1800s
In 1806, Middle Swamp Baptist Church was established as the first Baptist church in Gates County, as part of the Second Great Awakening revival in the South, led by Baptist and Methodist preachers. In 1811, Savages United Methodist Church was established, the oldest Methodist Church in Gates County. Both denominations preached to enslaved blacks as well as white settlers, and accepted them as members.
In 1825, Marquis de Lafayette passed through Gates County and was entertained at Pipkin's Inn. The town of Gatesville was incorporated in 1830. The old courthouse located on Court St. was built in 1836. The oldest item in the courthouse is the Federal-style bell, which was purchased in 1781.
William Paul Roberts, who would become the youngest Confederate general to serve in the American Civil War, was born in Gatesville, 1841. According to the 1850 census, there were 717 farms in Gates County and only 15 produced cotton. In 1851, Reynoldson Academy was established. Organized by free blacks, New Hope Baptist church was established in 1859. In 1878, Jethro Goodman introduced peanuts into Gates County. Secretary of State Thad Eure was born in 1899.
Read more about this topic: Gates County, North Carolina, History