Wake Wednesday - Holleman's Crossroads - an Opportunity for Time Travel

At one point in the not-too-distant past, Holleman’s Crossroads was a prime example of rural Wake County past – a tiny crossroads, a few farms, a store and a couple of churches. Progress, behaving the way it does has all but wiped the tiny community off the map. Even the sign marking the tiny community at the junction where four roads – Avent Ferry, Rex, Bartley Holleman and New Hill/Holleman - meet has been lost to an accident at some point. Compare these two images.

source

Google street map c.2021

The first image was quintessential pastoral Wake County. It could have been ten years ago or fifty. The second shows the same location overgrown, the barn barely visible over what looks like massive mounding honeysuckle vines. You can just see one remaining signpost standing silent sentry while the other lies mangled in the ditch.

Who drives by this spot nowadays? Likely folks that live in the new homes in the area advertised on Zillow, and those headed out to Sherron Harris Lake for some weekend fun. I hope they drive slowly and thoughtfully so they can feel the heartbeat and whisper of the old community which stood at this spot since early times and was bifurcated in the 1960's when Sherron Harris Lake was created.

J.W. Collins on Fendol Bevers Map c. 1878

Sherron Harris Lake bifurcated the community as seen on this current Google map

Fortunately for us, enough had been researched and written about this Holleman's Crossroads that much of the old footprint of the community still exists if only as paper and files.

Holleman's Crossroads was previously known as Enno and Collins in the past.

Here are some links you may enjoy browsing if you have ties to this community that has been swallowed by progress and Shearon Harris Lake and nuclear plant.

Enno on 1904 school map

Collins Crossroads on 1914 Soil Map

SB Holleman's Store and home in Buckhorn Township c.2008 Historical Places Registration form.

Site plan for Holleman's Crossroads c. 1967 at time of Shearon Harris development

Bethel Cemetery -

at Find a Grave; in Buckhorn Township in the Wake Cemetery Survey Image File Collection

Collins Grove Cemetery -

at Find a Grave; Cemetery Census; in Buckhorn Township in the Wake Cemetery Survey Image File Collection

Bethel was the earliest church in the area followed by Collins Grove. For detailed history on these churches and more see this article by Barbara Koblich at the Holly Springs Suburban Living Online Magazine.

The Holleman's Crossroads area of southwestern Wake County has been settled since the days of the Revolution. The Rollins, Cotton and Avent families settled and stayed for generations prior to the arrival of the Collins and Hollemans.

I hope you enjoyed this bit of time travel back to a place that represents rural Wake County!

Wake Wednesday - Slave Narratives in the Wake Treasures Journal Archive

A selection of the slave narratives relevant to Wake County were transcribed as noted below. The Wake Treasures Journal Archives are currently free to all to view. Note that historical materials often include viewpoints, language, norms, and values of the original creators that may be harmful to our sensibilities today. There is language here that some may wish to skip. The words of the original speakers were preserved as originally expressed.* SLAVE NARRATIVES – A FOLK HISTORY OF SLAVERY IN THE US, FROM INTERVIEWS WITH FORMER SLAVES Transcribed by Jerry J. Lewis NORTH CAROLINA NARRATIVES, Pt. 1, Vol. 14, NC District #2. This can be found in the North Carolina State Library. This was a project of the Works Progress Administration in 1937. These narratives were can be found in Vol 8.2 (starting p. 57 ) and Vol 9.1 (starting p. 59 ) The narratives include accounts from former enslaved persons who lived in Raleigh at the time of the WPA survey. Many were enslaved in Wake County...

2026 Wake County Genealogical Society Virtual Meetings - next - Oct. 27, 2026

Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026 @ 6:30pm – Virtual Topic: WWII Service: Discovering your Ancestor's Story using Online Resources Speaker: Cynthia Gage As a genealogist, I feel that my role is to preserve not just the names of my ancestors, but also to learn the stories of their lives in order to fully appreciate the history that led to me. Military service is one of those important stories and luckily for us as researchers, many records exist. The service record is only one part of a veteran's story: the other is their experience. This presentation focuses on WWII service and will provide sources and techniques for gathering and analyzing information from both parts of the story. For those with Army servicemen, there are online sources which can help rebuild the service records that were lost in the1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center. Join us! Free and virtual! *Please register by 4pm day of meeting. *Please save your passcode and link for ease of entry at st...

Reminder - Join Wakecogen for "Coffee & Conversation" - July 16 Meet-up - This Thursday

Join Wakecogensoc for "Coffee & Conversation" What - July Meet-up When - Thursday, July 16 , at 9:30 am Where - Panera Bread - (Glenwood/Pleasant Valley), 6201 Glenwood Avenue , Raleigh, NC 27612 Designed by pch.vector / Freepik Our first coffee gathering was so fun, we are going to do it again! We’ll chat about what genealogical topics we're working on, or a brick wall, or ask other members how to do something. No RSVP - just show up , order your beverage or food, and look around for Barbara at a large table with a sign for WCGS. We tentatively plan to hold several more “Coffee and Conversation” events on different days and locations throughout 2026. If you are interested in hosting one, email President@WakeCoGen.org and we'll choose a date and location. Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website - Homepage | WCGS Events | Join WCGS | Publications | Wake Cemetery Survey Images |...

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