The town of Princeton was first incorporated in 1861 as "Boon Hill", to honor the name of the area's first settlers. The name was changed to Princeton in February 1873, by an act of the General Assembly. The town still bears the name of Boon Hill. In 1730 Joseph Boon received a land grant for a parcel of land on the north side of the Nueces River in Carven County, Johnston formed from Craven in 1746. He and his brother Ratliff moved their families from Northampton County North Carolina in the early 1740's. The land on which they settled was on the north side of the Nueces River near the present day road that leads to Richardson's Bridge in Southern Johnston County. Joseph Boon and his son Joseph Boon Jr. (1752-1836) acquired large tracts of land from present day Princeton to the Nueces River and east over into Wayne County. Joseph Boon Jr. was a Colonel in the North Carolina Militia during the Revolutionary War and served three terms in the North Carolina House of Representatives 1781, 1784, 1808, and one term in the Senate, 1787. Joseph Boon III inherited about 600 acres from his father on Moccasin Creek. He built a dam across the creek and establisheda mill there, since the "Stage Road" from Raleigh to the east ran through his plantation. Joseph Boon also operated a livery stable. Some years after his death in 1812, the plantation and Mill pond were acquired by the Holt family. Today the later is known as Holt's Pond. Daniel Boon, brother to Joseph, not related to the illustious hunter and fighter, had considerable land holdings in the vicinity of Princeton. It is believed that his land included that part known as the "Big Hill" northwest of Princeton. Daniel immigrated with his family to Mississippi abount 1841. The Boons were closely followed by other settlers to the area. A look at the land grants issued before 1770 reveal many names which are to be found in Princeton and vicinity today - Alford, Atkinson, Ballard, Boon, Bulls, Capps, Edwards, Gurley, Howell, Lawhorn, Lynch, Martin, Oliver, Patterson, Pierce, Raiford, Rains, Simms, Stallings, Stevens, Strickland, Talton, Tiner, Toler, Warren, and Whitley. A post office was established 15 January 1829 at Whitley's where Baker's Mill later stood. Jesse Whitley was the first postmaster. When Jesse Holt became postmaster in June 1834, the post offe was moved to the vicinity of Holt's Pond, south of Princeton. It was moved to Princeton proper in 1875. Until the railroad came through in 1854, the only means of getting agricultural products to market was by wagon or boat. The County Court was responsible for keeping the rivers open to navigation and for upkeep of the roads. In April 1859, the court appointed Ratliff Boon to "oversee the (maintenance of) the road on the north side of the Nueces River from Wayne County to Bay Branch." This is the old Smithfield-Goldsboro Road which runs through the Brogden communuty. The General Assembly in 1784 designated Boon's Landing, on Nueces River in Johnston County, as one of the places appointed for the "inspection of beef, pork, rice, tar, pitch, turpentine, fish, flour, butter, flax-seed, staves and headings, sawed lumber and shingles". The North Carolina Railroad was chartered in 1848 and the first train to pass through Boon Hill was in 1854. Construction had begun in 1852 with tract being laid simultaneously from Charlotte eastward and from Goldsboro westward. In the Boon Hill area, beginning at the Wayne County line, the railroad passed through the lands of Joseph Smith, Otto Pierce, Ransom Holt, William Pierce, Doctor H. Whitley, Wiley Hastings, Levi Oliver, William P. Raiford, and Wesley Massey. The first station agent at Boon Hill was Wiley Hastings who served from 1854 until 1868. An area resident William A. Smith, became the president of the North Carolina Railroad in 1868. In addition to his railroad and farming