In 1906 the downtown was empty on July 4.
Oddly, back in 1906 when downtown was at its livest,the place emptied July 4th.
It's just the opposite in modern times. Today, downtown will fill up, as in past years, with with activities of the Fun Fourth Festival.
A 100 years ago, people by the hundreds strolled down West Market Street to the rail crossing at the foot of the Greensboro College campus. They took trains to what's now called Guilford Courthouse National Military Park. It those days, it was simply called Guilford Battleground.
A make-shift station was created at the crossing and every 30 minutes a train left filled with people eager for a day-long Independence Day six miles out in the country.
The 1906 celebration was extra special. Two giant arches - big enough for cars to pass through - were unveiled in the park. One was called the Nash Arch, honoring Gen. Francis Nash of Hillsborough, killed at the Battle of Germantown in Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary War. The other, the Davidson Arch, saluted Gen. William Davidson, who died fighting the British in 1781 at Cowan's Ford near Charlotte.
Congress gave the battleground the stone arches. In 1917, Congress presented another gift, the equestrian statue of Gen. Nathanael Greene, the hero of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, fought in 1781 atthe battleground site.
The Greene monument became an instant symbol of the city and remains such today.
The two arches, on the other hand, are seen only on old post cards. They came down in the summer of 1937.
Road builders wanted to widen New Garden Road, which at the time ran west to east through the park and the arches. The arch openings were only 12 1/2 feet wide, not enough to accommodate two cars coming in the opposite directions.
John Durham, park historina at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, says the arches stood slightly more than 30 feet high and made quite a statement.
"It was a sad day for the park when they were taken down," he says.
He wonders why New Garden wasn't rerouted around the arches.
The decision was also was dubious because New Garden Road eventually was removed through the park.
At least the namesakes of the arches had other honors. Nash and Davidson counties are named for the two generals, and Davidson College takes it name from William Davidson.
Other red, white and blue events took place outside downtown that 4th 100 years ago. In the mill villages, the Cone family, owners of what became Cone Mills Corp., held its annual Independence Day picnic on for mill workers and their families on the grounds of the Ceasar Cone Mansion on Summit Avenue.
Across Summit, at Cone Athletic Park, the mill's Proximity Spinners played a team of Greensboro all-stars in a holiday baseball game.
The man who would be elected mayor the following year was at the ball park at 5 p.m. The game couldn't begin without Leon Brandt.
He was the umpire, a function he performed at minor, semi-pro and and amateur league games for years.
The mill boys, by the way, showed up the city boys. Final score: 7 zip in favor of the Spinners.
