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46 <br /> Stoney Creek area was inhabited by native American peoples from <br /> about 8000 BC until their demise in the late 17th century. The <br /> last Native American groups to live in the region included the <br /> Occaneechee, Eno, Shakori, and Saxapahaw. <br /> Colonial Times <br /> The first European settlers in the Stoney Creek basin area began <br /> arriving by the mid-eighteenth century. Most of the new emigrants <br /> to eastern Orange County were of Scots-Irish stock, and came from <br /> Pennsylvania along the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road. They <br /> travelled southward through the Shenandoah Valley and into North <br /> Carolina along the Occaneechi Trail (also known as the Indian <br /> Trading Path) . Today, St. Mary's Road follows the route of this <br /> trail. Gilbert Strayhorn was among the first to take up land, and <br /> settled near Stone' s Creek. According to local tradition, Gilbert <br /> Strayhorn built his house on a knoll which today would lie on the <br /> south side of Old NC 10, just west of New Hope Church Road. The <br /> Strayhorns remain a prominent family in the Stoney Creek area. <br /> Other early settlers in the area were the Craig, Freeland,, <br /> Blackwood, Kirkland, Nelson, and Conner families. <br /> During most of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, subsistence <br /> agriculture was the primary occupation. Self-sufficient, yeoman <br /> farmers were the foundation of the early agrarian society. Most <br /> farmers held between 80-100 acres, growing a variety of <br /> subsistence crops such as beans, peas, wheat, corn, and potatoes. <br /> Farmers raised cattle and sheep, but primarily swine, which could <br /> forage in the forests along Stone's Creek. Corn, which could be <br /> converted to whiskey, and wheat provided the main cash crops for <br /> these farmers. When land and labor were sufficient, small farmers <br /> grew a few acres of tobacco to provide cash or barter. <br /> The farmer's extended family formed the basis of his community, <br /> and the church remained the hub of social life. The major church <br /> in the area, the New Hope Presbyterian Church, was established in <br /> 1756. An important as churches in the social interactions of <br /> colonial farm life were the mills. The old mills provided power <br /> for grindstones and sawmills but were just as valuable as <br /> community meeting places. Families who spent long, isolated days <br /> on the farm welcomed a trip to the nearest mill, where they could <br /> exchange news and fellowship with other farmers. There is a <br /> historical reference to a Baldwin Mill located on Stone's Creek. <br /> 2 <br />