“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields that it kisses them so gently?” questioned Lewis Carroll in his famous book, Through the Looking Glass. “And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt.”
In February of 2025, Farmville found itself snug under a quilt of snow. It’s an unusual occurrence in the last few years to have snow in eastern North Carolina! The sparkling substance, resembling sugar, created a sweet scene as it fell softly on the winter foliage below. Bright red cardinals perched on pine trees dusted with snow; icicles hung heavy from the eaves of some homes; and the sun peeked out of the grey-blue sky, smiling on a winter wonderland.
Farmville appeared different – out of the ordinary – a “through the looking glass” experience that seemed to transport everyone to a different world. In this case, a “snow globe world” – a magical place.
This snow provides a unique lens through which to view a brief history of Farmville, NC. Dating back to 1878, snow globes often contain a model of a small town or village intricately created inside the dome. This recent snowfall provided a view of Farmville through the flurry of falling snow, as if it did indeed exist in a snow globe.
After all, it is a “model” town. Farmville’s history and heritage date back more than 250 years when Major Benjamin May first settled the area. Arriving from Scotland in 1750, May later served in the Revolutionary War militia, and for his service, acquired thousands of acres of land in the vicinity of present-day Farmville.
In those early days, the sparsely settled area of mostly farmers called their hamlet “New Town.” A cabin belonging to a “Miss Sallie Williams” is believed to be the first structure on record in the small emerging town. Less than 20 years later, the forward-thinking people of “New Town” created the Pitt County Female Institute, long before most other small rural villages thought it appropriate and beneficial to provide women with an education.
But it was a new town, settled by visionary pioneers with innovative ideas. When Benjamin May first acquired the land, he saw a blank canvas but like all other forward-thinking citizens who came after him, he saw a transformation “through the looking glass” to a future of prosperity and success. Precisely because it was located in the center of fertile farmland, the town grew steadily over the years as Benjamin May envisioned.
In February 1872, the citizens of New Town wanted the name of their village changed to Farmville. While it is unknown who proposed and promoted the renaming of the eastern North Carolina village, the new moniker reflected the town’s agricultural roots and blooming businesses. Formally incorporated in 1872, the town grew rapidly.
The arrival of trains chugging into town whistled expansion. The tobacco industry blossomed and with it came the growth of residential areas. If Major Benjamin May had indeed peered “through a looking glass” all those years ago, and seen the opposite of a blank canvas, his dream of a prosperous town had certainly come true.
About a decade ago, when many small towns, including Farmville, started to lose businesses on Main Street and things began to look bleak, visionary leaders fought for the vibrancy and vitality that this town has enjoyed through the years. As if seeing “through a looking glass,” they imagined a future opposite of what they were experiencing. Where stores were closed, they imagined them open and bustling with business. Where Main Street looked empty, they envisioned people populating the downtown district. Where buildings looked old and smudged with time, they saw them in a new light, looking bright, like a red cardinal sitting on a snow-dusted tree branch or the sun winking through a grey blue sky, predicting good times to come.
The hard work brought about progress and change. Combining creativity and commerce on the corners of Main Street, Farmville emerged as a new town, so to speak. Visionary citizens installed the largest outdoor art gallery in eastern North Carolina as artisans painted huge murals on the sides of historic buildings and brought “ghost signs” back to life. The town again invested in the future of education and literacy with the construction of a state-of-the-art library. Local entrepreneurs increased the number of visitors as they designed and established venues for weddings, gala’s, reunions and enchanting places to meet and greet.
Farmville is a magical place – a model town – where business blooms on Main Street and stores offer the best of new products as well as vintage items. Amidst it all, is a inspiring art deco theater, two imaginative art galleries, and an inventive glass-blowing station.
It is a town that always moves forward, always modernizes, yet remembers the pioneer visionaries from its past. More than 150 years ago, the small hamlet known as New Town incorporated and became Farmville. And yet, it is always growing and developing and re-inventing itself to ensure progress and prosperity. This February, as Farmville celebrates 153 years of success, it is good to remember the town’s history and heritage.
When the snow fell on Farmville and people saw the town through a flurry of snow, it appeared as a snow-globe village – a model town, which it is. And it always will be as pioneers, visionaries, forward-thinking citizens, leaders and entrepreneurs continue to peer through the looking glass and imagine Farmville’s fantastic future.
To experience the town summed up in this brief history of Farmville, North Carolina, come visit us in eastern NC!
