The Heritage of Caswell County, North Carolina, Jeannine D. Whitlow, Editor (1985) at 65 ("Semora Post Office" by Mary McAden Satterfield):
The post office at Semora was established June 25, 1877. The first postmaster was James Morrison McAden. He had served as postmaster at Cunningham Store, N.C. in Person County in 1855 and in 1859. He served the Semora office until his death in 1891.
His son, John Henry McAden, was appointed postmaster July 1, 1891 and served until 1913. Mrs. Mary S. Pointer was appointed April 23, 1913, and served until 1917. her son, John L. Pointer, was appointed postmaster February 3, 1917 and served until 1920. Mrs. Ella Y. McAden, wife of John Henry McAden, was appointed postmaster November 16, 1920 and served until her retirement in 1941. Her daughter, Mrs. Caroline M. Winstead, was appointed July 8, 1942 and served until her retirement in 1972. Mrs. Vernell B. Allen was appointed October 1972 and served until her retirement in 1982. Mr. A. I. Andrews of Greensboro was appointed October 1982 and is presently postmaster.
Rural carriers have been W. H. Scott, W. S. Taylor, Jr., John F. Pointer, and the present carrier, Joe F. Scott.
Interesting sidelights of this office are: The Semora post office was named for Semora Stella McAden the six-year-old daughter of the first postmaster. When the Post Office Department asked for suggestions for a name for the office, several names were submitted, among them the name "Semora."
Another interesting fact: members of the McAden family served as postmaster for a total of ninety-seven years. (Mrs. Vernell B. Allen was the wife of Thomas Scott Allen, a grandson of Semora McAden.)
Winfield Scott Taylor, Jr. was rural carrier for forty-five years. He was a son of Semora McAden. John F. Pointer was a rural carrier from 1967 until 1982. He was a son of John L. Pointer, a grandson of Mrs. Mary S. Pointer.
Although the history of the Semora post office reads like a family affair, such is not the case. Each postmaster was required to take a competitive examination.
Sources: Post Office records, personal knowledge.
----- Mary McAden Satterfield
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Semora Postmasters
Name, Date Appointed
James Morrison McAden, 25 June 1877
John Henry McAden, 1 July 1891
Mary S. Pointer, 23 April 1913
John L. Pointer, 5 February 1917
Ella Yarbrough McAden, 16 November 1920
Caroline McAden Winstead, 14 July 1942
Vernell Bass Allen, 1972
Betty I. Mabe, 27 April 1985
John C. Sharpe Sr., 6 June 1987
Marylene S. McCain, 10 December 2005
James Constable (Officer-In-Charge), 30 January 2009
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Log construction. Date unknown. Before this building was erected the Semora Post Office most likely operated from a general store.
Did this log building once function as a store? Where was it located in Semora? Could this have been the store of the first postmaster, James Morrison McAden?
The building purportedly stood until c.1965 and was very near the roadside (Highway 119).
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Colonial Commerce Once Thrived Through Area Where Power Plant And Its Lake Will Be Built [The Bee (Danville, Virginia), 13 April 1963]
A few miles west of the McGehee homestead [Burleigh Plantation], at Semora, stands perhaps the only log post office in North Carolina. Mrs. Caroline McAden Winstead has been postmaster since 1942.
Mrs. Winstead is a fifth generation descendant of the Rev. Hugh McAden, who established churches throughout the Cape Fear region and died here in 1781. He was buried at nearby Red House Church. His epitaph reads "Rev. Hugh McAden, Pioneer Missionary to North Carolina in 1755, the first Presbyterian missionary to settle in the State. Pastor in Duplin County, 1757-1769, pastor of Red House and other churches from 1763 to the day of his death, January 20, 1781."
British General Cornwallis camped at the site of Red House Church just three days after McAden's death. History relates that Cornwallis ordered his troops to dig up and mutilate remains of the missionary and then burn the church before departing.
The first Red House Church was erected in 1750, was rebuilt in 1806, and the present handsome structure was erected in 1913.
James M. McAden, great-grandson of the missionary, was Semora's first postmaster. The office was established in 1877 and the community given the name of McAden's young daughter, Semora. Mrs. Winstead's father, John Henry McAden, was also postmaster, as was his widow following his death.
Semora was the crossroads of two major stage lines, one running east and west and the other rom Danville south to Milton, Semora and on to Roxboro.
Current Semora Post Office building (as of September 2008)
