Knight(s)dale Traditional Cache
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Size: 
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P & G
Early History of Knightdale
In 1700, the Lords Proprietor of the Carolina Colony hired John Lawson to explore the area. He began his 1,000-mile (1,600 km) trek near present day Charleston, South Carolina and according to his diary, Lawson passed through the area sometime in February of 1701. He wrote about a meeting with the Tuscarora Native American tribe on the banks of the Neuse River and with the help of an interpreter, Lawson made peace with the Tuscarora.
After receiving the report from Lawson, the King of England began to apportion these lands to willing settlers. In 1730, John Hinton settled in what would one day be called Knightdale in an area near the Neuse River, not far from where Hodge Road and Old Faison Road now intersect.
As more settlers arrived, the colonial government appointed Hinton to be the Justice of the Peace for Craven County. Eventually, Johnston County was carved out of Craven County in the 1750s and Wake County carved out of Johnston County in 1771.
When the American Revolution began, Hinton switched his allegiance to the colonials. He became a military leader and played a key role in the first battle of the American Revolution fought on North Carolina soil, the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge.
Hinton owned seven plantations in the Knightdale area, of which three are still intact: The Oaks, Midway, and Beaver Dam.
After independence, the population of the area began to increase with farmers growing products such as tobacco and cotton. Although slavery was not prominent in Knightdale like locations in the Deep South, it was still visible in the area. There are unmarked grave plots for slaves throughout Knightdale. Although documentation of grave sites has been lost, the burials remain a significant part of the local landscape.
During the Civil War, the Confederate and Union armies were present in the area. The Clay Hill and Midway Plantations saw the greatest damage and after the War had ended, the residents began to rebuild. During this time, nearby Raleigh experienced a population boom. As a result, local leaders redrew the map of Wake County and divided it into townships. The area that became Knightdale was located in St. Matthew's Township, where it still is today.
Knightdale came about as people began to assimilate within the St. Matthew's Township and for many years the area was a crossroads served only by a post office. By the end of the 19th century, locals decided there was a need to a establish a town. Henry Haywood Knight donated some of his land holdings in the area to the Norfolk and Southern Railroad Company in order to entice the company to build a railroad that would provide freight and passenger service. Although Knight did not live to see the railroad arrive in Knightdale, not long after his death in 1904, the railroad finally came to the community that would bear his name.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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