Some Mebane residents have been abuzz over the possibility that the so-called “Stagecoach Rock” might be pulverized in order to make way for an entrance into a new residential subdivision, Tupelo Junction, at the corner of Stagecoach and Lebanon roads, near the city’s Lake Michael on the Orange County side of the city.
City manager Chris Rollins updated the city council this week that the rock is not likely to be removed – neither in part nor in whole.
At the same time, the city manager also disabused the widely-held belief that the rock has historic significance.
According to the “legend” about the rock, Rollins relayed the long-held belief that a stagecoach driver fell off his carriage, striking his head on the rock, and was believed to be buried underneath the rock that had caused the fatal wound.
However, according to research that Rollins relayed to the board, the “rock” is even more than just the large boulder that protrudes from the ground at the corner of the ostensible path of the former stagecoach route.
Instead, the “rock” is actually the top of a large rock formation – “the tip of a mountain sticking out of the ground,” Rollins said, much like the tip of the proverbial iceberg. No one could possibly have been buried underneath it, he reported, because there is no “underneath” to be located.
The state Department of Transportation had also concluded that there is no “historical significance” since there is no evidence that has been found to substantiate the legend.
It appears, Rollins conveyed to the board, that the rock will remain in place, although grading around it may reduce its perceived height and visibility; in years past, that visibility was often obscured by overgrown kudzu in the area.
The developer plans to keep the back side of the rock, which has carvings in it, accessible for view, even though there’s really no historical basis for its popularity or sentimentality in Mebane.
Other recent Mebane news:
Mebane planning board needs another member: https://alamancenews.com/mebane-planning-board-needs-one-more-member/
Eastern High School golfer who won state championship lauded by city council: https://alamancenews.com/teen-champion-golfer-honored-by-city-council/
Retired city manager has a new position: https://alamancenews.com/cheek-takes-new-post/
Apartments (48) approved along South Eleventh Street: https://alamancenews.com/48-apartments-given-green-light-on-south-eleventh-street/
51 more townhouses will be added to Townhouses (51) will be added to 134 more already approved within 409-home subdivision: https://alamancenews.com/mebane-planning-board-needs-one-more-member/
