Summerfield (Milepost CF 57.5)
Summerfield is a community in north Guildford County at an altitude of 881 feet. It was settled about 1769 by Charles Bruce, later a Revolutionary patriot, and known as Burce's Crossroads until 1812 when a post office was established and the community renamed in honor of the evangelist, John Summerfield (1798-1825). Site of Revolutionary skirmish between Lee and Tarleton and a campsite of the British army under General Charles O'Hara of the Coldstream Guards, February 12, 1781. In 1998, the town was incorporated to avoid being annexed by Greensboro.
In 1943, Summerfield had a capacity for 26 cars. There is no track through the town now, although the roadbed can still be seen in a rails to trails path.
Here are a couple of photos of an old
brick building that used to be a hardware store and is currently being renovated to
perhaps become the town hall. This building used to be within site of the A&Y tracks.
I really think that a model of this building would clearly state: Summerfield on the
A&Y.
If you know a better scene for me to
model, or if you have historic photographs of Summerfield you would be willing to share
with me for research or others on this website, please contact me.
I have recently contacted Gladys Scarlette, the author of a pictorial history of Summerfield first published in 1995. My copy arrived! This is a very interesting book with lots of photographs of businesses, schools, and other buildings from many different periods in the life of this town. Ms. Scarlette, a native of Summerfield has done a wonderful job putting together this collection. All towns should be lucky enough to have someone like Ms. Scarlette who is willing and able to preserve a sense of the past so that future generations can understand their heritage. It seems that the Barnes & Noble carries the book. Ms. Scarlette is considering a second printing. Thanks to Bill Brueckmann, another Summerfield resident, for alerting me to this book! Hopefully, I can obtain permission from some of the photographers to place some of the photos from the book here on the website. Unfortunately, a good closeup of the Summerfield railroad station is not available. The pictorial history has a photo with the station in the background which is sufficient to show that it was built along the lines of many of the A&Y stations, but the details are nearly impossible to discern. Well, we will see what the future brings.
