Hugh McRae and Rockingham Power company had started and nearly completed Blewett Falls Dam. But when hard times and floods hit the dam project, he lost out. In 1908 investors, who would later come together to form the original Carolina Power and Light Co. took over the project.

In 1911 the new company (C.P.&L.) also acquired the Yadkin River Power Co. just up- river from Blewett Falls. In 1917 the new company bought land on each side of Pee Dee River from around the S.C. line northward to what would be Tillery Dam (1928) some twenty-five miles from the Blewett Falls dam.

As C.P.&L was finishing up at the dam, power lines were being run to carry this new energy all over the region. To build these lines many linemen and laborers were hired.

Being a lineman has always been a rough, tough and above all a very dangerous job. Back in the early 1900’s the metal towers and poles had to be climbed by hand. A lot of the time and in rough places, mules were hooked-up to large rolls of wire to stretch the power line along the rights-of-way. Ropes, pulleys and chain hoist were used to connect the lines to the large glass insulators atop the wooden poles and metal towers.

A lineman also had to be in good physical condition, and some say a little crazy. It took a special person to last long on a line crew. It might be compared to a cattle drive in the old west. When the job was finished, or the men were given a break, many celebrated with lots of liquor while blowing off a little steam.

You know some folks just can’t hold their liquor and some might just get real mean acting while intoxicated. Why some just want to fight over anything and it doesn’t matter where they are at or who they are with.

Such was the case of an infamous gun fight on the streets of Rockingham as the power co. lineman were camped just outside of town.

Just so happened the linemen had just completed a section of line and were given a day off. Being ready to party and learning that a circus (Downie and Wheeler) had just come to town, they were ready to forget about work and really enjoy themselves.

As the linemen celebrated with lots of drinking of Blind Tiger Liquor, they became boisterous and a real nuisance. Why, they even thought the streets of Rockingham belonged to just them.

Seems one of the linemen, V.C. Sawyer, had returned from the circus and was really getting out-of-hand on the streets of Rockingham. As the local police went to arrest him, he resisted, he was then clubbed and placed in jail.

Well one of their own being arrested didn’t sit well with the rest of the already intoxicated linemen. Shots rang out as several linemen rushed out of what was then Hinson Bros. livery stable. They attacked the arresting officers W.B. Flake and deputies Carl C. Shores and Martin Brown.

During all this melee, many shots were fired but the police officers would hold their ground. But not before Deputies Shores and Brown were hit by bullets. Along about the same time a 22 yr. old lineman rushed the lawmen and was shot three times but continued firing right and left as he ran for cover.

Several of the bullet holes can still be seen implanted in the brick at the old McNair Furniture store.

The fighting was at close quarters, with the officers using their pistols to club the attacking linemen. With more law reinforcement arriving just in the nick of time, the linemen were overtaken and arrested.

The citizens of Rockingham had enough of these Hellbenders and were glad when the rowdy line construction crews finished up and moved on.

There had been a lot of man-hours and hard work put-in with the building of the new Blewett Falls Dam and powerhouse. It started around 1903 and the power was turned on June 12th, 1912. Men had lost their lives; others were severely injured or lost their fortunes all in the name of progress. There were many stories told about hardships and good times at Blewett Falls but alas all the people who made it happen have all crossed over the river.

After the plant came online in 1912, a small village with a few beautiful homes and landscapes were built on site to house C.P.&L employees or visitors working at the plant. A boarding house was also built along with a small store operated by the Battle brothers. In the fifties and early sixties, this author remembers using the small public boat landing on the island between the powerhouse and the dam. C.P.&L. never asked anybody to get out of the houses built around the powerhouse but as they went down, or became unoccupied, they were sold to be torn down or moved.

Fifty years after the dam was built a new permit had to be issued by the state of N.C. C.P.&L., who merged with Florida Progress to form Progress Energy, had to make some changes around the dam and along the river.

Today, the Blewett Falls facility and other C.P.&L (Progress Energy) holdings are owned by Duke Power. There is limited access to the dam and to the powerhouse. But you know things still change as they did back when the project to build the dam first began and the river still flowed freely from the mountains to the coast.

J.A. Bolton is author of “Just Passing Time,” co-author of “Just Passing Time Together,” “Southern Fried: Down-Home Stories,” and just released his new book “Sit A Spell” all of which can be purchased on Amazon or bought locally. Contact him at j.a.@jabolton.com