Stanly County has been blessed to have many residents who have worked hard to preserve our local history. Just a few from our past include Dotty Plyler, Catherine Pickler and Lula Shaver. Many others have followed in their footsteps. All of our local historians, however, are building on the work done by our original “champion of local history,” Elizabeth Parker Reynolds. According to a short biographical sketch written by Jonathan Underwood, Reynolds was a driving force in organizing Stanly County’s first historical society. She was instrumental in the efforts to reconstruct Dr. Kron’s home at Morrow Mountain State Park. She helped to create the county’s first museum and she secured historical markers for Randall’s Methodist Church and the Battle of Colson’s Mill. Reynolds also spent several years writing a local history column for the Stanly News & Press, and she spent many hours searching for abandoned graveyards throughout the county. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Ms. Reynolds for all she did to preserve our local history. {Lewis Bramlett – Stanly County Historical Society}