interests, Smith was active in politics. He served in the State Legislature in 1864, was a member of the Constitional Convention in 1865, was a Republican member of Congress in 1873-1875. The Smith plantation was located in what today is the Brogden community, about a mile southeast of Brogden School. The plantation house is still standing. In the front hall is an unsual stair case leading to the second floor, and there are double chimneys at both ends of the house. Union troops burned a number of plantation houses and barns on the river road between Goldsboro and Smithfield. One of these was home home of Thomas H. Atkinson, which was located about one mile from the Wayne County line. The house was set afire four times and each time Atkinson and a few loyal slaves put out the fire. A union officer finally took charge saying, "No damn rebel shall be left with such a home" and the house was burned to the ground. When the first train passed through Boon Hidd in 1854, the town's street had already been laid out and apparently several families were living there. The earliest deed of record in Boon Hill was for the sale of a lot Willie Hastings to Kedar B. Whitley on 23 May 1854. It was located "on the south side of the railroad, commencing at the corner of Pearl and South Front Streets." Owners of lots in the town of Boon Hill, up to the time of incorporation in 1861, included Willie Hastings, Kedar Whitley, William D. Holt, Zacharia Edwards, William H. Hamilton, Joseph S. Holt, Thomas Eedgerton Jr., Willie Starling, John B. Parrish, Josiah Edwards, Edith Edwards, Daniel Finlayson (teacher and native of Ireland), M.A. Willoughby, J.J. Finlayson, A.J. Heath, Ransom Holt, Sophia Powell, L.P. Phillips, Henry Tolar, and Charles Howell. The 1860 census reveal that there were a dozen residents of Boon Hill engaged in non-agricultural pursuits. There were five merchants, three carpenters, two shoemakers, one doctor, and one school teacher. There were several gristmills, cotton gins, sawmills, three blacksmiths, one building contractor, and one boarding house. The first organized church in the vicinity of Boon Hill was Union Meeting House (Old Union Primitive Baptist Church). It was formed October 1806, when it received "a letter of dismission from the body (church)" at Mill Creek & formed its own church.The church was located about a half a mile southeast of Brogden School and stands on the site of the organized church. Micajah Thomas served as first pastor and Joh Phillips as first elected deacon, the membership of old union was drawn from a sizable area & by 1825, a group of members were seeking a "dismission" so that they might form their own church. It was called Rains Crossroad Meeting House. Although this church has been inactive for a number of years, a church building still stands at the site of the original church. This is located about one mile northeast of present day Princeton, at the crossroads near the former Waverly Edwards farm. In January 1877, a group of Free Will Baptists acquired, as a gift from William Rains, an acre of land on which a church was built. This church is located at Rains Cross Roads on Kenly road to Princeton. The first church in the town of Boon Hill was probably the Methodist Church. In September 1863, the church trustees purchased the lot on which the present church now stands. The Princeton Baptist Church was organized in September 1889 with eight members. The first minister to the church was O. C. Horton. The first black church in Princeton was the Cold Predestination Baptist Church. In November 1883, the trustees of this church purchased a half-acre lot for a building site. Joseph Boon was one of the earliest settlers of what is now Johnston County. He was possibly born in Chowan Precinct, N.C., and his first land purchase in Johnston County was when he applied for a Land Grant of 