Black Ankle, North Carolina
Encyclopedia
Black Ankle is an unincorporated community in the northeastern part of Montgomery County
, North Carolina
, United States
.
, 8 miles (12.9 km) northwest of Star
, 7 miles (11.3 km) north of Okeewemee
, {[convert|4|mi}} southwest of Seagrove
, 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Ether
, and 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Steeds
.
Black Ankle is just 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Interstate 73
/ Interstate 74
/ U.S. Hwy 220
, off exit 42 (Black Ankle Road Exit), 3 miles west of U.S. 220 (Alt), and 3 miles east of NC Hwy 134.
The community is just 0.5 miles (804.7 m) south of the Randolph County
line. It lies 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Moore County
, 8 miles (12.9 km) east of Davidson County
, 13 miles (20.9 km) east of Stanly County
, and 15 miles (24.1 km) north of Richmond County
.
The coordinates of Black Ankle are 35°30′07"N 79°48′26"W (35.50208 north latitude and -79.80726 west longitude). Black Ankle is 682 feet (207.9 m) above sea level.
The origin of the name Black Ankle is from the late 1920s or early 1930s when gold was discovered in 1928 near Franklin Mountain. Many people came to the area to try to make their fortune in the mine or to be laborers and make a decent living. About once a week, in the evenings after the working day was over, the miners would all climb on the back of a truck or trailer and ride to Star, Ether or Steeds to restock on supplies they may need to get them through another week. In the area where the Franklin Mountain (Blackankle Gold Mine) is located, the soil is very dark, rich and fertile. These miners almost always were shoeless when they went into town and the black dirt from the area, mixed with a little water, made their feet discolored and dark. Everywhere the miners went, people would see the feet of the visitors and say "Here comes the blackanklers." It was soon after the discovery of gold that Black Ankle, from the miners with dirty feet, got its name.
. Edward Hedrick ("Uncle Ed"), the owner until 1935, reported a total production of $15,000 or about 750 ounces. The workings comprise a pit 225 feet (68.6 m) long, 120 feet (36.6 m) wide and 50 feet (15.2 m) deep, a shaft 112 feet (34.1 m) deep in the pit and a shallow shaft sunk in the bottom of the pit. The ore
body as a whole is of low grade, though its gold content is not actually known. Treatment of the material by washing, amalgamation, cyanidation
, and other methods has recovered on the average only a few cents to the ton. Considerable gold is to be said to have been lost owing to its extremely fine subdivision and slime produced by a clay
like saprolite
substance. The Blackankle Mine operated intermittently until a few years ago.
, including a haunted hayride
and haunted house
, attracted people from all over North Carolina. In the spring many "pickers" (mostly bluegrass string musicians
) would spend Friday and Saturday nights at the Blackankle Fort honing their skills and sounds.
is the closest place to worship, and a large congregation attends on most services.
bogs. The bog is 284 acres (1.1 km²) total and is owned by The Nature Conservancy
. The tract of land was purchased in 1991 from the Dassow Property Corporation. Over the next 20 - 25 years, the North Carolina Chapter will continue to restore the preserve to its historic condition by setting prescribed burns and replanting longleaf pine
tree seedling
s grown from local seed sources. The North Carolina Zoo
, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the NC Division of Forest Restoration are actively involved in supporting the Blackankle Bog Preserve and the Nature Conservancy in this restoration effort.
A patch of climbing fern, a large stand of sweetleaf
, and the rare large witch-alder
grow on the preserve. Birds such as wild turkey
s, hairy
and pileated woodpecker
s, and broad-winged hawk
s, which are commonly found on large tracts of unbroken woodlands, also inhabit the bog. Toward the streamheads, the vegetation shifts from plant communities that require dry conditions, such as longleaf pines and chestnut oak
s woodlands common to the nearby Uwharrie Mountains
, to the treeless areas of the bog community. Blackjack
and post oak
s, and dense huckleberry
and blueberry
shrubs surround mats and sphagnum moss and patches of habenaria
orchids, milkworts, sedges, cinnamon fern
s, and trumpet and purple pitcher plants
. Downhill from the bog the habitat blends into a dense thicket dominated by alder
, sweet bay, sweet pepper brush, Virginia sweet-spire, and the endangered bog spicebrush grows in these areas. It contains scattered longleaf pines, reminders of the trees that were once prevalent in this area on the border between the Coastal Plain
and the Piedmont.
of the East". The track, owned by the legendary M.H. Shoafe, draws a consistent crowd of motorcrossers and ATV drivers from North Carolina
and other southeastern states
to its Saturday-night race calendar. The track is 0.25 mile (0.402335 km) long and is filled with numerous tabletop jumps, the longest being over 40 feet (12.2 m) and spectacular hairpin turn
s. The surface of the track is of packed clay.
