How the Randolph Ag Center came about

This is the second of a four-part series on the Randolph County Agricultural Center, which is scheduled to open in September.

ASHEBORO — J.W. Glass wouldn’t recognize his farm today.

After purchasing the property beside what’s now East Dixie Drive across from Salisbury Street, he built his farmhouse in 1916, spending almost $1,300 for construction materials from Cox Lumber Co. Decades later, after the house was destroyed by fire, the property became a golf driving range.

Today, it’s the site of the soon-to-be Randolph County Agricultural Center. But the project didn’t happen overnight. It’s the result of a couple of decades of planning.

On July 3, several people who have been involved in the development of the Ag Center met to talk about how it all came together. They included: Darrell Frye, chairman of the Randolph County commissioners; David Allen, Randolph County commissioner; Bobby Allen, president of the Randolph County Farm Bureau, Voluntary Agricultural District board member and Livestock Association representative; Allen McNeill, former NC House representative; and Paxton Arthurs, Randolph County engineer. Also at the meeting were County Manager Zeb Holden; Taylor Wright, Agricultural Center coordinator; and Amy Rudisill, Randolph County public information officer.

Not present at the meeting were Kemp Davis (long-time chair of the Voluntary Agriculture District board), Ken Austin and Jimmie Moffitt, all of whom have been major contributors to the Ag Center project. Davis, however, was later interviewed by phone.

It was Arthurs who found the information about the J.W. Glass farm, even locating the Cox Lumber Co. bill of sale. As for the former driving range, he said when the site was being prepared for construction there were “golf balls all over.” McNeill said Steve Pritchard had owned the driving range during the 1980s and ’90s.

2007 root of Ag Center idea

The idea for an agricultural center goes back at least to 2007. The notes from a meeting of USDA Rural Development on Dec. 3, 2007, say, “This got started when Amy Kidd, ag teacher at Eastern Randolph High School, Mark Walker, ag teacher at Randleman High School, and Barry Foushee, Randolph County livestock agent, met with Russ Compton at Asheboro Lowe’s to apply for a grant to buy or build a meeting place for ag use.”

The notes say that the interested group visited the Ashe County Agricultural Expo Center and the East Carolina Agriculture Education and Livestock Center in Rocky Mount.

Bobby Allen said he attended the early meetings when the group was known as the Friends of the Ag Center. Other groups were also involved, he said. 

Kemp Davis, who has been with the Voluntary Agriculture District since its inception in the early 2000s, said that organization was heavily involved in pushing for the Ag Center. He said the VAD was large enough “to carry it forward” and spread the message.

Since the VAD board members are appointed by the commissioners, the group can carry more influence with the county.

Bobby Allen said the agriculture community was “looking for a larger meeting area, with a barn for livestock shows. We had used tents for shows” but the weather wasn’t always favorable. Those annual shows for several years took place during the Asheboro Fall Festival on a lot on South Fayetteville Street. tension provides this history of the Ag Center:

“The Randolph County Agriculture Center began as a dream of our Voluntary Agricultural Board. Their vision birthed a one-stop shop for the governmental and regulatory agencies, farmers and landowners to use frequently. They had a vision for a facility to promote and invite the public to learn more about the importance of Agriculture in our county. In 2016, the center became part of the Randolph County Strategic Plan.”

The three main goals listed are: 

■ Ensure county policy supports and enhances the ability of agriculture to continue to be a strong and viable component of the economy.

■ Enhance the ability of farmers to produce and market their products through organizational networks and infrastructure.

■ Promote educational programs about the benefits of agriculture as a profession that are targeted toward the younger population.

Getting idea off the ground

In 2009, the late Arlie Culp, formerly an agriculture agent and later a representative in the NC House, donated $500, the first money dedicated to a future ag center. Also contributing were the Farm Bureau and the Randolph County Livestock Association. 

Bobby Allen said a number of possible sites were looked at, including the county landfill and an area near the North Asheboro Fire Station. David Allen said interested parties visited ag centers in Ashe County, Tarboro and Chatham, Va., for ideas and inspiration.

Arthurs said a company had looked at the 104-acre site on Dixie Drive for a possible granite quarry but eventually sold the land to Klaussner Furniture Co. When the county was looking for a location for an agricultural center, Klaussner offered the land for $2 million and the sale was completed in December of 2016.

David Allen said the late Phil Kemp, long-time commissioner, “identified the property and brought it to the commissioners.” That led to the purchase from Klaussner.

Arthurs recalled the commissioners hired a consultant for a feasibility study in 2015-16. The study came out in 2017.

As the planning progressed, the concept of the ag center grew. By 2018, the commissioners, with support from the VAD, were considering a bond referendum to pay for the facility. 

But when the projected costs rose to $58 million, the VAD withdrew the resolution for a referendum, according to Davis.

“The costs were growing exponentially,” Frye said. “Then the hospital came into play.”

Randolph Health was in financial distress and planning to file for bankruptcy. That was a financial obligation the commissioners considered a priority. As a result, a new committee was formed to cut the ag center proposal in half, Davis said.

Resurrecting support

Everything was put on hold during the COVID-19 shutdown. Then in 2021, Frye received a call from McNeill in Raleigh. “He said, ‘If I can get a significant amount of money, would you reopen the Ag Center (project)?’ ”

McNeill said he asked the Finance Committee for $25 million for the Ag Center. “We started with $16 million and got $2 million more the next year.”

But before the county could get the funds from the COVID relief money, the state needed the proposal in writing. David Allen said McNeill asked for a one-page write-up. Instead, Kenny Sherin, Cooperative Extension director, and his staff “came up with a six-page short version.”

Davis said Sherin was “very instrumental in getting the grants.” The proposal stressed that the facility would, in essence, be the “Farm, Food and Family Education Center.” Those words are on the sign next to Dixie Drive under “Randolph County Agricultural Center.”

“That played into COVID concerns,” McNeill said.

Frye said the total budget came out to $36.76 million with 75 percent coming from the state and other grant agencies. 

With the money in hand, the county advertised bids for construction in August 2023 with the groundbreaking in November of that year.

“Once it got started, it steamrolled,” Frye said, with interest from hotels and restaurants in locating near the Ag Center.

Key to the success of the project was paring down the design and, as Bobby Allen said, “We got away from the phased approach. For others, it didn’t work well.”

David Allen added that the redesign was due to the efforts of meetings with various groups and their feedback. 

With hopes of opening this fall, the saga of the Randolph County Agricultural Center can now look to the future. With its ideal location in the center of North Carolina, the potential appears to be a boost to the local economy.