The
Country Store
One of Craven County's few surviving rural
commercial buildings, this late-nineteenth-century frame gable-front
store was made famous by Tom Haywood, originator of the "self-kicking
machine." The two-story rectangular main section, built for a Mr. Hardison as his general
merchandise store, was originally oriented to face the adjacent Atlantic
and North Carolina Railroad tracks. In 1919, Hardison's sister, Julia,
and her husband, Tom Haywood, took over the operation of the store.
When U.S. 70 was widened in the 1940's the store was re-oriented to face
the highway, and the one-story restaurant and drive through porch were
added.
Tom
Haywood put the store on the map in 1937, when he built his home-made
self-kicking machine with help from a Friend, Wilbur Herring. This
famous device is still operable, standing near the store beneath a
rustic shelter which bears the sign: "Home of the Self-Kicking Club."
It consists of a hand operated crank connected by a belt and pulleys to
an adjacent rotary "kicker" bearing four well-worn shoes. To be kicked,
one simply bends over and turns the crank.
Haywood had built the machine for his own use, but public demand forced
him to place it under its present shelter for all to use. Haywood soon
appeared on radio shows and in October, 1937, was shown kicking himself
on his machine in a Universal News Reel. After his death in 1955,
Haywood's niece and her husband, Bill Elliot, continued to operate the
store and maintain the machine.
The
store was built 1880-1890
The Historic Architecture of New
Bern and Craven County, North Carolina
Copyright 1988 by the Tryon
Palace Commission
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