In This Small Place: Amazing Tales of the First 300 Years of Havelock and Craven County North Carolina - Softcover

Ellis Jr, Edward Barnes

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0975870017 ISBN 13: 9780975870013

Publisher: McBryde Publishing, 2005

Synopsis

In This Small Place is the culmination of a lifetime of historical research by the author. It is a series of interconnecting true stories about a small eastern North Carolina town (Havelock) and its surrounding environs (Craven County), its people and its past.

The book covers the period from the 1690s when the earliest European settlers arrived. It explains the local Tuscarora Indian War, Civil War events, the coming of the railroad, the local production of illegal liquor, the naval stores industries, the founding of the City of Havelock and the establishment of Cherry Point, the world's largest Marine Corps air station.

Included in the book is a never-before-published first person account of the Battle of New Bern during the Civil War by a Union soldier. Also included is a three-chapter biography of British Maj. Gen. Sir Henry Havelock, the city's namesake.

In contrast to a typical local history, In This Small Place sets out to be more accessible than archetypal accounts of the past filled with dates and names. This is accomplished through the author's conversational, informal style and a light sprinkling of humor.

Despite the laid back approach, In This Small Place is being hailed by authoritative sources as a valuable historical resource. Its details about the three centuries since the community's settlement, the thoroughness of its research and the reproduction of rare artwork and photographs have drawn praise from historians, journalists and the reading public alike.

About this title

About the Author

Eddie Ellis is a journalist, entrepreneur, and life-long student of the area's heritage. With In This Small Place: Amazing Tales of the First 300 Years of Havelock and Craven County, North Carolina, Ellis proved himself to be a gifted storyteller. His new book, New Bern History 101, a compelling portrait of the city of his birth, is destined to become a classic of local history.

Review

In this book, Eddie Ellis has given me a gift ~ the gift of depth as I drive these roads and walk the woods of this place. He has brought to my imagination the images of Craven County long ago. Having read Ellis' work, one can no longer run the paths aboard Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, no longer drive through the front gate or down Highway 101, without imagining the people who were here before us. The imagined ghosts of this place now entertain me as I sit on the porch and enjoy this beautiful place. Their stories are here all around us, and I never would have known it had it not been for this wonderful book. Ellis' history of Havelock called "In This Small Place" is comfortable and conversational. One feels as though one is sitting in a firelit room with Eddie telling a tale, the wonderful tale of the many folks who once peopled this small place. --Anonymous

About this edition

• Publisher: McBryde Publishing
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0975870017
• ISBN 13: 9780975870013
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 168