The Announcement

The vision that spawned Carolina Trace began in 1959 with Joyce and W. M. ("Bill") Arnold, Jr. So secretive were they that Register of Deeds, Chandler Eakes died without knowing the nature of the project he was helping the Arnolds with. That secrecy reigned for ten years, with only Sanford oil dealer Truby Proctor, Jr., aware of what was afoot. They were later joined by Joe Brinn, Ken Eason, Jim Hickey, Dr. W. R. Hartness, C. B. Foushee, Van R. Groce, Jimmy Thomas, and others; and Sandhill Properties, Inc., was formed in 1969.

The Sanford Herald's February 10, 1969, headline, "Giant Golf-Recreational Site Planned for Area," was a shock. The golf course and dam were started in 1970, the year when the first lots (in North Shore) were sold. Three lotteries, the idea taken from such quiz shows as "The $64,000 Question," decided who received which lot. Robert Trent Jones, Sr., designed the two eighteen-hole golf courses, the Lake and the Creek, completed in 1971 and 1979, respectively. He also wanted his courses to be "watered by their own lakes," as Lake Trace (covering 300+ acres) attests.