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By David Freeze

I began this long journey in March, expecting to take a year to visit all 100 county seats within the next year. All along, I expected to finish in Salisbury. On Monday, I did. I treated the visit like all the others. I checked Wikipedia ahead for things I didn’t know and what to see. At some point, before or after, I checked the town websites and other sources for historical information. Here is a summary of my visit.

Rowan Court House, by permission of the Colonial Assembly, became Rowan County’s seat in 1753 when the county extended to the Mississippi River. Rowan was originally formed from Anson County and eventually spawned 26 other counties. The name Salisbury became official in 1755 and is the longest continuously populated colonial town in western North Carolina. The original purpose of the county seat was to provide the courthouse and a jail. On the earliest 40 acres granted for the purpose, public buildings were erected near the intersection of the Great Wagon Road, a trade road from Pennsylvania to Georgia, and the Trading Path from eastern Virginia. The first post office was created in 1792 and one has been in continuous service since. The town layout was based on the city of Philadelphia.

Cotton was the main commodity crop as entrepreneurs developed many textile mills in the area. Salisbury played parts in the American Revolution and the Civil War. Salisbury was twice occupied by British troops during the Revolutionary War. Civil War Salisbury was most notable for the housing of Union prisoners in an overcrowded former yarn mill and General George Stoneman’s raid which passed through Salisbury in April 1865. Stoneman destroyed warehouses that stored ammunition, clothing, food and more meant for the Confederate armies. He also wanted to free the prisoners, but they had already been transported to other towns.

The North Carolina Railroad came to town in 1855, and by 1900 train traffic was at an all-time high. Electric lights and telephones were common and street cars followed in 1906.

Numerous houses were built by wealthy planters and merchants in the 19th century, providing the beginning of 10 historic districts with approximately 1,200 recognized homes and other buildings today. I took the walking tour of Salisbury obtained at the Rowan County Visitor Center. My photos are included.

I started the big county seat challenge on March 7 with the closest towns. I wanted to develop a plan and keep the same format with each county seat. I did that all the way through, although some of the smaller towns had very little to see. Usually, I knew ahead a few basic things about the town. Siri almost always took me to the courthouse area, which was a wonderful starting point. I was mesmerized by most of the historic courthouses. Most of the time, the courthouse was in or near the center of the most interesting part of the town.

My Garmin running watch and my iPad, the same one that does photos for my bike trips, along with a pen, notepad and running shoes were the only requirements. Usually, I bought something special to eat in the town, and some of those places are quite memorable. The Strong Arm Bakery in Oxford was one of those, with my first ever whoopie pie. The Goody Shop Café in Albemarle, 104 years old, was another winner.

I ran or walked at least one and a half miles in each town while taking photos and making notes. Some towns were more runnable or walkable than others.

Visits to the big cities like Charlotte, Durham and Raleigh came on the weekends. First county seats were visited on day trips, but gradually two and three-night excursions became the norm. Gas prices locally are some of the highest on average in the state, so I took my available days and planned a round trip through more county seats. The best singular trip included most of the Inner and Outer banks. I received one parking ticket, in Fayetteville.

Certain themes were common. Stoneman’s Raid, Civil War history, the Daniel Boone Trail, the Tobacco Baseball League, murals. I found the visitor center if there was one. And if it was open. A well-stocked visitor center with enthusiastic workers was a real plus. The best were Morganton and Sanford. Historic homes and buildings that were uniformly labeled with construction date and name of original owner showed a coordinated effort to highlight the town’s history. Warrenton, Hertford, Edenton and Beaufort were the best at this. I asked in stores of all kinds and of people on the sidewalk about what to see. Bakeries surprisingly pointed me in the right direction.

I chose a top 10 of all county seats based on my own rating of history, presentation, walkability, friendliness, amenities, storefronts in use, kiosks and signs for directions. In no particular order, here they are.

• Sanford — activity everywhere as it pushes to be a destination point. Amazing visitor center.

• Warrenton — like stepping back to 1850. Ninety percent of the town on the historic register.

• Wilmington — the riverfront and plenty to see that would fill a weekend or more.

• Washington — loaded with history at every turn and a beautiful waterfront.

• Edenton — the most spectacular waterfront, and plenty of history.

• Murphy — the farthest western town that is small but very busy, including every Thursday festivals.

• Wilson — the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park, the best attraction in N.C., and super friendly.

• Beaufort — a walk down any street is memorable. Best waterfront area homes.

• Oxford — a real effort to make visitors happy, like offering free bikes to ride around the town at the Strong Arm Bakery.

