Yanceyville, North Carolina Incorporation History

Yanceyville: Village or Town?

Yanceyville, North Carolina, has been somewhat erratic in its approach to incorporation. The North Carolina Legislature authorized Yanceyville as an incorporated town in 1833. However, this seems to have been forgotten because authorization was obtained again in 1877. A similar act was passed in 1885, but why it was needed remains a mystery.

Thus, by 1885, the state legislature had three times authorized the incorporation of the municipality of Yanceyville. Accordingly, in 1885, the corporate existence of Yanceyville would seem certain. However, this was not the case. In 1899 the law authorizing incorporation of Yanceyville was repealed. But, in 1905, Yanceyville was again incorporated. In 1911, Barzillai Shuford Graves (1854-1942) served as Yanceyville Mayor.

Caswell County Quiz Answer (April 11, 2022)

Question: Here we have discussed the erratic history of Yanceyville incorporation -- becoming an organized town rather than just a village.

In 1905 Yanceyville was again incorporated. But the reason was liquor. Do you know why liquor was behind this incorporation?

Answer: An issue in North Carolina in the early 1900s was to chose, at the local level, between dispensaries and saloons. Yanceyville apparently had to be incorporated for its residents to be able to vote on the dispensary issue.

Many churches and prohibition groups favored the dispensary system over licensed saloons. They believed this was a first step toward full prohibition.  The modern North Carolina ABC store can trace its ancestry to the early dispensaries.

Of course, North Carolina adopted absolute statewide prohibition that became effective January 1909. Thus the Caswell County dispensary system experiment was short-lived, and little is known about it.

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Some NC towns/counties had dispensaries bottles/flasks manufactured with identifying information on it. They are very collectible. None is known for Yanceyville. Below is a bottle from the Raleigh dispensary. Click to see the full image.

But, hold on. In 1915, the charter again was repealed. In 1928/1929 incorporation again was sought, but denied by the NC Board of Municipal Control. 

As far as can be determined, Yanceyville remained an unincorporated village until the latest attempt at reorganization in 1986. That attempt was successful and, possibly, this last reorganization will be more permanent.

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"We regret to report that [Yanceyville] Mayor B. S. Graves is suffering from a painful sprain of his ankle. However, he is now resting quietly and so far as we can foresee a few days of rest will bring him around o.k. Baz is a model farmer and he will this year put into effect a practical demonstration of intensive farming."

The Reidsville Review (Reidsville, North Carolina), 2 June 1911.

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The Bee (Danville, Virginia) · 17 Nov 1928

Below is a newspaper article that describes even another attempt at incorporation in 1929:

(click on article for larger image)

The Bee (Danville, Virginia) 5 April 1929 (Page 1)

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The Bee (Danville, VA), 14 March 1928

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North Carolina 1870-77—Private—Chapter 90—100

An Act to Incorporate the Town of Yanceyville

Section 1. The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact, That the town of Yanceyville, in the county of Caswell, be and the same is hereby incorporated by the name and style of "The Town of Yanceyville," and shall be subject to and governed by all the provisions contained in chapter one hundred and eleven of Battle's Revisal.

Sec. 2. That the corporate limits of said town shall extend one half mile in every direction from the court house.

Sec. 3. That the first election for municipal officers and constable shall be held within two months after the ratification of this act, and annually thereafter on the first Monday of May.

Sec. 4. That this act shall be in force from and after its ratification.

Ratified the 12th day of March, A. D. 1877.

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H.B 718, S.B. 272: Act to repeal the act incorporating the town of Yanceyville. Committe of Counties, Cities and Towns. The Farmer and Mechanic (Raleigh, North Carolina), 31 January 1899.

These Will Become Laws: Bills were reported "favorably" by Standing Committees as follows: "To repeal act incorporating the town of Yanceyville." The North Carolinian (Raleigh, North Carolina), 2 February 1899.

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