Whynot, North Carolina

Whynot is an unincorporated community in Randolph County, North Carolina, United States, and is included in the Piedmont Triad metropolitan region.[2] Whynot is located on NC 705, also known as the "North Carolina Pottery Highway",[3] one mile (1.6 km) southeast of Seagrove and seven miles (11 km) west of Jugtown Pottery, a historic pottery listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[4] The North Carolina Pottery Highway contains over 100 potteries and galleries in a 15-square-mile (39 km2) region surrounding Seagrove.[5]

Whynot, North Carolina
Unincorporated community
Whynot sign
Location of Whynot in North Carolina
Whynot, North Carolina (the United States)
Coordinates: 35°31′55.8″N 79°45′14.3″W
CountryUnited States
StateNorth Carolina
CountyRandolph
Elevation604 ft (184 m)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Zip code
27341
Area code(s)336
GNIS feature ID1016647[1]

History

Whynot was first settled in the 18th century by German and English people, along with the nearby communities of Erect, Hemp, Lonely, Steeds, and Sophia.[6] The community was originally spelled with two separate words, "Why Not".[7] The origin of town's name came from residents debating a title for their community. A man finally remarked: "Why not name the town Why Not and let's go home?"[8][9][10]

The Why Not Academy and Business Institute, a combination public and private school, was located in the community from 1893 to 1916.[11][12] Whynot has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.[13][14]

Arts and culture

Area residents first began making pottery in the 18th century.[15] The area still contains several pottery shops including Dirtworks Pottery, Tom Gray Pottery, Dixieland Pottery, Marsh Pottery, Kovack Pottery, Michele Hastings & Jeff Brown Pottery, and Whynot Pottery.[6][16]

  • Location of Whynot on a map of Randolph County, North Carolina
  • Postmark from a Confederate soldier living in "Why Not". (note the original spelling of the community) The postmark is dated December 16, 1862.
  • Whynot General Store

See also

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Whynot, North Carolina. Retrieved on 2008-06-18.
  2. Ridpath, John (1897). "The Standard American Encyclopedia of Arts, Sciences, History, Biography, Geography, Statistics, and General Knowledge". Encyclopedia Publishing Company, Harvard University: 3287. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. Cissna, Bill (2005-05-15). "Follow 'Pottery Highway' into Carolina haven steeped in clay". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  4. "North Carolina - Moore County". nationalregisterofhistoricalplaces.com. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  5. "Seagrove, NC- The Little Town That Could". Carolina Arts. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  6. Brown, Charlotte (2006). The Remarkable Potters of Seagrove: The Folk Pottery of a Legendary. Sterling Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 1-57990-634-6.
  7. "North Carolina State Archives - Postal History Project". North Carolina Office of Archives and History. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  8. Sharpe, Bill (1954). "A New Geography of North Carolina". Sharpe Publishing Company, University of Michigan: 1036. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. Kuralt, Charles (1985). On the road with Charles Kuralt. Putnam. pp. 181. ISBN 0-399-13087-X.
  10. Leslie, Bill (2008-02-19). "Wrath of Lizard Lick". WRAL. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  11. "Inventory of the Auman Family Papers, 1795-2004 - Collection Number 4401". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  12. Patterson, Homer (1916). "Patterson's American education". Educational Directories, New York Public Library: 579. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. Parker, Quentin (2010). Welcome to Horneytown, North Carolina, Population: 15: An insider's guide to 201 of the world's weirdest and wildest places. Adams Media. pp. xii.
  14. Petras, Kathryn; Petras, Ross (18 December 2007). Unusually Stupid Americans: A Compendium of All-American Stupidity. Random House Publishing Group. p. 246. ISBN 978-0-307-41761-9.
  15. Ruhlman, Michael (1985-12-15). "Shopper's World - Carolina Pottery, Shaped By Tradition". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  16. Lancaster, H Martin (2004-11-04). "Making It New In Community Colleges". North Carolina Community College System. Archived from the original on 2008-06-13. Retrieved 2008-06-18.

Further reading
  • Why Not, North Carolina, by William T. Auman and Minnie S. Stuart, Why Not Memorial Association, 1986.
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