Yanceyville, North Carolina, in Life Magazine: 1941

Yanceyville in Life Magazine: 1941

In the fall of 1941, Life magazine photographer and staff writer Walter Sanders spent time in Yanceyville gathering information and taking dozens of photographs. Only a few (seven) were published in the magazine. For decades I (Richmond S. Frederick, Jr.) have attempted to locate the photographs not published, which probably number over ninety images (and possibly as many as two-hundred). I was not successful.

I donated my two copies of this Life magazine issue (December 8, 1941) to the Caswell County Historical Association (Yanceyville, North Carolina). Those interested can view it there. Unfortunately, the article focused on card playing being banned from the Caswell County Courthouse, thus ignoring more important aspects of Caswell County's history. Of course, the events of December 1, 1941, may have affected the focus of the magazine.

Here is a newspaper article on Life magazine in Yanceyville: 

Yanceyville To Be "Done" By Life: Staff Man Takes Pictures, Gathers Story Surrounding Post Bellum Days

(Special to The Bee). Yanceyville, N.C., Nov. 20. -- Yanceyville is to be the subject of a feature article in the nationally-known magazine Life, within the next four or five weeks. Walter Sanders, a staff writer for the magazine completed his hundredth picture of Yanceyville scenes yesterday and has gone North to write his story of the luminous background history of the seat of Caswell County. From the pictures taken will be made a selection to illustrate the article.

Featuring the story will be the renovated courthouse which seems to attract more and more attention as tourists come this way. The unique fantail spread dominating the portico has been proclaimed by passing artists as a rare instance of native American architecture and it is quite possible that the courthouse will be done in oils and in water color seen in its protective shade trees next summer.

Sanders "shot" the courthouse from every conceivable angle and seemed equally interested in the homes of A. Yancey Kerr, Sterling Graves -- pioneer families here -- and the old Poteat home owned by Mrs. Helen P. Stallings. The views include several worthies identified with the life of the town.

Sanders was given details of the Reconstruction history of Yanceyville, particularly the reign of carpet baggers here, culminating in the discovery one day of "Chicken" Stephens, the Gauleiter of his times, garroted in a courthouse room while upstairs a Republican mass meeting was being held.

Source: The Bee (Danville, Virginia), 20 November 1941, Thursday, Page 1.

It is likely that the "Special" submitted to The Bee was by Erwin Duke Stephens (1904-1991), editor of  The Caswell Messenger, or by George Andrew Anderson (1869-1945).