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Photos along Hewins Creek, April 1998

Hewins Creek is a tributary of the Dan River and rises in east central Stokes County N.C. north of Pine Hall, flowing southeasterly across the Rockingham County line where it enters the Dan. It appears on old deeds in various spellings, including Hewins, Hewings, Hughens, and Uins. By the 20th century the name had evolved into the (unfortunate) phonetic variant "Eurins," which is how it appears on modern U.S. Geological Survey maps and various online maps. My choice is Hewins, which it how it is seen most often on early deeds, including the original 18th century state land grant surveys made by surveyor Charles McAnally. I do not know the original source of the name, though it appears to be derived from the possessive form of someone's surname. It is also possible it is based on the verb "to hew," as in hewing a log.

The gently rolling land around upper Hewins Creek has never been developed beyond a few scattered residences and remains in farming use. I visited the north side of the creek on a perfect spring morning on April 21, 1998, in the company of Tom Young, a native of the area and a Southern family descendant who arranged the visit. At the time, most of the old Southern land was owned by dairy farmer Tom Shore, who generously allowed us to see the property. I do not know who owns properties in the area as of 2021. We saw no above-ground evidence of human habitation of any era, though our visit was limited to the section along the north bank of the creek near the fork. I expect William and Magdalen Southern are buried in now unmarked graves somewhere in the area.

Please note this is private property and off-road. Do not attempt to visit without first seeking and receiving permission of the owners. I do not know the current owners of the property.

The following are samples of the photos we made during our visit. The photos were made along sections A1, A2 (on the north side of the creek), and B2 as shown on the map of Hewins Creek:

Click on the thumbnail to see full size image

Photo 1: A view along the north bank of the creek

Photo 2: The fork of the creek

Photo 3: The meadow on the north side of the creek

Photo 4: Tom Shore's contented cows

Photo 5: Cows by the creek