Comments on: A Lost Wonderland

By: a.g rivenbark

a.g rivenbark — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 12:39:53 +0000

need some info on roper lumber in duplin co i am working on some roads on a track of land called the Roper track there is a rail road bed on it

By: Cheri Parker

Cheri Parker — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 13:01:15 +0000

I’m looking for information on the Winthrop, NC mill. I live on one of the creeks it was located on and frequently find the bricks, bottles and indian artifacts that tell me this was a large mill. Some of the older neighbors tell me about a large boardwalk and the boiler explosion at the mill. I would love to find out more information if you can point me in a direction.

By: Ellis Daw

Ellis Daw — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 01:31:16 +0000

My grandfather bought a tract of land in Wonderland in 1948 – it is still in the family and owned by my dad, Vernon Daw. What I beleive is the last house standing is on his property. I’ve heard him describe the line of worker house but this is the first photgraph I’ve ever seen of Wonderland as a logging area.

By: Sharon Weaver

Sharon Weaver — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:04:14 +0000

This is so interesting…I’ve heard my Daddy talking about picking up “chunks” (I think they were roots left after the land was cleared) in Wonderland where we still have property. He’d know the names of the canals too…the only one I can recall is the “Intercepting” canal.

By: Beverly Brimmage

Beverly Brimmage — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 17:40:53 +0000

My mother and her family lived in Wonderland. Mother remembers being a a young child and said her family was the last family to leave Wonderland. I would like to get any information and picture if possible.

By: Virginia Dare Respess Hollowell

Virginia Dare Respess Hollowell — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:19:13 +0000

the website is http://www.beaufortcountyhistorymuseum.com
it is an on going project to celebrate Beaufort County’s 300th birthday

By: Virginia Dare Respess Hollowell

Virginia Dare Respess Hollowell — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:51:14 +0000

I was born in 1937 in the community ajoining Wonderland, that being Pike Road. By this time, the area called Wonderland, was still called Wonderland but, there was nothing left of the camps. The Railroad was gone, taken up, completely. There remains the name of Pike Road Station, but even the depot was gone at the time of my birth. My Daddy told of hauling corn to the “Pike Road Station” to be hauled by rail. We have this on tape when my brother interviewed him.
The dutch community that came to Terra Ceia in the early to mid 30′s would not be able to give info on Wonderland.
I was so excitied and pleased to learn that Wonderland had a postoffice in 1918-1925.
We had a postoffice in Pike Road, Wenona, and Pungo. The first Pike Road Post office was located in my grandfather’s store, W.A. Respess being the post master.
If you will take the time to visit my website, there is some Beaufort county infor mation of interest, although Wonderland is located in both Beaufort and Washington Counties.

By: Jason Tomberlin

Jason Tomberlin — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 20:56:27 +0000

The NC Collection also has the following postcard from ca. 1911: Roper Lumber Co., Largest Saw Mill in North Carolina, New Bern, N.C.

By: Cheryl Oakes

Cheryl Oakes — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 20:51:30 +0000

We have a small folder of materials on the Roper Lumber Company in our library, but I didn’t see Wonderland mentioned. We have also scanned a few photos that show Roper operations in 1914 when forestry students at the Biltmore Forest School visited (http://fhsnb.oit.duke.edu/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll and search for Roper).

The Smithsonian National Postal Museum lists a post office at Wonderland from June 1918 until October 1925 when the mail was rerouted to Pantego. The most detailed article on the Roper Lumber Company is:
“A Trip Through the Varied and Extensive Operations of the John L. Roper Lumber Co. in Eastern North Carolina and Virginia.” American Lumberman (April 27, 1907): 51-114. Reprint by Weyerhaeuser Company (New Bern, North Carolina, 1986?).

David is right. Much more needs to be done!
Cheryl Oakes
Librarian, Forest History Society, Durham, NC

By: David Cecelski

David Cecelski — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:25:51 +0000

Jason, to me the pamphlet’s photos are a real find. To my knowledge, they are the first photographs of Wonderland that have turned up, and the entire saga of the Roper Lumber Co. (the state’s largest at end of 19th and beginning of 20th century) and its logging camps has been neglected and is largely forgotten. The photographs in your pamphlet are a real treasure and I can’t thank you enough for alerting us to them.

The canals, by the way, were central to the company’s plans. Following timbering, a series of tremendous canals had to be built in order to drain the land for farming. Most, I believe, drain into the Pungo River.