About Shacktown, NC

Shacktown is located four miles east of Yadkinville, North Carolina. The community sprang up in the mid-nineteenth century at what was then a major crossroads: the east-west road along the high ridge between North Deep Creek and South Deep Creek and the north-south Iron Works Road. It was a center of rural industry and had a blacksmith, a tavern, and distilleries as well as several families in residence. Close by on North Deep Creek were a gristmill, an ironworks and a cotton mill. Later, a tobacco-basket factory and general store came to the community.

The origin of the name, Shacktown, is a story unto itself.

Benjamin G. Colvard, a local businessman, was nicknamed "Shack". Nicknames must have been the fashion in those days, because just about everybody had one. Shack ran a store (some called it a tavern) in the late 1800's, on the site of the present-day Cyrus and Alice (Steelman) Todd house. Prior to his wartime service in the 28th NC Infantry, Company F, he was listed in the federal census records as Benjamin. In the 1870 census, the first done after the war, Benjamin listed himself as "Meshack". This is a biblically-inspired, if misspelled, name.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were companions of Daniel (he of the lions' den) who were thrown into the furnace of King Nebuchadnezzar, from which they emerged, unscathed. Did Benjamin's trials during the war leave him feeling that he had been through the "fiery furnace"? We can only speculate about the reason behind his adoption of a new name.

Today, Shacktown retains much of its country charm.

At the center of the community is the Cornelius Houston Todd homeplace, circa 1910. Here "Neelie" and his wife Mollie Reavis Todd (the writer's great-grandparents) raised a dozen children, some of whose homes dot the nearby landscape. The farmstead is largely intact and has its original outbuildings, including a fine barn and a detached kitchen.

Down the road to the east are the farms of sons Virgil and Polly (Hoots) Todd and Leslie and Izella (Hutchens) Todd. Leslie and Izella's place was built by Leslie's brother, William Dossy Todd and his wife Louisa (Shermer) Todd, the writer's grandparents. Now called Billet-Doux Farm (say "billy-doo"...it's French for "love-letter"), it is the home of the Shacktown Farmers' Market, which will open in May of 2008.

Another project in the works is The Yadkin Valley Quilt Trail. The trail will originate in Shacktown, and will take the visitor past barns adorned with large, colorful quilt squares. The Yadkin Valley Quilt Trail will highlight the immutable link between our agricultural past and our region's growing heritage tourism industry.

Close by on Styers Mill Road is the Shore-Styers Mill Park. Future plans for this park include expansion (it's currently at 4.4 acres) and adding trails and other amenities. We hope to save this irreplaceable natural wonder for future visitors to enjoy.

Our mission is to promote ....

• the "small" farmer,
• natural, humanely-raised, locally-produced foods,
• proper stewardship of the unique landscape & abundant natural resources of rural Yadkin County and our region,
• the talents & skills of our area's traditional artisans and musicians, and
• the preservation of our areas's rich history in its many forms.

Shacktown is an easy drive from Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Statesville, Boone or the Wilkesboros and makes for a fine diversion on the way to, or from, the high country of North Carolina. Stop by and see us!