• Goldsboro — sidewalk and downtown streets redone to make the town more attractive. A massive effort to use all available storefronts.

Honorable mention — Newton, Bryson City, Hertford, Fayetteville, Shelby, Gastonia, Wilkesboro, Statesville, Salisbury, Gastonia, Bakersville.

With this challenge complete, I want to say that I became addicted to the fun of finding out more. As one reader said, “You have inspired us to take day trips!” Go see North Carolina and the county seats are a great place to start!

Thanks again for joining me.

By David Freeze

In August of 2022, I planned the Mississippi River final day’s ride from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on to New Orleans. Without any real concerns, I had heard about a chance of showers in the afternoon with some heavy thunderstorms in the area. The ride was just over 80 miles and there were no real hills. I even expected to finish with some time to walk around the city.

I started early, as usual. The roads were often in poor repair and had lots of metal in the form of screws, nails, wire and lots of glass. All are big concerns to a cyclist. The rain came early in the afternoon with big winds and heavy downpours. Just afterwards, I had the first flat tire of the whole trip just over halfway to New Orleans. Then I had two more and all my tubes were used up. Darkness wasn’t far away. Very fortunate to have an option, I called David Bourg, a resident of nearby Paulina who I had just met when he stopped to help on the last tube replacement. David drove me into the city, a round trip of over 80 miles for him. All he wanted was for me to pay it forward! I did not complete what amounted to 36 miles on the bicycle along the river. I had a train to catch to Salisbury so finishing this had been on my mind for the better part of 15 months.

I envisioned 3-4 days to fix this. I included cycling north of Laplace to a Marathon convenience store, exactly where David picked me up after the final flat. Then most of another day to ride on into New Orleans to Jackson Square to complete the ride with several photos to prove it. And I wanted to visit David and Lynne Bourg, especially after their invitation to stay with them. David is an engineer for Valero’s refinery in Norco, very near to LaPlace.

My drive to LaPlace got off to a slow start on Friday, Oct. 20, due to wind, rain and hail in China Grove and interstate slowdowns due to several major wrecks in the area. I left just after 4 p.m. and only made 100 miles in the first three hours, but then the pace picked up. I slept a few hours in two different rest areas and arrived just past noon on Saturday after changing to the Central Time Zone. I quickly rode to the Marathon store, had the same grumpy cashier from a year ago, and returned to Laplace. Fourteen miles done and two photos taken!

With a room at the Days Inn, I ran in the dark on Sunday morning, then hopped on the bike during one of the heaviest fogs I have ever experienced. My red light was working, and I had plenty of shoulder to ride on. With not a real hill in sight, I rode south into the gradually lifting fog. Choices of riding on the levee into New Orleans to avoid the city, or not, were on my mind. I decided to take the city head-on.

Following my old friend, U.S. Highway 61, I went straight into the city where 61 is also called Tulane Avenue. I made a few turns to ride through the French Quarter. Jammed with people and too many cars, I tried to follow what was supposed to be a bike lane. Cars were just parked on top of it, and nobody seemed to follow traffic lights or signs prohibiting turns. Lots of people who appeared just a tad odd were on display.

I rode right up to extremely crowded Jackson Square, what I consider the center of town. The Mississippi is beautiful here, the steamboats are moored nearby with street performers and vendors everywhere. Horse drawn carriages and beignets are close also. I took an hour to watch the river with a few massive ships and plenty of smaller vessels going by. I saw two steamboats depart on their tours. Most remarkable was a military jet flyover to commemorate my ride completion!

The ride back over the same road was uneventful, except for the first time I saw all the massive refineries along the river without fog or darkness. One after another. They are even more spectacular when seen at night, with all the lights and a few fires burning from smokestacks.

I visited David and Lynne, had some wonderful ice cream and fought a few mosquitoes, before leaving at almost dark. We had recapped our meeting the year before and how much he helped me out of a tight spot. They hope to vacation in North Carolina.

My drive home was anything but uneventful, I suddenly lost power in my truck just north of Montgomery, Alabama. A part called a MAF sensor went bad and got me a wonderful AAA ride on Brian Martin’s rollback and excellent service at Son’s Ford in Auburn. Alabama. The part arrived the next day, and with Veronica in customer service’s help, I was on the road again by noon. I did get to run through Auburn University and saw the spectacular football stadium.

Friday night through Tuesday night, 1,551 driving miles, two time zones and 74 cycling miles all needed to complete the Mississippi River. I wouldn’t have missed a minute of it! Thanks for riding along, once again! I am already wondering what’s next.