Town History

Stokesdale, North Carolina, located in the northwest corner of Guilford County, is a rural community with a mixture of agricultural and farming areas, businesses, industries, and residential areas.  A small business district provides services for the citizens of the area.  Several industries are also located within the Town.  The 21.4 square miles included in the incorporated area of the Town is intersected by three major highways (US Highway 158, NC Highway 68 and NC Highway 65).  Part of the Town borders a fourth major highway, US Highway 220.  With this network of roads, Stokesdale citizens are within a short drive of the larger cities of Greensboro, High Point, Winston Salem, or Reidsville.


Back in the 1860’s, before the era of automobiles and railroads, Stokesdale was called Green Pond.  The name of Green Pond came into being because of a swampy pond located in the general area of what is now Ellisboro Road and Highway 65.  The “Town” consisted of a General Store built by Mr. John King in 1860.  The store was located across from the intersection of Ellisboro Road and Gideon Grove Church Road in Stokesdale.

Shortly after the War Between the States, a Post Office was authorized at Green Pond.  As was the custom in those days, the post office was located in a general store since it was most often the meeting place of the community.  The postmaster then could tend to both of his duties as needed during the day. John King’s nephew, William Linville, was the postmaster at Green Pond.  Green Pond eventually became known as “Pond.”  The mail was delivered to the Pond Post Office twice a week by Star route from Kernersville.  The carrier brought the mail riding mule back.  The Greensboro Patriot was the only newspaper delivered through the post office at that time.


In 1886 the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railroad was built from
Greensboro to Mount Airy.  The railroad passed through Pond and a railroad station was built to service the area.  The post office was moved at this time and the  name was changed to Stokesdale.  The name Stokesdale was selected in honor of a Mr. Stokes who was either an executive of the railroad, a conductor on the train, or the surveyor who surveyed the area. 
The first train depot, shown here,  burned in 1908 and was replaced by another the one shown below.
This Depot was sold to Mr. Sam Heffinger who had it moved to Madison in 1977.  It  became his home  after he remodeled it.  Trains continued to come through Stokesdale until 1980.  The railroad  removed the train tracks in 1981.

Stokesdale Town Hall from 1990-2010 in downtown Stokesdale.

Jesse B. Joyce
August 28, 1929-April 19, 2011

Mr. Joyce was the first Mayor of the Town of Stokesdale when the Town was incorporated in 1989.  He served as Mayor  from 1989 until 1993 and as a member of the Town Council from 1994 until 2003.


The Stokesdale Town Seal was selected from 74 entries that were received in a contest the Town sponsored. The contest winners were chosen by a panel of five judges that included Council members, Ms. Hardin, Mayor Jones, Mr. Joyce, Mr. Shelton and Stokesdale artist, Linda Shields. The winners were announced at the November 17, 1994 regular Council meeting. The First Place Entry was submitted by Mr. Clifton H. Matthews and the Second Place Entry was submitted by Mr. Peter Lee Kwon. The judges were most surprised to learn that the first place entry had been submitted by Mr. Matthews, the Stokesdale Town Clerk at that time.

The Latin phrase "Amor Vincit Omnia" (Love Conquers Everything) tops the seal which is a circle, part of which represents railroad tracks since the Town’s early history was influenced by the railroad. The date of November 9, 1989, is the certification of the Town’s vote to incorporate. The Seal also has the name of the community, Green Pond, as it was first known in the 1860’s before the era of automobiles and railroads. Shortly after the War Between the States, a Post Office was authorized at Green Pond. As was the custom in those days, the post office was located in a general store since it was most often the meeting place of the community. In 1886 the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railroad was built from Greensboro to Mount Airy. The railroad passed through Green Pond and a railroad station was built to service the area. The post office was moved at this time and the name was changed to Stokesdale. The name Stokesdale was selected in honor of a Mr. Stokes who was either an executive of the railroad, a conductor on the train, or the surveyor who surveyed the area. A "dale" is a valley or low place.

The center portion of the seal contains a map of the Town of Stokesdale which shows the major highways, US Highway 158, NC 68, and NC 65, that criss-cross the Town. Railroad tracks also appear on the map. There are four pictures of historical importance included on the map as follows:

The pick and shovel are placed in the northeast portion of the map to represent the rock quarry that is located there. Rock has been mined at this quarry for many years.

Moving clockwise, two tobacco plants are located on the southeast portion of the map. Tobacco has been and continues to be a cash crop for farms within the entire Town.

A farmer with a horse and plow represents the rural and farming background  that existed within the Town.

The still represents another piece of history  that once held a place in the Stokesdale community. While the fertile soils and the agricultural nature of the town produced abundant crops, the creeks of the northwest corner of the Town provided the water to make moonshine as a way to supplement farm income.