The Raleigh Naturalist

June 29, 2008

Lassiter Mill and Raleigh mill history

Filed under: Central Raleigh, Greenways & Parks, North Raleigh, Raleigh History, Raleigh mills — Tags: Crabtree Creek, fishing, Lassiter Mill — raleighnaturalist @ 10:30 pm

I remember the day whenI found out they would eventually close Lassiter Mill bridge. It was old time rickety but somehow made it to modern Raleigh – the 1970s- before being closed and then destroyed in 1984. I had conscientiously driven my 68 VW carefully over the twin tracks several times, fully aware I was testing out a soon-to-be piece of history. The iron on the right is part of the original bridge structure – iron and wood, and a thing of beauty it was. That bridge gave off an air of classic American architecture of a century past, and was fun to drive across as well, following old Lassiter Mill Road off of the new one.

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The site was originally called the “Great Falls of Crabtree” and was used by successive mills starting about 1780, a decade before Raleigh’s creation. Cornelius Lassiter purchased it in 1908 and built two 40-horse turbine wheels to mill grain and lumber. It burned in 1959, but the family continued to make use of the property until current times.

Well-heeled homes now surround the entire site, but the area south of dam and lower pool, and downstream to (the new) Lassiter Mill Road, constitutes a small city park. There are picnic tables, a canoe put-in, and truly fine fishing – I have watched fly fisherman work below and above the dam many times. This is the spot where the city animal control folks bring misplaced snapping turtles for release – I’ve seen them wrestle some real monsters out of their truck. The fishing is also perfect for young ones, as my own can attest. Dorian’s first small-mouth bass came from just below the tailrace, and he had the enormous satisfaction, not only of helping to clean, cook, and eat it, but make his sister sick to her stomach as well. Below is his lucky fishing hole.

You can also put a boat in very easily just off the cul-de-sac, and paddle your way as far upstream toward Crabtree Valley as the downed trees and water levels will let you. The deep water above the dam is like a linear lake right through the backyards of million dollar homes. As the water get shallower, you start to see some really nice slate deposits on the banks and realize you have climbed out of East Raleigh’s muddy ditch sections of Crabtree and gotten into some cool Raleigh Belt geology. This reminds us that Lassiter Mill literally and precisely marks the Fall Line in central Raleigh. I’ll run pictures of that trip this summer.

This is the deep water above the dam. Dams like Lassiter Mill present a problem for migrating fish and the mussels dependent on them for reproduction (a long story we’ll get into sometime). Someday we may make an ecological choice to remove the dam. I will miss the easy canoe trip, but I understand the value of unencumbered stretches of water. Amazing to think of all the gristmills (and dams) that used to dot the Raleigh area – road names alone give you some idea – Lassiter, Edwards, Yates, Ligon, etc. A future gem of a post will explore the remains of the small mill still visible in Fallon Park. We used to live closer to nature – but we also exploited nature in ways we have given up.

The comments below represent well the amazing memories and feelings the Raleigh community has for this spot. those comments are a major feature of the newly published book based on this blog.

The Natural History of Raleigh

Comments (39)

Flower Power!

Filed under: Central Raleigh, Gems & Surprises, Nature Lore — Tags: Atamasca Lily, buttercups, henbit, rainbow, sitar, wildflowers — raleighnaturalist @ 10:23 pm

This post was orginally published April 22, 2008.

A sitarist at downtown’s Earth Day festivities and Sunday night’s rainbow.

Flower Power!! Here are some local beauties to follow up on the Asheville post.

Purple dead-nettle at Lassiter Mill. Leaves can be just as pretty as petals.

(I originally called this henbit).

front yard volunteers. bluebells of a sort?

Lady Banks blossom on ferns

Buttercups beside Hodges Road

Atamasca Lily stand on Buckeye Trail.

Happy Spring, Katie & Russ!

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Garden frogs are out!

Filed under: Nature Lore, Pecans & Mistletoe — Tags: Dorothy Pugh, frogs — raleighnaturalist @ 9:52 pm

This post was originally published on April 4, 2008.

I believe the parent/predecessors of this green frog came to us in a large potted water plant from that amazing aquarium store on west Hillsborough. We have bullfrogs in the turtle pond at the top of the yard (see below), but these smaller, more active individuals inhabit the unfenced pond at the bottom of our garden. Although we do bring in a few tadpoles each year as live treats for the turtles or general pondwater/biota additions, I consider these frogs to be voluntary residents and a compliment to the micro-ecosystems we try to maintain in our sloped Oakwood backyard. Below is this frog’s view of our garden.

Below is a bullfrog peering into the ivy that rings our pond turtle grotto. Bullfrogs have larger ear spots and usually green noses and no small spots. But you get such furtive looks at them they are hard to identify with total confidence. One reference I use a lot is Dorothy Hugh’s wonderful nature website. She is honest about the difficulty and ambiguity of amateur sightings, and yet goes ahead and provides excellent information in a beautiful format. Her page on frogs is a great example of comprehensive, efficient tools for comparision of the surprisingly varied but similar species present in the area.

