquor for sale and fruit "Brandy" for personal consumption, and continue to do so. Apple and peach are the most common varieties. Federal officers and some special State forces walked the hills and hollers looking for the copper stills. Some said the officers allowed their horse to drink in each stream. If the horse refused, there must be a distillation in process upstream. This was one of many tactics, finding unsuspecting brewers. The distillers also went through extreme lengths to dodge the revenuers. Some have reported digging tunnels, and more commonly, running a still out of the kitchen sink. The ridge along the East Prong of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_River_%28North_Carolina%29 Roaring River] earned the nickname "cutthroat ridge" after consistent disputes among distillers and law enforcements. Neighbors even shed blood at times. There are regular accounts of neighboring distillers contacting law enforcement on their neighbor. Liquor production became such a common practice, competition became "cutthroat." After a Traphill resident killed the Sheriff of Wilkes County in 1936, it was said that the "law wouldn't have nuthin' to do with Traphill." Today Traphill is mostly a quiet farming community known for its mountain scenery. Stone Mountain State Park, one of North Carolina's most visited state parks, is located in Traphill; the park's presence has led to many out-of-state residents (especially from Florida) building summer homes in the area.

Reference

_{1. "Wilkes County Sketches" J. Jay Anderson, p. 39, 1976}

^{2. "The Heart of Confederate Appalachia: Western North Carolina in the Civil War" John C. Inscoe, p. 93, 2000}