Black Ankle is an unincorporated community in the northeastern part of Montgomery County
Montgomery County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 26,822 people, 9,848 households, and 7,189 families residing in the county. The population density was 55 people per square mile . There were 14,145 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Location
The community of Black Ankle is located at the junction of NC State Road 1349 (Ether Road) and NC State Road 1354 (Blackankle Road). It lies approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) north of TroyTroy, North Carolina
Troy is a town in Montgomery County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,430 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Montgomery County. The short story by Charles W...
, 8 miles (12.9 km) northwest of Star
Star, North Carolina
Star is a town in Montgomery County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 807 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Star is known as the geographic center of North Carolina as measured via satellite, according to the Army Corps of Engineers...
, 7 miles (11.3 km) north of Okeewemee
Okeewemee, North Carolina
Okeewemee is an unincorporated community that is located in Montgomery County, North Carolina, United States.-Location:Okeewemee lies between the Town of Star and the Town of Troy, at the junction of State Road 1340 and State Road 1323 in Montgomery County, North Carolina, United States...
, {[convert|4|mi}} southwest of Seagrove
Seagrove, North Carolina
Seagrove is a town in Randolph County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 246 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from a railroad official...
, 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Ether
Ether, North Carolina
Ether is an unincorporated community in the northeastern part of Montgomery County, North Carolina, United States.-Location:Ether lies approximately three miles north of the Town of Star and approximately two miles south of the Community of Steeds. The Community of Blackankle is four miles...
, and 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Steeds
Steeds, North Carolina
Steeds is an unincorporated community located in the north eastern part of Montgomery County, North Carolina, United States.-Location:Steeds is located on US 220 two miles north of the Community of Ether...
.
Black Ankle is just 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Interstate 73
Interstate 73
Interstate 73 is a main route of the Interstate Highway System, currently located entirely within the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is part of a longer planned corridor, defined by various Federal laws to run from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to Grayling, Michigan, but only the part south of...
/ Interstate 74
Interstate 74
Interstate 74 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an intersection with Interstate 80 in Davenport, Iowa; the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an intersection with Interstate 75 in Cincinnati, Ohio...
/ U.S. Hwy 220
U.S. Route 220
U.S. Route 220 is a long U.S. Route in the eastern United States.US 220 is a spur route of U.S. Route 20 but at present, the two routes do not intersect nor do they connect via other spurs of US 20. The former U. S. Route 120, which was signed in Pennsylvania between 1926 and 1967, intersected...
, off exit 42 (Black Ankle Road Exit), 3 miles west of U.S. 220 (Alt), and 3 miles east of NC Hwy 134.
The community is just 0.5 miles (804.7 m) south of the Randolph County
Randolph County, North Carolina
-Notable people:*Naomi Wise, murder victim*Richard Petty - Nascar driver.*Lee Petty - Nascar pioneer. Richard Petty's father.*Kyle Petty - Nascar driver. Son of Richard Petty*Adam Petty - Nascar driver. Kyle Petty's son...
line. It lies 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Moore County
Moore County, North Carolina
Moore County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2000, the population was 74,769. Its county seat is Carthage.- History :The county was formed in 1784 from Cumberland County...
, 8 miles (12.9 km) east of Davidson County
Davidson County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 149,331 people, 58,156 households, and 42,512 families residing in the county. The population density was 267 people per square mile . There were 62,432 housing units at an average density of 113 per square mile...
, 13 miles (20.9 km) east of Stanly County
Stanly County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 60,585 people. In 2000 there were 22,223 households, and 16,156 families residing in the county. The population density was 147 people per square mile . There were 24,582 housing units at an average density of 62 per square mile...
, and 15 miles (24.1 km) north of Richmond County
Richmond County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 46,564 people, 17,873 households, and 12,582 families residing in the county. The population density was 98 people per square mile . There were 19,886 housing units at an average density of 42 per square mile...
.
The coordinates of Black Ankle are 35°30′07"N 79°48′26"W (35.50208 north latitude and -79.80726 west longitude). Black Ankle is 682 feet (207.9 m) above sea level.
