Comments on: Lassiter Mill and Raleigh mill history

By: David

David — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 02:42:50 +0000

Lassiter Mill Dam Park is a fantastic spot for an afternoon outdoors. If you are looking for bathrooms and picnic tables, etc. you’ll be disappointed. There are about 10 parking spots, one picnic table, and no facilities. Nevertheless, it’s worth a visit. It has a nice sand and gravel beach, plenty of shade, and easy access for most people. There is a real nice historical marker, and the remains of both the mill and the old bridge are clearly visible. I really enjoy it for the catch-and-release fishing. I have caught Largemouth Bass, Black Crappie, several types of sunfish, Bowfin, Catfish in the 5-15 pound range (others have reported much larger ones), Shad in the spring, and one Long-nose Gar. I have also used a seine net and found several different shiners, darters and unknown species. The variety of fish is incredible, and that is what makes it so enjoyable. I think the fish congregate there because the dam blocks them from going further upstream, and the falls continuously dig large, deep pools to support them. I see lots of people there using it for photography, too. It’s really a picturesque spot, and makes a great background for portraits too. So, if you want to get a line wet, walk the dog, take some photos, or sit in the shade and enjoy a book, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

By: raleighnaturalist

raleighnaturalist — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:39:27 +0000

Bryan,
Thanks for your comment and what a fine controversy! I agree with you totally in some respects: the line with Johnson County is the beginning of the true coastal plain, and the approximate line for the range of water moccasins, for example (which are actually fairly rare in Wake). The Fall Line is not an arbitrary border but a haphazard, or at least irregular transition from Piedmont to Coastal Plain. Falls of the Neuse clearly marks it in northern Wake; I contend that Lassiter Mill, more correctly the rock outcrop that supports it, marks the transition on Crabtree from Piedmont creek to sluggish tributary of the Neuse. Crabtree’s water does not encounter any further dramatic rock exposures before joining the Neuse at Anderson Point. Just before reaching the Neuse, Crabtree slides over flat rock (with inches of depth) at a spot visible from the bridge over the creek on Roger’s Lane. The Neuse itself flows over a category 1 rockfall (you can paddle UP it with moderate effort) just fifty yards below Anderson Point. But those exceptions don’t keep the two waterways from being essentially coastal plain in nature by that point.
Thanks so much for reading and sharing!

By: raleighnaturalist

raleighnaturalist — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:18:02 +0000

Harold, I have consulted Elizabeth Reid’s Wake Co. history to no avail with John Edwards and Hardy Lassiter. Many of the area mills discussed in her book predate Raleigh itself: Yates Mill in the 1750′s and many in what was to be central Raleigh through the 1760′s. History is not my thing but I would love to know more about the history of Edwards Mill. If I find more ( or if a reader posts more) I will let you know.

By: Bryan Wiggins

Bryan Wiggins — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 19:54:46 +0000

Nice write up. I would contend, however, that the Fall Line is technically east of Lassiter Mill, where the eastern border of Wake County crosses the Neuse River.

By: Harold Edwards

Harold Edwards — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 15:00:09 +0000

I’m a descendant of John Edwards that purchased land from Hardy Lassiter in 1800. Does anyone know if the Edwards Mill Road near N.C.State University had an Edwards Mill about this time, because it is near the Lassiter family property?