400 acres 2 April 1745. Joseph Boon sold land 30 August 1742 as being from Craven County, North Carolina to Thomas Lyle of Surry County Va. for 200 acres on SS of Meherrin River in Northampton County granted 1 March 1719, part of a 495 acre Land Grant to Joseph Boon 1 March 1719/1720. This Joseph Boon was the son of Joseph Boon who had lived in the area of Bertie County and made his will in 1728. Father Joseph mentions his wife (not named), sons James, Joseph, Thomas, Ratliff, daus Mary and Elizabeth as well as sister Mary Bailey. A deed filed in Northampton County Feb. 1742 reveals the following family connections- "This indenture made 21 Feb. 1742 between Ratliff Boon of province of NC and Thomas Lyle of the county of Surry, Va...for pounds 5 Va. currency...Ratliff Boon has sold...to said Thomas Lyle & his heis forever, 250 acres in Northampton County on SS of Meherrin River... beg. where brother Joseph Boon's land, which bears patent date of 1 March 1719...1 other tract of ca 40 acres adj...until it meets with William Boon's line to Boon's corner where it first began, which sd. land was purchased by Joseph Boon, father of sd. Ratcliff from John Nelson 9 Nov. 1725..." Joseph and Ratliff Boon made their way into then Craven County, now Johnston County by the 1740's, buying land and settling on the north side of the Neuse River, east of Smithfield in the area that is now Brogden Road. At the April P & Q session of court in the new Johnston County Courthouse at Hinton'e Quarter, Ratliff Boon was named overseer of the road on the NS of Neuse River from the county line (Dobbs Co.) to Bay Branch and in July 1759, Joseph Boon was ordered to serve as overseer of this road "in the room of Ratliff Boon". Both were allowed 1 pound 13 shillings 8 pence for thei attendance as jurors at the last Supreme Court during the July 1759 P's & Q's session of court. Joseph and Ratliff Boon served on juries, bondsmen or securities and many other duties in the courts of Johnston County during the next twenty years. 1. Ratliff Boon b ca 1715/1720 Northampton County NC, d July 1787. md. wife Ruth was still living when Ratliff's will was made. Ratliff Boon bought and sold much land in Johnston County during his short residence here. His final land transactions were selling two tracts 1772 & 1779. He is found buying land in Surry County NC in 1784. His will was filed for probate 10 July 1787 Surry County NC. 1. Joseph Boon b JoCo possible married Patience Toler d/o William Toler. Joseph Boon and Patience Boon signed a deed in Wayne Co Co. NC selling 250 ac. land to John Moor of Sampson County, part of a 300 acre tract which had been granted to William Toler and at his decease, conveyed by will to his daughter Patience. Ratliff Boon deeded to Joseph, eldest son, 13 Feb. 1772 land that had been granted to Ratliff 20 April 1745. 2. Rachel Boon b JoCo possibly married William Gurley? 3. Thomas Boon b JoCo Thomas bought 300 acres JoCo 26 Sept. 1775 from Francis Cogdell of Dobbs Co. & received a grant of 100 acres 12 Dec. 1778. He sold lands, houses, and orchards etc. to Jesse Watkins 16 Nov. 1780 for 2000 pounds. 4. Charity Boon b ca. 1754 md 1778 David Clark. He enlisted in the Revolutionary War from Surry County NC 1776, living in Pendleton District South Carolina 1792. They had 11 children. 5. Ratliff Boon d before 1822 md Surry County NC Nancy Harris. Living in Pendleton District, SC 1800. 6. Hester Boon 7. James Boon 8. Mary Boon b ca 1767 d 3 Dec. 1857 md James McKinney 9. Daniel Boon 1800 census Pendleton District SC shows Charity Boon Clark, Ratliff Boon, Mary Boon McKinney and Daniel Boon all living there. 