Postmarked December 31, 1911, this postcard was mailed from Buchanan, Virginia to Winston-Salem. The sender of the postcard, identified as Mrs. T. L. Vaughn Sr., sent the card to Mrs. H. D. Poindexter, with this sentiment written on the back, “I often think of my good neighbor and friend. Best wishes for the New Year.”
Mrs. H. D. Poindexter lived in a large house on the corner of West Fifth and Spruce Streets. The mailing address on the postcard was simply, “Fifth Street.”
Mrs. T. L. Vaughn Sr. lived on the opposite corner, at West Fifth Street and Poplar Streets. But, their houses filled the block between Spruce and Poplar Streets, in the 500 block of West Fifth Street. See the photograph below that shows the houses at the top of the photograph, as seen from the air. The Poindexter house is at the left, with the Vaughn house at the right. The building (roof and steeple visible) at the bottom center of the photograph is First Baptist Church. The photograph was taken about 1938, and judging from the cars on the street, it might have been taken on Sunday.
Mrs. Poindexter (Augusta Miller) was married to Henry Dalton Poindexter, proprietor of a hardware store on Trade Street. Mr. and Mrs. Poindexter were parents to nine children. Their home was later moved to West End Boulevard where it was fitted onto an existing lot. Integon National Insurance Company built a large corporate headquarters on this property, and the name was later changed to GMAC Insurance.
To read more about Henry D. Poindexter, follow this link: http://winstonsalemtimetraveler.com/2014/11/25/november-25-happy-birthday-henry-dalton-poindexter/.
To read more about the Poindexter house, follow this link: http://winstonsalemtimetraveler.com/2014/12/13/december-13/.
Mrs. Vaughn (Eliza Steadman) was married to Thomas Livingston Vaughn, Sr., a tobacco manufacturer. The Vaughn’s had recently moved to Buchanan, Virginia when Mrs. Vaughn mailed the postcard in 1911. They are listed in the 1910 census as living in Winston-Salem. The F. J. Liipfert Sr. family later occupied the Vaughn house.
Photographs courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2016, from the Winston-Salem Time Traveler!
Stay tuned for the next historical post on January 15th.
