Carolina Trace -- in the beginning:

In 1968, only 40 years ago, the land which was to become Carolina Trace was inhabited by only a few families. There were more grave yards and remains of illegal liquor stills than people. The property taxes on the entire tract were likely less than some people pay on their homes today. There was no lake, only the Little River snaking through woodlands sprinkled with pastures and fields. The office of Gated Properties, the on-site real estate sales office, was a cattle barn. The only other structure still standing is the log home of the Kyles family. It was built by Bill and Joyce Arnold and originally was their home.

Bill Arnold, who still lives at Carolina Trace, was in the Golf Course Irrigation business among other things. The vision of Bill and the others participating led to the lake(s) and golf courses. Joe Brinn, a young man from the Brinn family which was involved in real estate, insurance, and Sanford Savings and Loan was open to working to assemble the various tracts and helping manage the development. As one of the land owners, I became involved in the land acquisitions and served as a director and my father J. Marvin Groce invested some of his land in the development. Other early local investors and directors included Broadus Foushee, Dr. Rufus Hartness and Truby Procter.  

Jim Hickey, a former head football coach at UNC Chapel Hill, joined as an investor and Director of golf. Jim assumed the position of the first golf pro as the golf course was completed.  Lewis Clark and Associates was brought aboard as the land planners, and one of the first tasks was to find a name. The use of “TRACE” was not common then. The Natchez Trace was the only use of the term as far as I know and “Carolina Trace” was selected as the name. The investment group then hired Robert Trent Jones to design the Golf Course(s).

As the lake and dam, the club house, the entrance and first streets were being built marketing began, first in the area now called North Shore . Most of the early residents and members of the club were “locals”. Early on it was apparent that locals were too few in numbers to absorb all of the homesites that would be available. While sales were brisk, it was also apparent that a variety of products was needed including a much higher density than common in the local market. After looking at many markets, J. Mack Conder, a custom builder who also happened to have a plane, flew Bill, Joe and me to Hilton Head, which was also in the early stages of development. We saw the possibilities of narrow lot development such as patio homes and zero lot line development. Carolina Trace hired a Hilton Head designer to design the first small lot homes. That event and bringing J. Ken Eason CPA in as part of the management team proved to be some of the many decisions that enabled Carolina Trace to weather the inventible ups and downs of the economy.  

Carolina Trace has been and continues to be one of economic engines as well as a cultural and social asset that makes this area so desirable. Our company continues to build in Carolina Trace building about 12 homes in Trace in a typical year, both for sale and presold. Many other builders also build there.

 There are been several written accounts of the history of Trace and the area including a research paper by Charlie Pence as to his findings of the early landowners and usage of the lands; an article published in the “North Carolina” 1971; and writings by “Boots” Badgley in the Trace newsletter.

 “History of Carolina Trace” a publication of the Carolina Trace Women’s Club by Marian “Boots” Badgley and Lynn Veach Sadler in the early 1990’s is the most comprehensive written history of the development of Trace. The late Joyce Todd Arnold, Bills wife, is to be thanked for much of the preserved history. Joyce lived the development from conception to adulthood. The earlier history, from Land Grants of the King of England to the dreams of the Arnold ’s was mostly oral from “Old Timers” such as my father, J. Marvin Groce. If you would like to know more on any of the topics touched upon, please e-mail me at info@grocecompanies.com or call me at (919) 775-1497. If there is interest, we will post some of the non copyrighted materials on our web site, www.grocecompanies.com.