2. Joseph Boon Sr. b ca 1715/1720 Northampton County NC d 1793/1799 md _____? Joseph Boon bought and sold much land in Johnston County from 1739 until 16 Aug. 1793 when he deeded, to son Joseph Boon Jr., for NL and Aff. named negroes, all right and title to all lands except the plantation where he lived, retaining a lifetime right to this part. 1784 tax listing, Joseph paid taxes on 380 acres, 1 free white poll & 4 black polls. No will or estate has been found for this Joseph and he already had disposed of his property by deed. He is not listed in the 1799 tax list nor the 1800 Census of Johnston County. The name of his wife has not been found and the onlt known son is Joseph Boon Jr. Joseph Boon Sr. does not appear in the Militia Court martial Minutes 1761-1779 as being one of the officers or as having been delinquet in his presence at Militia practice so he was possibly 'aged or infirm' or over the age of 60 by 1761. 1. Joseph Boon Jr. b ca 1751 JoCo d 21 Oct. 1836 age 84 years. (Biblical recorder Obituary) md Sarah/Sally Bass. First mention of Joseph Boon Jr. is in the court minutes of Oct. 1764, "Ordered that Joseph Boon, son of Jos Boon, mark be recorded which is a crop & an under half moon on ye right ear & same in the left." (cattle mark) The next mention of Joseph Boon in the court, is when he is summoned as a member of the Grand Jury in Nov. 1762. He had to be at least 21 years by this time. He served on many juries and attended New Bern Superior Court many times over the next 50 years. In June 1785 he was appointed to "superintend and direct the clearing of the Neuse River from Smithfield to the Wayne Co. line, (Wayne Co formed from Dobbs Co. 1779) agreeable to the bonds laid off by order of August Court." At the Nov. session of court, is the first mention of Boon's landing on the Neuse River when Jeremiah Powell was appointed inspector of Beef & etc. at Boon's Landing. Much of the land owned by Joseph was near or on Moccasin Creek, and this is possibly the location of the landing. In 1799 Joseph listed taxes for 3261 acres of land, 1 white poll, 27 black polls & 3 lots in the town of Smithfield. Joseph Boon served as a Colonel in the Johnston County Militia during the Revolutionary War and served as a Representative in the North Carolina Assembly in 1781, 1784, and 1808. He served in the NC Senate in 1787 and was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1788. Neighbors of Joseph Boon and his family were the Bulls, Ingram, Gurley, Lynch, Talton, Stevens, Strickland, and Whitleys. Joseph owned land further north on Moccasin Creek where he built a Mill that was on the Stage Road from Gilsboro to Smithfield. Later when his lands were sold to the Holts, this pond became known as Holts' Pond. 1. Mary ?(Elizabeth) Boon md Jacob ? Stephens Jr. or could he possibly be William Stephens? A Mary Stephens signed with William, as a witness to a deed in JoCo. 5 Jan. 1793. Mary had died before her father Joseph made his will in 1832. 1. Mary/Polly Stevens md ? _____Verrell 2. Eliza Boon md 27 April 1818 JoCo Joseph Ingram. Eliza died before 1832 and her children were named in her father Joseph's will. 1. Joseph Ingram 2. Caroline Ingram 3. Elizabeth Ingram 4. Daniel B. Ingram b ca 1827 (in household of Joseph M. Smith 1850 Census) 5. Julia Ingram b ca 1830 md 24 July 1845 JoCo Joseph M Smith 6. Thomas D. Ingram b ca 18 (In household of Joseph M. Smith 1850 Census) 3. Sarah Boon md 16 June 1812 JoCo William W. Hopkins b ca 1788 d 22 Oct. 1813 JoCo md #2 Thomas Cobbs b Va? d 1844 Livingston Ala., served in the American Revolution. William J. D. Hopkins was given 2 town lots in Smithfield in his grandfather Joseph's will. 1. William J. Devereaux Hopkins b 13 May 1813 d 28 Sept. 1900 Livingston Ala. md 8 Feb. 1838 Elizabeth Wood Ryan b 13 Dec. 1821 d 6 Mar. 1884. WJD Hopkins was raised by his grandfather Joseph Boon, in JoCo. 2. Thomas Cobbs md Lucy Thom lived in San Antonio, Tx. 3. James Cobbs 4. Sarah Cobbs 5. Julia Cobbs 6. Elizabeth Boon Cobbs b 22 Nov. 1828 Wake County NC d 24 June 1844 Sumpter Co. Ala. 4. William Boon died before 1832 md _____Southall. She later married a Mr. Manney. 