Vigorous protest against changing of the name of the historic Nations Ford road, one of the oldest roads in western North Carolina and originally an Indian trail, to WBT highway will be made to the state highway commission, Dr. James R. Alexander said last night.
He was joined by Thomas Griffith, chairman of the former Mecklenburg county highway commission, and others would add their protests, said Dr. Alexander.
WANTS HISTORIC NAME.
"We heartily object the name of this historic old thoroughfare, one of the few connecting links with Mecklenburg's early history," said Dr. Alexander. "It certainly serves no purpose to change the name of a highway. We have nothing against the radio Station, but we fail to see how that will aid the station. It will do nobody any good and at the same time will destroy a name that has come down from the earliest days of Mecklenburg."
Mr. Griffith said he did not favor the change in the name. "The Nation's Ford road will always be just that to me, I don't care what they want to call it. That is one of the oldest roads in this part of the state and it goes back to the days before Mecklenburg was even a county, to the days when it was a part of Anson, and the road was an Indian trail before then.
NO NEED OF CHANGE.
"It was named for the Indian nations. I don't see any need for destroying all our historic landmarks or the names of them. I have nothing against the radio station, either, but I don't see how changing the name of an old road will help it."
Residents of the Steel Creek section and all other Mecklenburgers who have a sentimental interest in the colonial history of this section will join in protesting the action of the state highway commission, Dr. Alexander predicted.