Pender

Union Loyalists at the Stewart Farm Eleanor Stewart and her son Charles, who lived in a house on this site during the Civil War, were Union Loyalists in an area dominated by Southern supporters. Their neighbors called them Yankees. Proud of their beliefs, the Stewarts raised a Union flag over their house at the beginning of the war.Federal troops used the house as a field hospital and encamped nearby. During the Battle of Ox Hill, on September 1, 1862, Confederate troops established lines of battle on a portion of the Stewart property located on the opposite side of the road.How the Pender Community Began As people began to settle on smaller lots in the Ox Hill area, especially at the intersection of present-day West Ox Road and Route 50, the need arose for a new post office. In 1890, a post office was established in Wilby J. French’s store. The post office was named Pender.The community also had a blacksmith shop, located near French’s store, which was operated by Berkley Kidwell. Mr. Kidwell purchased the lot in 1883. In 1907, the Methodist Episcopal Church of Pender began holding services in their newly-constructed church.