1. Julia Boon received money from her grandfather by his will and her stepfather Mr. Manney is mentioned. 5. Joseph Boon b ca 1780 JoCo d ca 1812/1813 JoCo md 1 Feb. 1803 Mary G. Green b ca 1780/1783 Wayne Co. d 22 Aug. 1833 Tipton Co. Tenn. d/o Col. Joseph Green of Wayne Co. and his wife Mary Grey Haywood Green. The heirs of Koseph received $100.00 from their grandfather Joseph in his will. This Joseph Boon died at an early age and left 5 minor children, and brother Daniel appointed as their guardian. Mary G. Boon received, as her dower, 384 acres on SS Moccasin SW incl. the mansion house joining Bear Br. and to incl. 2 acres on NS of the swamp most convenient to the mill. At the May session of Court, Mary Boon entered an inventory of 27 negroes, 9 notes owed to the estate, 20 doubtful debts owed and approx. 90 desparate debts owed the estate of Joseph Boon dec. Sale of the estate was held 16 Mar. 1813 with sis buyers. The lands of Joseph Boon were devided in 1829, with most of the land being on BS of Moccasin Swamp totaling over 2,400 acres. 1. Daniel Augustus Boon lived in Holmes Miss in 1837 2. Robert G. Boon d 29 July 1837 in Tipton Co. Tenn. 3. Hannibal Hornestus Boon died in 1832 in JoCo Admr. on his estate was granted to Robert G. Boon. 4. Mary Hannah Boon b 8 July 1813 JoCo md John Oliver Whitfield and moved to Hinds Co Miss. and later moved to the Brazos River in Texas. 5. Joseph Green Boon b 1805 JoCo d 1871 Tx. md ca 1829/1830Harriet N. Latham b 1805 NY d 1851 DeSoto Co Miss. Joseph was a minister of the Presbyterian Church and belonged to the church in Orange Co NC. He and his brother Robert G. Boon moved to Tipton Co. Tenn ca 1827. Joseph and Harriet moved on to Hernando, DeSoto Co Miss in 1842 and after the death of Harriet, Joseph and two of his sons moved to Waller Co. Texas. 6. Daniel Boon b 20 Aug. 1786 JoCo d 3 Feb 1870 Hernando, DeSoto Co Miss and md 9 Mar 1809 Louisa Boykin b 5 Oct. 1791 d 24 Feb. 1850 Hernando d/o Major Simon Boykin. Daniel inherited quite a bit of land from his father Joseph including the burying grounds. He bought much more surrounding it before moving to Miss. In 1838, Daniel sold 2,000 acres, NS Neuce River and Mill Gut, to John Atkinson for $10,000.00. His will was probated in Miss. 1. Harriet Boykin Boon b 1810 md Raiford Whitley 2. Sarah Ann Boon b 12 Sept. 1812 d 29 Mar. 1896 md 3 Nov. 1829 Christopher Christophers of Wake Co NC b 12 June 1805 d 25 Nov. 1885. 3. Eveline Virginia Boon b 1815 d 27 Feb. 1849 md 29 Sept. 1831 Cullen Blackman md #2 Dr.H. W. Jeter. 4. Eliza Caroline Boon b JoCo md 30 Mar 1832 JoCo Reuben Troy Sanders s/o Reuben And Karen Ann Smith Sanders. Reuben T served JoCo as Deputy Clerk of Court after his father resigned in 1819. Eliza and Reuben Troy Sanders moved to Hernando, Miss. ca 1839 and when their plantation was burned after the Civil War they mooved to DeValls Bluff, Ark. 11 children are known to have been born to this couple. 5. Mary Louisa Boon b 9 Apr. 1838 md Junius Slocumb 6. Daniel Estella Boon b JoCo d 19 Mar. 1860, 40 years md Daniel B. Killebrew 7. William John Abner Boon b JoCo md 1 Feb. 1846 Augusta N. White md #2 Ursula Jane Sherwood 8. Joseph Simon Boykin Boon b 27 Jun. 1823 NC d 17 Jun. 1918 md 23 Dec. 1845 Sarah Lucinda Oliver in Hernando, Miss. 12 children born to this union. Informatio from files in Johnston County Room, Public Library of Smithfield and Johnston Co., Smithfield, NC Mrs. William A. Nelson, Memphis Tenn. direct descendant of Eliza C and Reuben T Sanders. Jane Schlizinger, Irvive Ca. Deed Books, land division books at the Johnston County Courthouse, Smithfield, NC Wills, Estates, Johnston County Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions Minutes & marriage Bonds at the NC Archives, Raleigh, NC. Compiled by Elizabeth E. Ross, 1996 Spring 1997