The News & Observer reports that tiny Four Oaks, located at the intersection of I-40 and I-95 in Johnston County, has a dream:
Mayor Linwood Parker has a vision: A grist mill rises from a hill by Interstate 95, beckoning drivers to his town of 1,600 residents. Beside the mill is a lake shaped like North Carolina, ringed by a walkway and lit by lamps that represent state attractions: Cape Hatteras, Tryon Palace, Research Triangle Park.
Like the giant peach-shaped water tower on I-85 in Gaffney, S.C., and the Sombrero Tower that looms over I-95 in South Carolina, the Carolina Lake would draw tourists to a town known for, well, not much.
In a town so small it has only one fast-food chain outlet (a Subway), Four Oaks leaders are dreaming big after securing a coveted economic catalyst: a revamped interchange on I-95.
But of course, these locals know what will make travelers stop and spend their money, and it’s not a string of fast food and big box chains. No, it’s a return to Mayberry and artificial “quaintness” that will be the big draw.
Town officials hope to draw some of the 37,000 daily drivers on that stretch of I-95 to a tourist attraction similar to rustic farming villages in New England. In addition to the lake, early suggestions include a farmers market, an outdoor concert stage, a nature trail along Juniper Branch stream, gardens and a town commons.
While it all sounds expensive — and it probably would total millions of dollars — Parker said it is too soon to calculate costs. But he said he hopes the projects win grants and attract private donors.
Another option may be self-financing construction bonds, which North Carolina voters authorized this month by passing Amendment 1.
Pam Mason, a hairstylist at Mane Street Salon, said she welcomes growth that preserves the town’s rural culture.
“How many other towns can you work in and have people riding horses down the street?” said Mason, who moved to the area from southern New Jersey.
Parker — accountant, barbecue joint owner, Republican operative, Johnston County economic development board chairman and Four Oaks evangelist — admitted that he hopes to re-create the post-World War II village of his childhood.
“We’re looking actually to be the opposite of the big box communities,” Parker said. “We want them to stop here because they’ll experience something they’ll experience nowhere else.”
On a recent afternoon, Parker conjured images of a bustling village with corn shuckings, quilting bees, hog killings and animal farms open to tourists. He remembered fondly his first baseball glove and his first bicycle, a red Western Flyer, both bought at Austin’s Feed and Seed on Main.
“They can see things I experienced that my grandson can’t experience,” Parker said.
Yep, sounds like a winning sales pitch: come live Linwood Parker’s childhood memories, pay excessively for the experience (unless taxpayers subsidize it), and avoid the buying power you’ll have at those big box stores. All made possible by artificially inflated property tax values and likely eminent domain seizures.
