Edward Vernon Ferrell was born on this day in 1888, in Durham, to William L. and Mary Walker Ferrell.
He moved to Winston-Salem with his parents at a young age, and attended the local schools.
He was a buyer for the American Tobacco Company before he entered the real estate field. He and his brother, J. W. Ferrell, organized the Atlantic Coast Realty Company in Greenville, N. C., in 1911. The office was later moved to Winston-Salem.
He married Rosena Jordan in 1921.
Mr. Ferrell was a baseball enthusiast, and he served as president of the Winston-Salem Baseball Club after he and three other men bought the Twin City Athletic Association franchise in 1924.
He was a pioneer in residential development, and was responsible for developing parts of Buena Vista and neighborhoods in Virginia and Tennessee. He was involved in developing Forest Hills Farms at the time of his death in 1960. And, at that time, his business had more than a dozen branches in North Carolina and adjoining states.
He served as president of the Winston-Salem Real Estate Board in 1924.
Mr. Ferrell was a member of Centenary Methodist Church, and the Elks and Kiwanis Clubs.
Ferrell Realty Company is still in business today, under the leadership of E. Vernon Ferrell Jr., and is located at 854 West Fifth Street.
Photo courtesy of Winston-Salem Regional Association of Realtors.