Below are more garden images from this rainy spring break. I didn’t go canoeing above Lassiter Mill with my buddy Clyde as I had planned. You can check out some preliminary photos, but the mill post will have to wait. Our brand new rain barrels are definitely up next! Buy yours soon.

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Spring Forward – erase your nature deficit!

Filed under: About & reflection, Central Raleigh, Greenways & Parks — Tags: Fletcher Park, garden, Green River Preserve, Richard Louv — raleighnaturalist @ 9:37 pm

This post was originally published on March 23, 2008.

The equinox on Thursday and the warm weather have us all thinking about getting out into the dirt – right? Maybe your kid doesn’t like to get out and garden with you. Consider sending them to the Green River Preserve this summer. This environmental camp for rising second through ninth graders, with expedition programs for all high schoolers, is located on several thousand acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains. They have an outstanding program. They also promote a book, Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv, which centers on a concept to consider: nature-deficit disorder, which can affect any of us if we’re not careful. Plant those seeds, take that walk, mount that expedition! Have a great one!

The flowery driveway of a street that edges Fletcher Park. This time of year, it’s one of the prettiest sights in central Raleigh. You can glimpse the new construction on the right. More about that below.

The Fletcher water garden project is really moving along and needs more coverage. One of the primary functions of the water garden will be to capture, slow and filter the water from this drainage as it makes its way down to Pigeon House Creek, across the railroad tracks by Capital Boulevard. There are plenty of other tributaries to that troubled creek that need help more than this heavily wooded glen, but it definitely will provide some much-needed quality control. We will watch this project carefully, and use it as an entrance to the many issues surrounding Pigeon House Creek.

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Fletcher Park’s new project

Filed under: Central Raleigh, Greenways & Parks, Nature Lore — Tags: Fletcher Park — raleighnaturalist @ 9:22 pm

This post was originally published on March 19, 2008

As well described at New Raleigh, a new water garden has been approved for Fletcher Park. This controlled, even manicured, piece of urban wilderness was a Methodist orphanage most of my childhood. Now it is a heavily used recreational area with a friendly hillside picnic area and a gorgeous, richly planted plateau overlooking a really intriguing amphitheatre. The south edge used to be more or less thickly shrubbed and ignored, but now the environmental model project will dress up and bestow structured access to that area. For now, it’s a mess, but it sounds nifty.

Above, the flowering trees of the plateau and the amphitheatre. Below are two wonderful tree specimens that are nearby. Last are two pictures of the water garden construction.

Above a red oak, below a white.

Fletcher water garden site

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Bikes Trails RIP – highlights greenway loss

Filed under: Central Raleigh, Crabtree Creek, Greenways & Parks, North Raleigh, waterways — Tags: bike trails, Crabtree Creek, Joe Miller — raleighnaturalist @ 9:08 pm

This post was originally posted on March 6, 2008.

The destruction of the bike trails described by Joe Miller is not just significant for these bandit bikers: all users of the greenway between Atlantic Avenue and Capital Boulevard should mourn the loss of this old farm site, whose naked hillsides (and future clapboard townhouses) are easily visible from the greenway. Riparian buffer is the term for the ecological value of these wooded areas contiguous with the greenway: the trees absorb rain as well as pollution, shade and cool the waters of Crabtree. Of course, the wildlife appreciates wooded areas next to the creek as well.

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This is a rich and variegated section of greenway with lots of interesting features in addition to the old farm site. If you park off Capital Blvd. at its intersection with Yonkers Road, you will have to jump the barrier that tells you this problematic section of greenway deck needs shoring up. The risk seems minimal, and I’ve done it many times. From this deck you can see the naked hillsides, and then follow that section of greenway as it heads toward Atlantic Avenue.

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A view from the greenway of what Joe Miller describes as the mohawk look.

Above is the view from the new development at the south end of Six Forks.

This lovely path begins at the base of the hillside deck and heads straight toward the southbound ramp off the beltline for Capital Boulevard. If this stretch survives the development, that will be significant for this greenway section.

From the west end of the problematic deck, you are looking toward Atlantic Avenue. This stretch parallels Hodges Road and looks across Crabtree at the old site for the State Farmer’s Market. Below you see a bog visible to the right of this stretch.

Now just across this bog we have an interesting situation. Several fellows have set up a tent just behind the Atlantic Ave marsh area and are creating quite a trash pile nearby. The trash is visible from the greenway, but won’t be long as things green in. I have observed these camps and also the urban “nesting sites” downtown and under bridges for many years and almost never gotten bad vibes from them. But that is some nasty trash! We’ll end the post with the sunset cattails which are literally within sight of the tent and trash. Be careful out there!

The marsh below has been short of water since well before the drought. It appears to me that the greenway construction changed the drainage somehow. What you’re looking at used to stay under two feet of water most of the year. I guess the incoming water and sedimentation will re-adjust things over time. Anybody know?