Economy
For over one hundred years, textile and other industries built the economy of North Carolina. Many located along the Haw and other river basins, providing employment and centers for communities since the Civil War era. Today, a few mills continue to operate near and on the Haw River, including Copland Mills in Burlington, NC. The Haw also provides drinking water and recreational activities to a large portion of North Carolina, as 10% of the state's population lives in the Haw River Watershed. The conservation of the Haw River is now the focus of several groups and government agencies, who are working to develop and preserve the Haw River.
Traditional farming has been the backbone of the economy in the rural counties lining the Haw. Though farming is under pressure, it continues to thrive, providing poultry, beef, grain, and other products for American consumption, bolstering a main export of the state.
As a part of conservation efforts has been the development of three trails. The Haw River Trail is a conservation and recreation initiative formally undertaken by local governments and private groups in 2006, and will provide both a land trail and paddle trail connecting Haw River State Park and Jordan Lake State Recreation Area. The trail is part of the North Carolina Mountains to Sea Trail.
A second major trail that has been established by local governments is the Haw River Wine Trail. The Haw River Valley has become a renowned grape growing region. This trail was originally established with five wineries in Guilford and Alamance Counties. Currently, four wineries are open on the trail, and all four have produced award-winning wines. The fifth winery, a family-operated business, closed in January 2008. There are several other wineries in the area that are not currently part of the trail.
The State of North Carolina has set up a state park on the Haw River in Guilford and Rockingham counties. There are also several city and county parks and golf courses located on the Haw, including Greensboro National Golf Club in Guilford County; Indian Valley Golf Course, Great Bend Park at Glencoe, Town and Country Park, The Challenge Golf Club, Quarry Hills Country Club, Swepsonville River Park, and Southwick Golf Course in Alamance County; and Robeson Creek Recreation Area and New Hope Overlook Campground located at the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area in Chatham County.
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Famous quotes containing the word economy:
“The counting-room maxims liberally expounded are laws of the Universe. The merchant’s economy is a coarse symbol of the soul’s economy. It is, to spend for power, and not for pleasure.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Quidquid luce fuit tenebris agit: but also the other way around. What we experience in dreams, so long as we experience it frequently, is in the end just as much a part of the total economy of our soul as anything we “really” experience: because of it we are richer or poorer, are sensitive to one need more or less, and are eventually guided a little by our dream-habits in broad daylight and even in the most cheerful moments occupying our waking spirit.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“It enhances our sense of the grand security and serenity of nature to observe the still undisturbed economy and content of the fishes of this century, their happiness a regular fruit of the summer.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)