History
There are many different "tales" of how Black Ankle actually got its name.The origin of the name Black Ankle is from the late 1920s or early 1930s when gold was discovered in 1928 near Franklin Mountain. Many people came to the area to try to make their fortune in the mine or to be laborers and make a decent living. About once a week, in the evenings after the working day was over, the miners would all climb on the back of a truck or trailer and ride to Star, Ether or Steeds to restock on supplies they may need to get them through another week. In the area where the Franklin Mountain (Blackankle Gold Mine) is located, the soil is very dark, rich and fertile. These miners almost always were shoeless when they went into town and the black dirt from the area, mixed with a little water, made their feet discolored and dark. Everywhere the miners went, people would see the feet of the visitors and say "Here comes the blackanklers." It was soon after the discovery of gold that Black Ankle, from the miners with dirty feet, got its name.
Gold
The Blackankle Mine was not discovered until 1928 when a man named Bud Latham discovered goldGold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
. Edward Hedrick ("Uncle Ed"), the owner until 1935, reported a total production of $15,000 or about 750 ounces. The workings comprise a pit 225 feet (68.6 m) long, 120 feet (36.6 m) wide and 50 feet (15.2 m) deep, a shaft 112 feet (34.1 m) deep in the pit and a shallow shaft sunk in the bottom of the pit. The ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
body as a whole is of low grade, though its gold content is not actually known. Treatment of the material by washing, amalgamation, cyanidation
Cyanide
A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....
, and other methods has recovered on the average only a few cents to the ton. Considerable gold is to be said to have been lost owing to its extremely fine subdivision and slime produced by a clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
like saprolite
Saprolite
Saprolite is a chemically weathered rock. Saprolites form in the lower zones of soil profiles and represent deep weathering of the bedrock surface. In most outcrops its color comes from ferric compounds...
substance. The Blackankle Mine operated intermittently until a few years ago.
Blackankle Fort
The Blackankle Fort, originated and built by Lester Singleton, was once known throughout the state of North Carolina as a conglomerate of the unusual. The Fort was built as a museum and a "funhouse" for people and their families to visit. The special events at HalloweenHalloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
, including a haunted hayride
Hayride
A hayride, also known as a hayrack ride, is a pleasure ride in an open truck, wagon or sleigh which has been decorated with hay or straw and similar farmlife paraphernalia...
and haunted house
Haunted house
A haunted house is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property...
, attracted people from all over North Carolina. In the spring many "pickers" (mostly bluegrass string musicians
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
) would spend Friday and Saturday nights at the Blackankle Fort honing their skills and sounds.
Black Ankle today
Black Ankle is a very close-knit area, with many of its residents belonging to the same families. Family and friends of the Black Ankle area enjoys numerous social events during the year, in which a large number will gather. The Big Oak Church of GodChurch of God
Church of God is a name used by numerous, mostly unrelated Christian denominational bodies, most of which descend from either Pentecostal/Holiness or Adventist traditions.-Pentecostal Movement:*Church of God...
is the closest place to worship, and a large congregation attends on most services.
Blackankle Bog Preserve
The Blackankle Bog Preserve is one of the few remaining PiedmontPiedmont (United States)
The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division...
bogs. The bog is 284 acres (1.1 km²) total and is owned by The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
. The tract of land was purchased in 1991 from the Dassow Property Corporation. Over the next 20 - 25 years, the North Carolina Chapter will continue to restore the preserve to its historic condition by setting prescribed burns and replanting longleaf pine
Longleaf Pine
Pinus palustris, commonly known as the Longleaf Pine, is a pine native to the southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from eastern Texas to southeast Virginia extending into northern and central Florida....
tree seedling
Seedling
thumb|Monocot and dicot seedlingsA seedling is a young plant sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle , the hypocotyl , and the cotyledons...
s grown from local seed sources. The North Carolina Zoo
North Carolina Zoo
The North Carolina Zoo is located in Asheboro in Randolph County, North Carolina in the Uwharrie Mountains near the geographic center of the state, approximately west of Raleigh, NC, United States. At , it is the largest "walk-through" natural-habitat zoo in the world, the first in the United...
, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the NC Division of Forest Restoration are actively involved in supporting the Blackankle Bog Preserve and the Nature Conservancy in this restoration effort.
A patch of climbing fern, a large stand of sweetleaf
Sauropus androgynus
Sauropus androgynus, also known as katuk, star gooseberry, or sweet leaf, is a shrub grown in some tropical regions as a leaf vegetable...
