GRAY 'S CREEK
The Gray's Creek High School varsity cheerleaders won a national championship title at the ECA National Cheerleading Championships on March 31, 2012.
Until the past decade or so, Gray's Creek was one of those sleepy hide-a- way towns just south of Fayetteville. The community is bordered by Bladen County to the south, the Cape Fear Riv- er to the east and Parkton on the west.
Aſter farmers began selling their land to Fayetteville developers, commercial and residential zoning followed. It allowed smaller lots and more houses, despite lo- cal efforts to keep the rural appearance with single-occupancy homes on acre or larger lots. A big box chain-grocery store and fast-food establishments with free wi-fi and flat-screen televisions hanging on the walls followed.
According to legend, Gray's Creek is named aſter the unfortunate loser in a deadly duel held near the historic Cape Fear Baptist Church. The story says that, aſter burying Gray near the creek under a cedar tree, residents named the creek aſter him and apparently the name stuck for the community that would eventu- ally spring up around that area.
The area grew and became large enough to have its own fire station and consoli- dated high school, built around 1922. However, the school closed in 1972 with the opening of South View High School in nearby Hope Mills. Students from Gray's Creek High School and Hope Mills High School, which also closed, at- tended South View. In 2003 Gray's Creek again got it own high school, giving those students their own identity and area resi- dents a community rallying point.
64 | September/October • 2012
