History of Olde Stonehaven Lands
From 1729 to 1775, North Carolina was ruled by the English King, George III, whose wife was Charlotte of Mecklenburg. The land was known as a Royal Colony. The royal governors were appointed by the King.
Mecklenburg County was created in 1763 from Anson and Rowan counties. George Augustus Selwyn, Land Proprietor in England, gave the power of attorney to H.E. McCulloh on November 1, 1763 to sell 100,000 acres (Book 6 Harris Page 186).
McCulloh deeded 360 acres to Tom Polk, Town Commissioner, for 90 pounds on January 15, 1767. This was a Crown Grant and the beginning of the town of Charlotte (Book 9 Harris Page 125). All of these lands are marked CG (Crown Grant) in the deed books.
A.C. Williamson, Clerk of Court, deeded 214+ acres to Hugh Boyce on April 9, 1861 for $1,289.50 (Book 4 Page 592). Hugh Boyce sold 35 & 3/4 acres of this land to Rev. Dr. R.G. Miller, Paul Miller’s grandfather, on November 29, 1887 (Book 57 Page 234). Dr. Miller’s original house burned and subsequently HOMEPLACE was built in 1902 at the cost of $1,800. This property adjoined Rev. John Hunter’s. This area was known as Sardis, North Carolina. Rev. Miller had also acquired property adjacent to this, and in January 1918 he purchased three acres of land next to his property from Sardis Presbyterian Church on which was a natural spring.
The heirs of Hugh Boyce sold 206 acres adjoining Rev. Miller’s lands to Julian Miller on April 10, 1910 (Book 248 Page 696).
In 1922 Rev. R.G. Miller sold 53 acres to W.G. Bass for $20 per acre (Book 40 Page 507). Mr. Bass cut timber on the property and built a two story house and barn for his family and livestock near the present entrance to Olde Stonehaven. He farmed this land, planting corn and cotton and oats – cultivating with mules and horses. He had a large family including sons Willis Bass of Charlotte and David Bass of Shelby and several daughters.
The Bass family sold this land to a lawyer in Nashville, Tennessee who subsequently sold it to Mr. Fred Wiggins of Charlotte. McArn and Gwynn Co. bought and divided some of these lands into lots for a subdivision called Stonehaven. The named has been changed to Olde Stonehaven. There are 74 lots with an occupied house on each lot. The three streets in Olde Stonehaven are named Deveron Drive, Larkhall Lane, and Glenridge Road.
There were many gold mine shafts on this land and on property across Sardis Road as well as on the land now known as Downing Place. These were mined by folks who came from far and near. the area was noted for its beautiful trees and bountiful amount of stones, hence, the name Stonehaven. There were two schools nearby. A one room schoolhouse next to the present Rama Road Elementary and another called Sardis School, which was located on the present site of Central Church, Church of God.
Sardis Presbyterian Church, which was organized in 1790, is located on Sardis Road. The church owns property directly behind some of the houses on Deveron Drive. The aforementioned spring is close to the south boundary line of 6150 Deveron Drive. Water was very important to the early churches and this spring was used by the members as a focal point at their picnics, as well as a source of drinking water between services on Sunday. Mrs. Josephine Miller Hood, Rev. R.G. Miller’s daughter, deeded the spring and 3/4 acre surrounding it to Sardis Presbyterian Church on April 8, 1941. It is now fenced in with a split rail fence.
At one time Rama Road turned east into the woods about 200 yards south of the present entrance to Olde Stonehaven. It proceeded eastward through the woods (Downing Place) to the Sardis Church Cemetery and veered in a southerly direction to connect with Sardis Road.
There are unmarked slave graves in the old Sardis Church cemetery. This is located across the road from the present church sanctuary next to the scout hut.
Researched by: Florence Chapman, Elizabeth Jetton, Jean McKinon, Jackie Palmer, and Horton C. Reed