, and the rare large witch-alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
grow on the preserve. Birds such as wild turkey
Wild Turkey
The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which derives from the South Mexican subspecies of wild turkey .Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green...
s, hairy
Hairy Woodpecker
The Hairy Woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker, averaging approximately 250 mm in length with a 380 mm wingspan...
and pileated woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
The Pileated Woodpecker is a very large North American woodpecker, almost crow-sized, inhabiting deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific coast. It is also the largest woodpecker in America.Adults are long, and weigh...
s, and broad-winged hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
The Broad-winged Hawk is a small hawk of the genus Buteo. During the summer some subspecies are distributed over eastern North America, as far west as British Columbia and Texas; they then migrate south to winter in the neotropics from Mexico down to southern Brazil. Other subspecies are all-year...
s, which are commonly found on large tracts of unbroken woodlands, also inhabit the bog. Toward the streamheads, the vegetation shifts from plant communities that require dry conditions, such as longleaf pines and chestnut oak
Chestnut oak
Quercus prinus , the chestnut oak, is a species of oak in the white oak group, Quercus sect. Quercus. It is native to the eastern United States, where it is one of the most important ridgetop trees from southern Maine southwest to central Mississippi, with an outlying northwestern population in...
s woodlands common to the nearby Uwharrie Mountains
Uwharrie Mountains
The Uwharrie Mountains are a mountain range in North Carolina. The range lies in the counties of Randolph, Montgomery, Stanly, and Davidson, although its foothills stretch into Cabarrus, Anson, Union counties and terminate in the hills of Person. Formed approximately 500 million years ago by...
, to the treeless areas of the bog community. Blackjack
Blackjack oak
Quercus marilandica is a small oak, one of the red oak group Quercus sect. Lobatae, but fairly isolated from the others...
and post oak
Post oak
Quercus stellata is an oak in the white oak group. It is a small tree, typically 10–15 m tall and 30–60 cm trunk diameter, though occasional specimens reach 30 m tall and 140 cm diameter. It is native to the eastern United States, from Connecticut in the northeast, west to southern Iowa, southwest...
s, and dense huckleberry
Huckleberry
Huckleberry is a common name used in North America for several species of plants in two closely related genera in the family Ericaceae:* Vaccinium* GaylussaciaHuckleberry may also refer to:-Plants:...
and blueberry
Blueberry
Blueberries are flowering plants of the genus Vaccinium with dark-blue berries and are perennial...
shrubs surround mats and sphagnum moss and patches of habenaria
Habenaria
Habenaria, commonly called bog orchids, are a far ranging genus of orchid, one of approximately 800 described Orchidaceae genera within that large and diverse family. There are species in both tropical and temperate zones.-Description:...
orchids, milkworts, sedges, cinnamon fern
Cinnamon fern
Osmundastrum cinnamomeum, the Cinnamon Fern, is a species of eusporangiate fern in the family Osmundaceae. It is native to the Americas and eastern Asia, growing in swamps, bogs and moist woodlands....
s, and trumpet and purple pitcher plants
Pitcher plant
Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over...
. Downhill from the bog the habitat blends into a dense thicket dominated by alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
, sweet bay, sweet pepper brush, Virginia sweet-spire, and the endangered bog spicebrush grows in these areas. It contains scattered longleaf pines, reminders of the trees that were once prevalent in this area on the border between the Coastal Plain
Atlantic Coastal Plain
The Atlantic coastal plain has both low elevation and low relief, but it is also a relatively flat landform extending from the New York Bight southward to a Georgia/Florida section of the Eastern Continental Divide, which demarcates the plain from the ACF River Basin in the Gulf Coastal Plain to...
and the Piedmont.
Blackankle Raceway
The Blackankle Raceway is a small, TT-like track that is called the "Little AscotAscot Racecourse
Ascot Racecourse is a famous English racecourse, located in the small town of Ascot, Berkshire, used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 9 of the UK's 32 annual Group 1 races...
of the East". The track, owned by the legendary M.H. Shoafe, draws a consistent crowd of motorcrossers and ATV drivers from North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and other southeastern states
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
to its Saturday-night race calendar. The track is 0.25 mile (0.402335 km) long and is filled with numerous tabletop jumps, the longest being over 40 feet (12.2 m) and spectacular hairpin turn
Hairpin turn
A hairpin turn , named for its resemblance to a hairpin/bobby pin, is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn almost 180° to continue on the road. Such turns in ramps and trails may be called switchbacks in American English, by analogy...
s. The surface of the track is of packed clay.