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Description
Until about 1900, picnic announcements
identified the event as the Masonic Picnic and Reunion of
Confederate Soldiers. Veterans continued on the program as late as
1904. Children from the orphanage sang and performed skits, and area
bands played concerts. Speakers have addressed the Picnic since
1879. For about 30 years from 1892, an excursion train delivered
attendees from Winston-Salem. The Davie Record estimated attendance
in 1916 at 10,000 people, with only half choosing to purchase the
gate or dinner tickets. The others congregated in the woods along
the railroad line outside the fenced arbor and visited with friends
and family, spreading their picnic dinners on the
ground.