Bertie County, North Carolina
Our Town
Kelford was drawn before it was built. A surveyor laid out its streets and lots on sixty-five acres of farmland in the spring of 1890, two years before the town had a name on the books. The plan is still the town.
Photograph to be provided by the Town
How Kelford happened
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1848–1850
A house gets a name
Col. S.A. Norfleet bought six hundred acres from Mrs. Elizabeth Sutton and the heirs of Langley Granbery, and built his home on the land. His wife named the house Kelford. By 1860 that was what everyone called it. The house burned in 1885.
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1885–1890
Two railroads cross
The Norfolk and Carolina and the Roanoke and Tar River railroads were laid through northwestern Bertie County. Just before the track went down, the Clyde Land Corporation bought sixty-five acres from Col. Norfleet.
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March 1890
The town is surveyed
C.H. Haargrove, a surveyor working for the Clyde Land Corporation, ran the lines and set out streets and lots for a town. It took the name of the Norfleet home.
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1892
Incorporated
Kelford was incorporated. The same year W.R. Browne built the first hotel in town, the Browne House.
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15 December 1898
Kelford Baptist Church
The congregation met in their new building and organized the Kelford Baptist Church.
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1911
Bank of Kelford
The Bank of Kelford opened for business.
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14 October 1914
Bottling day
The Coca-Cola Bottling Company opened in Kelford. By 1915 the town also had a Chero-Cola plant, a cotton gin, a saw mill, and several stores.
People from here
- Kent Bazemore, who played in the NBA, was born in Kelford.
- Jessica Breland, who played in the WNBA, grew up here.
Through the year
Content to be provided by the Town
Community events
Anything the Town hosts or helps host through the year, with dates.
Photograph to be provided by the Town