Local historian shares history of Elizabethtown

ELIZABETHTOWN – Lewis Smith, a historian and Elizabethtown native, shared some of the history of Elizabethtown as well as plans for the local historical society, a book and eventually a museum as well.

Lewis Smith’s family has been rooted in Elizabethtown history for centuries. Smith’s grandfather, Lloyd Earnest Smith, was a clerk in a store on the corner of Broad and Poplar Street. In 1895, he built a house on 203 East Broad for him and his future wife, who refused to marry him until he had built a porch for the house. He then operated a dry goods store on the same street, until his death in 1931.

Smith’s grandmother, Margaret McMillan, then opened a boarding house for those who were fighting in the war. Troops from World War 1 would stay upstairs for a night or two before catching a train in the morning. She also later opened up a hat store, which Smith later purchased in 1995.

“My grandmother collected everything about Elizabethtown.” Smith said. “All the dedications of all the buildings such as, the post office, the hospital and I distributed them to all the places of business.”

Over the past few decades, Smith has been collecting documents, photographs, artifacts and pretty much anything he can get his hands on revolving around Elizabethtown’s history. He is also a member of Elizabethtown’s Historical Society, which he has been trying to get back up and running since the pandemic. With the Historical Society, Smith is hoping to raise awareness to the town’s history and promote his future business plans such as a book and a museum showcasing his collection.

Smith’s father, Lloyd Earnest Smith Junior, was the one who helped foster Smith’s love for history over the years. In the off seasons, Smith’s father would work as a collector. Before Smith would go to school in the mornings, his father would tell him stories about the people and places in Elizabethtown.

“The facts that I learned about people and places in Elizabethtown, comes from being with him before I went to school,” Smith said. “He was a collector in the wintertime for J.H. Clark and Ellis Clark at Clark Motor Company. I always heard him talking about working for E.J. Cox, who was from Clarkton.”

Smith currently has a large collection of photos that he likes to share with people at just about any opportunity he gets. Most of the photos span from nearly a century ago, before Elizabethtown was really even a town. One of the photos shows a dirt road with a church and a few houses sprinkled into the mix. Believe it or not, that dirt road with a church and little houses, is now part of Elizabethtown! Other photos include the town’s first fire truck, the original bridge’s construction and demolition, and photos of old steamboats that would occasionally pass through the Cape Fear River.

Smith’s love of history is evident, from the way that he speaks, to his future business plans. As of right now, Smith is working on a museum. He plans to showcase items from both local and his familial history. As of now items in his collection include his grandmother’s washing machine and a pair of slaves made pants from linen that belonged to Smith’s great-grandfather. Smith is working hard at getting his museum up and running. He hopes to have it finished by New Year’s Day in 2025.

Smith’s grandmother’s washing machine was bought 1906 as part of a buy one get one free deal. It has remained in a museum somewhere in Bladenboro since Smith discovered it.

Smith also shared some other business ideas. He has spent the past few years trying to paint and fix up an old house here in Elizabethtown. Smith painted the house in 2001 and hopes to soon put a large tv screen and speaker system on the outside of the house. Using this tv and speaker system, Smith will play a slideshow using several different pictures of Elizabethtown. Smith plans to use the speaker system so that people will be able to hear what’s being shown without being close by.

Smith is also in the process of writing a book. The book features stories from Smith’s life, including near death experiences, the loss of his baby brother in 1938 and more. Though the book may have some more serious tones in it, Smith hopes the book will be mostly comical. Smith didn’t give a release window for the book. However the working title is currently “ My Brother Was a Lonely Child.” Smith told a bunch of riveting tales that will be included in the book, so be sure to give it a go when it hits shelves!

Smith went on to tell more tales of Elizabethtown. One of the stories he told includes the brick building that now houses Yia Yia’s Gifts and More. Though it may now be a gift shop it was once known as Young’s Hotel. It was also home to a church in the same building as well. This building also featured an invention that was a first for Elizabethtown.

“If you look at the front of the building, there are two roof lines,” Smith said. “The first roof line was a church. They added a second story to it and added on to the rear and made it a hotel. It was the first building in Elizabethtown to have hot water.”

This relatively new source for Elizabethtown brought all sorts of attention to Young’s Hotel and Elizabethtown itself. This attention was further amplified by the arrival of Elizabethtown’s first fire truck after a local dealership caught on fire. Citizens of the town at that time reportedly saw the flames and thought the town was going to burn down. Due to the high amount of fear running amok throughout the town, a fire truck was bought and housed at Young’s Hotel.

Smith is also an organizer for the Elizabethtown Historical Society. Unfortunately, the Historical Society hasn’t officially met since 2020 due to the pandemic. Smith stated that he had tried to organize a few meetings here and there, but nothing stuck and they all eventually petered out. However, Smith hopes to change that, this coming Tuesday with a special event to help promote the Historical Society as well as educate the town on our local history.

Tuesday At Old Trinity Church the Historical Society will meet again for the first time in nearly five years. Smith will discuss the history of Old Trinity Church and Elizabethtown. Smith wants visitors of the meeting to bring in their laptop, so that they can download pictures given to them on a flash drive. Smith will also be giving away t-shirts and baseball caps featuring a historical message written on them. Supplies and sizes are limited. As a result of this, the first 48 people get to pick their size choice of T-shirt or baseball cap. The historical message reads, “It was the battle of Elizabethtown, not the battle of the Tory Hole”

“That’s been a fallacy since 1781,” Smith said. “There was a colonel in South Carolina who was known as “Swamp Fox, called it the Battle of the Tory Hole one time and it stuck.”

Tuesday’s Historical Society meeting isn’t all just free t-shirts and flash drives. Like all good things, there is a caveat. You must wear the T-shirt or baseball cap you receive.

Though the Historical Society has had a hard time getting back on its feet post pandemic, Smith hopes that Tuesday’s meeting will be, as he put it, a “wing ding.” Be sure to bring your laptop so you can download over 100 historical pictures of Elizabethtown and other places in Bladen County. Smith will also share some of the history of Old Trinity Church. Smith has photos of the church from over the years, So, be sure to bring your laptop and fasten your seat belts for a walk through our local history.

Old Trinity Church was built in 1848. It is now labeled as a historic location and historic Methodist church here in Elizabethtown. In 1989, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It has remained maintained by Trinity Methodist Church. While it does not remain as a full-time church, it does occasionally offer services during Easter and Christmastime. The church is also sometimes used for weddings and funerals.

If you are interested in learning more about Tuesday’s meeting, or the history of Elizabethtown, you can contact Lewis Smith at smith.lewisd@gmail.com. If you are looking to attend Tuesday’s Historical Society meeting, be sure to stop by Old Trinity Church at 311 East Broad Street. Remember that the first 48 people to come get their pick of size shirt or baseball cap first. So be sure to stop by. Smith has also placed an ad in this week’s issue for the meeting, so you can look at that for more info.