history

Rural Hall first got its name in 1875 when the post office was established in
the Bitting home. Long before this, there were many folks that had lived on
this land that is now called Rural Hall. Much of the info that we have about
Rural Hall comes from the records kept by the Moravians at nearby
Bethabara. Other records have come from the Lutherans. Traveling
preachers that visited kept the information going through their letters and
diaries. The rest of the information comes pretty much from well the
families that have called this placed home for the last few hundred years.
In 1750,Rural Hall was made up of mostly forest and meadow land. This
land had been inhabited by the Indians for over 8,000 years. When the white
man who were explorers and trappers came to the area about 1540, they
found Tutelo and Saponi Indians, who were tribes of the Sioux nation. The
Indians remained in the area until the white settlers took over in the 1760's.
The Germans who came to this wilderness had been living on the Eastern
Shores of Maryland and in Pennsylvania. They came for several reasons.
The Carolinas offered cheap land, good climate and soil, and an
unpopulated region.
Their route of travel was the Upper Saura Town Indian Trail, later to be
known as the Great Wagon Road. A part of this route came directly through
Rural Hall, although some still question this fact. They came by horseback,
by foot and by huge wagons. These families came singly or in groups of
two or three.
It has been said that a trappers cabin, built in 1745, was among the
evidence of these early settlers. This cabin was added to in 1785, according
to the same fact, and is still standing in present day Rural Hall.
During the Revolutionary War armies from both sides came through the area
committing deeds of violence, confiscating property, food and horses. It had
been reported that they were "living at discretion in many places." One
incident indicates that there were a number of stills in the area and that
when the British army under Cornwallis came through , the army found the
stills and got quite drunk.
The decade of the eighties was a time of rebuilding for Rural Hall. The
citizens became more organized and more of a community. In 1785,
Nazareth Lutheran Church was organized. From records it is known that in
1818 the community consisted of twenty families.
Throughout the first fifty years, Rural Hall folk spoke German almost
exclusively. In 1825 the church services became bilingual.
When Rural Hall first came to be populated, it was located in Rowan County.
In 1771 new lines were drawn by the colonial government so Rural Hall
became located in Surry County. A further change was made by the new
government, and Rural Hall became a part of Stokes County. That line
remained until 1849 when Forsyth County was established. In 1974 Rural
Hall citizens established their own governing body.
Rural Hall was spared from being a battlefield during the Civil War. Just
before the end of the war, the Yankees did come near Rural Hall.
Around 1882, Rural Hall got its name. According to Rural Hall folk, the
Anthony Bitting house had a hall extending from front to back throughout the
house. It served as community meeting place and was referred to as "The
Hall." On March 11, 1875 Benjamin L. Bitting was appointed postmaster, the
first one in the community. His house was considered to be the post office.
Since this region was considered to be the country, the postmaster marked
the mail " The Rural Hall" and thus the name of the community. This historic
house was torn down in 1949 for the widening of Old highway 52.
The railroad came to Rural Hall in 1887. Big Event for them!!!!!!
This info is provided from the book "The History of Rural Hall", compiled by
the Rural Hall Woman's Club