History of Temperanceville

Our present town of Temperanceville was once called White's Crossroads for the same reason that in our present town there are four roads meeting at one point. The town itself was begun in 1790.

The public square of today was given by two men, White and Feddeman. Long ago this piece of land was used as a place to train the citizens, for in those days all citizens were trained to be soldiers. I may also add that this land was called the "Training Ground."

Beside the present Greenwood Cemetery there is a large pond of water, and in this there used to be a water mill, owned by James White, where all the corn and wheat were ground. The people would come from long distances to have their corn and wheat ground.

At this time all the land belonged to four men, namely, Matthews, Feddeman, White and Corbin. Each of these men lived on a large plantation, much larger than any of the farms that are at present around Temperanceville. These men owned many slaves. At this time there were only six houses, each using candles for their means of lighting. One wonderful thing about these people was that they were not dependent upon anyone. They raised their cotton and made their clothing on their own plantation. I may also add that these people never shirked any work no matter what it was.

At this time there was only one store, the merchants being Conquest and Feddeman. These men were two of the first inhabitants of Temperanceville. They also did much toward the growth of the town, for they contributed many pieces of land toward the growth of the place. Grain and dried fruit were their money crops. They built a granary beside the store, and the grain from this was shipped to Muddy Creek, a place above Parksley, and thence was shipped to New York.

In regard to the schools, we may well say that Temperanceville has had good schools, and has had men interested in them from the time the village first began until the present time, when we have as good a school as is on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The first building faced and old parsonage, but a temperance order, called the Sons of Temperance built a small one-room building near the place that our present church is on, land given by the Feddemans and used for their services.

From the time the "Sons of Temperance" built this building until 1875, it was used for a private school, being heated by a fireplace. In 1877 this building was changed into a public school to which every child was allowed to go. At that time they had no small benches for one or two to sit on, but they had long benches on which about twelve could sit. The first teacher of this school was Miss Sarah Conquest, a lady who taught there for several years. I also may add that church was held in this building.

The people next changed the old school building for a two-room one, and shortly after this changed it into a three-room building. Not long after this the school became so crowded that the people decided to erect a still larger building.

In the year 1906, Mr. A. A. Matthews gave a piece of land for the purpose of a school ground. Mr. Joseph Jones was elected trustee. The piece of land given by Mr. Matthews is the site of our present high school building. The people then built a grammar school building on the piece of land. In about a year the building was enlarged to contain ten grades. The school remained this size until about 1914, when they added another grade. The first school building was then removed and was turned into an undertaker's shop.

Temperanceville got its present name from the conduct of its citizens. They never drank or sold any alcoholic liquors, therefore we may say that they were very, very temperate. I am sure that we all agree that it deserves its name, which was given it by two brothers, Henry and James White.

Long ago we had no railroads or trains on which to convey the mail from place to place, so the people elected one man to carry the mail (either on horseback or in a wagon) from Pocomoke to Cape Charles. This was a long route, so this caused the people of Temperanceville and other places on the route to only get their mail only about once in every two or three days. This continued until the railroad was put through here in 1885.

In 1860, Miss White, a descendant of the beginners of Temperanceville, gave a piece of land beside the present mill on which to erect a church. They built the Episcopal Church on this land, which remained there untill 1880, when it was then moved to Jenkins Bridge. In 1886 a Methodist Church was moved to the same spot from the place where the Conquest cemetery now is. The site was made larger by land given by Mr. W. H. Pruitt, Sr.

The first tailors of the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland did their first work at Temperanceville. Their names were Moffett and Green.

The Masonic Lodge, the first of its kind on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland, was organized in 1858. Mr. James Broughton, of Hallwood, was one of its first members. He is the only living man that helped to organize it.

The first doctor of Temperanceville was Dr. Samuel Mapp for whom Mappsville was named. The next doctor was Dr. Joseph Broadwater.

Some of the old White property of Temperanceville was bought by Mr. Joseph Conquest, who lived to be over eighty in Temperanceville. It is said he never went on a train.

The first Jews of Temperanceville were the Catts and Backracks. These men kept store and stayed here for quite awhile.

The first literary society was Buds of Hope, which was organized in 1883. The society had charge of the first public library. It had its meetings in the public school building.

In 1824 the Matthews, Feddemans and Whites met and organized an order called the Sons of Temperanceville. They then said that no one could sell any land for bar rooms, and from that time on there has been no whiskey sold here openly.

Mr. Henry Dennis built the first steam mill on the land where Mr. N. H. Gordy's home is now.

Mr. S. Wilkins Matthews and Dr. Broadwater, who were then inhabitants of Temperanceville, represented the county in the state legislature. Judge Fletcher began to practice law in this town.

There were large forests here long ago which contained an abundance of deer and other game. Mr. William Stockley Matthews killed a deer, the horn of which is still in possession of his grandchildren

The first Chautauqua of Temperanceville was the Radcliffe Chautauqua, which was first held here in 1920, and which we still have every year. We hope that it will continue to come.

Berniece E. Hall, Class of 1925, Temperanceville High School