Lake Norman Real Estate: A community is lost forever

Mayhewtown Home in Lake Norman

I knew it was coming but I still felt a pang of sadness when I saw the bright red number spray-painted on this quaint and historic landmark. As I read in the Charlotte Observer months ago: “The last home remaining from the long-ago community of Mayhewtown is about to be leveled for the widening of Brawley School Road In Lake Norman.” The bright red number is the last thing this house will see before the tractors mow it down.

I wrote a while back about a wonderful old store that had just been torn down as well. But, this isn’t just a builiding. This home represents the decendents of all of the Mayhew family who settled in our area in the late 1700’s. Over 200 years ago the small town of Mayhewtown had about 40 farming families who raised cotton, soybeans, oats and corn. Most of Mayhewtown and their farmland is now under Lake Norman. This house and a small historic marker erected by the Mayew family in 1970 are all that remain to remind us of a town that once had more people than Mooresville.

John Love William Mayhew, the original settler, was a veteran of The Continental Army and moved here from Prince George’s County, MD where he became a preacher. He founded Mayhewtown in 1793. It is likely that he chose this spot along the Catawba River because of the river itself and the fact that it looked down on the “bottomland” that could be farmed.

One of the true ironies is that folks used to bartered things like muscadine and “scuppernong" at the local store who would then turn around and sell them in Charlotte….the present day Brawley School Rd ran all the way to Charlotte back then! Hundreds of years later we are widening this very street in order to enable the thousands of residents who live down Brawley School Rd. to get to….Charlotte. Ahhhh, don’t you love progress!

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http://www.bestrealestatelakenorman.com/0037D9

Posted on June 02, 2008 15:36:33 by Diane Aurit

Comment from: Lake Norman [Visitor]

· http://www.lknsocial.com

Nice write up. I wasn't aware of Mayhewtown prior to this. It's pretty interesting that artifacts still remain from that time period at the bottom of the Lake.

Permalink June 04, 2008 14:09:47

Comment from: Victoria Mayhew Lancaster [Visitor]

I am a descendent of James Constantine Mayhew the brother of John Love Mayhew. Now that I have hit the grand old age of 50 (which my grandfather indicated is the golden year that I might know something, hah, the jokes on him, I still don't know anything!) Anyway, I digress....I am so grateful that you had the compulsion to photograph this grand old house. I am researching my family history for my grandchildren although at this point I don't think they really care, I hope that some day they do. John Love Mayhew accompanied James Cook when the Hawaiian Islands were "discovered". And since I live in Hawaii that is especially meaningful to me. So, mahalo again for this piece of my family history.

Permalink August 17, 2008 21:31:09

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