~Youngsville, N.C.~
(The 20th Century: 1950-2000)
Youngsville's Road to Prosperity
~ Second Half of the 20th Century & Beyond ~
An Age of Relative Peace, Renewed Hope & Prosperity
Woodlief's Supply Company (1950's)
(Previously the sight of the Eagle Tobacco Warehouse -1896)
The following are highlights of some Youngsville events that occurred in the years that followed:
1950 - Town Librarian hired (Miss B. J. Mullen)
1951 - The first traffic signal was installed and the first record of Christmas lights (multicolored bulbs) for Main street.
1954 - Hurricane Hazel Strikes Youngsville
1955 - Youngsville Woman's Club founded.
1956 - Youngsville established "Community Civil Defense" Unit (Ground Observation Post)
1957 - Youngsville National Guard awarded the National Eisenhower Trophy for overall excellence.
"Lake Donna"
The Community Swimming Hole
(Built by Harry Privette and named for his daughter)
(1956)
East Main Street
(1970)
Youngsville Fire Department
(1950s-The Early Years)
Former Locations: Perry Livery Stable (1900-1950), West Cross Street (current location of Wicker Cuts Barber Shop), to Dukes Medicine Store location (Southwest Main Street - near railroad tracks)
Youngsville Fire Department current location 803 Wheaton Avenue (North Side of Town). Youngsville Fire Department has two satellite locations on Flat Rock Church Road and NC Highway 96 West.
Youngsville Fire Department around 1950s
Fire Chief L.T. Allen, ~ Police Chief Alton Green
Early fire-fighting equipment included a reel on wheels, which was hand pushed, plus ropes and ladders. Men, women and children formed bucket brigades to pass water from pumps during fires. For years there were two wooden handled pumps on Main Street which reportedly provided the best drinking water ever tasted. Before a Fire Department was organized, buildings lost in town by fire included the Dave Spivey home on Winston Street, the old railroad passenger station and depot. In 1942 the Town Board of Commissioners organized a Fire Company with Mr. Jack A. Green as Fire Chief. The fire truck was a converted bus. A firehouse was built in 1944 on West Railroad Street, behind the Mayor's office, then on the corner of Main and South Railroad Streets.
Ground Observer Post (1956-57)
Youngsville citizens manned a [Civil Defense] post in this tower on the top of the School Agriculture Building "Cannery" twenty-four hours a day. As a part of their Civil Defense effort 130 volunteers helped out. Archie Brown was post commander and J. A. Allen and W.W. Preddy both put in over 250 hours and Mrs. P. D. Croom was close behind. The post was cited by U.S. Air Force officials as a vital link in Civil Defense at that time. (Excerpts: Youngsville Museum of History records, Mr. R.E. Cheatham collection.)
(Photo Courtesy: The Wake Weekly, March 6, 1975.)
Youngsville High School Basketball Teams
won the NC State basketball 1-A Championships in 1956, 1968 and 1970
1956: Youngsville 1-A Basketball Champions
1956 Team Jacket belonging to Youngsville Basketball Team Member Larry "Twig" Wiggins
Youngsville High School
Basketball Teams
Championship Trophies
1965 - Youngsville Police Department establishes a sixteen-member Auxiliary Police Force.
1968 - Additional town well drilled to enhance the town's water supply
1975 - Centennial Celebration (100 years of growth)
1976 - Opening of Central Carolina Bank in Youngsville
1977 - Youngsville Baptist Church dedicates the "Quadrabells". (August 30th)
1980 - Youngsville Blizzard (12 inches of Snow - March 1-2, 1980)
1980 - Youngsville Drills Water Well (300feet)
1986 - Youngsville Christian Church Celebrates "One Hundredth Anniversary" (June 8th)
1987 - Second Youngsville Fire Station was opened to assist with response to the far eastern side of the fire district in the Flat Rock Community. It was located at 1088 Hart Rd. This station was in use until late 2008, when construction of the new Station 2 on Flat Rock Church Rd was completed.
"The New Millennium"
(Year 2000 and Beyond)
2000 - The Town of Youngsville enters into a new Millennium with visions of great hope.
2007 - Youngsville Woman's Club saves Christian Church, built in 1886, to become "Youngsville Museum of History".
2015-2019 Economic growth: The Town of Youngsville and Franklin County are growing.
2019 -2022 - "COVID 19" The Pandemic (Illness, death and economic setback).
2022 - Community growth and new infrastructure upgrades for downtown Youngsville. Hope is eternal.
2022 - September 5 - Griffin's Restaurant Building, Main Street Collapsed (No One Injured)
Formerly Griffins Restaurant Building
(East Main Street)
Griffins Restaurant Building Collapsed
September 5, 2022
"Understanding history is your roadmap to the future. Embrace the journey!"
Paul B. Hawkins (2022)