Turkeyfoot, North Carolina
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Turkeyfoot, North Carolina is located on the Davie County, North Carolina, and Iredell County, North Carolina, lines. Turkeyfoot is located at 36°00′04″N 80°42′10″W / 36.001063°N 80.702648°W.
Nearby communities include Sheffield, North Carolina, Harmony, North Carolina, Lone Hickory, North Carolina, Houstonville, and Cana. Currently no sporting rivalries exist between local communities with the the possible exception of casual rivalries between local rodeo participants.
The Turkeyfoot community is a small region in rural North Carolina. There are significantly fewer options for recreation and employment than in larger American communities such as New York City. Despite the small size and lack of municipal services, the citizens of this community remain proud and unaffected. Local legend claims that the name of the community was derived from aerial photographs taken in the mid-twentieth century. From the air, the topography of the area resembles a turkey's foot.
The Turkeyfoot Country Market is the primary cultural center of this community. One can purchase soft drinks, alcohol, tobacco products, snacks, sandwiches, novelty T-shirts, and fishing tackle at the Turkeyfoot Country Market. The store is located in Iredell County very close to the Davie County line.
Another country market ran by the former proprietor of the Turkeyfoot Country Market, Gunter's Country Store & Grill, is located a few miles away at 2328 Sandy Springs Road with similar merchandise to the Turkeyfoot Country Market. Recreational pool is often played in the rear room of this establishment.
Historically Davie County has had less liberal laws with regard to alcohol sales than Iredell County.[1] As these laws change in Davie County[2], it has adversely affect businesses that have traditionally prospered from alcohol sales across the county lines including those in the Turkeyfoot community.[3]
Other local businesses include automative repair garages, a farrier, a machine shop, a plant nursey, logging interests, dairy farms, family farms, digital film production services, and accounting services. The spiritual needs of the community are met by local churches including Rock Springs Baptist Church and Sandy Springs Baptist Church.
From the mid-1970, family farming has followed the national trend of decline in Turkeyfoot. Regulations, such as acreage allotment, on tobacco farming has severely impacted acreage cultivated in tobacco once common in the mid-1970s. Starting in the 1980s some larger farms have been sold and subdivided into residential lots.
One prominent local topographical feature is Bear Creek. It is of such local prominence that after Sandy Springs Road crosses from Iredell County to Davie County, the road name changes to Bear Creek Church Road. While not directly named after the creek, this road is named after a local church so named after the creek. While not a navigable waterway, Bear Creek does have a bit of history associated with it. Daniel Boone often hunted along properties he and his father owned along Bear Creek while he lived in Davie County during the 1750s and 1760s.[4] Bear Creek is a tributary of the Yadkin River. It is unlikely the US Department of Defense considers this tributary to be critical to national security interests.
The residents of this community are highly independent and proud of their rural traditions. It perhaps bears noting that no major military engagements have occurred for control of this community.
References
- ^ "Iredell County Legal Sales Areas". lwww.ncabc.com. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
- ^ "Davie County Legal Sales Areas". lwww.ncabc.com. Retrieved Oct 9.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Legal Sales Areas". lwww.ncabc.com. Retrieved October 9.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Wall, James (1976). Davie County: A Brief History. Raleigh: North Carolina Office of Archives and History Historical Publications. pp. 14–17.