Yanceyville East Main Street (South Side)

East Main Street, Yanceyville, Caswell County, North Carolina

The purpose of this article is to explore the buildings that once stood on the south side of East Main Street in Yanceyville, North Carolina, between Little's Service Station and Yanceyville Motor Company on the Square. This primarily was an African-American area of businesses and private residences. It ran from the corner of what now is Dillard School Drive and East Main Street to the Square.

Click to See Larger Image

Little's Esso Service Station anchors the east end of the buildings being discussed here. This is an undated photograph provided by Helen Haith Little.

Martha Louise Lea Little (1904-1983) and her husband Roy Charles Little (c.1893-1938) owned Little Service Station in Yanceyville, one of the early successful local black businesses. It began operation in the 1920s as a Standard agency, purchasing its gasoline from Standard Oil of New Jersey. When the photograph was taken the building was fairly new. Note the gravity-feed gasoline pumps.

Around 1928 the brand had become Esso. The father of Martha Louise Lea Little, Thomas Sidney Lea (1873-1963), provided financial support for local black educational efforts, including participating in the purchase of a building in 1906 that was used as the first black school in Yanceyville.

Click to See Larger Image

Proceeding westerly, the next building was the one that housed Joe's Cafe and Irvin's Barber Shop. Here, Irvin Williamson is seen standing in the shop's doorway. Presumably, the other door is the cafe entrance. And, other businesses may have operated from this fairly large building. Photograph courtesy Glenna W. Graves.

Click to See Larger Image

The Joe of Joe's Cafe is Joseph Rascoe Williamson (1911-1953). There were two cafe's on the street [East Main Street in Yanceyville]. The smaller one with Joe behind the counter is shown in this photograph. He was in the process of building the larger cafe shown below. When he finished building the larger cafe, he rented out the smaller building. Joe Williamson and his brother Walter Williamson built both cafe buildings and Walter's garage that stood across the street. Photograph courtesy Grace Turner.

Click to See Larger Image

The next building as you head toward the Square in Yanceyville was the home of Ms. Gennie Bett Bigelow, then the larger Joe's Cafe that eventually became Claude's Cafe.

Mary Ellen Paschal in her Yanceyville front yard. Photograph courtesy Carl Paschal. Note Joe's Cafe in the background. Date: Early 1950s.

So, right-to-left, this photo shows: Joe's Cafe (became Claude's Cafe), home of Ms. Gennie Bett Bigelow, and building that housed the original Joe's Cafe and Irvin's Barber Shop.

West of the larger Joe's Cafe building (shown above with two cars parked in front) were two houses. Mr. Vern and Fannie Hill Penn lived in the first (proceeding westerly); and Thomas Sidney Lea (1873-1963) and Julia Long Hill Lea (1880-1978) lived in the other. It was their daughter, Martha Louise Lea (1904-1983) who, along with her husband Roy Charles Little (1893-1938), owned and operated the Little Service Station discussed above.

Click to See Larger Image

Next, just east of the Square was the Gunn Tractor Dealership, one of the buildings that stands today (2018).

Click to See Larger Image

Finally, came Yanceyville Motor Company.

Standing in front of Yanceyville Motor Company is owner John Abner Massey (1881-1956). Massey is believed to have owned the first automobile in Caswell County. The building later became a general store and then the Willys-Knight Auto Agency. (Courtesy Ann McGuire Harvey.) House at right is one he built for his family; prior to that he boarded at the Poteat House.

While the angle may be deceptive, query whether the the house Massey built as his home became the residence of Thomas Sidney Lea (1873-1963) and Julia Long Hill Lea (1880-1978).

Click to See Larger Image

This 1979 aerial view of Yanceyville shows the site on which once stood Yanceyville Motor Company, the Gunn Tractor Dealership building, and the two houses discussed above: Lea residence; and Penn residence.