Whynot was first settled in the 18th century by German and English people, along with the nearby communities of Erect, Hemp, Lonely, Steeds, and Sophia.[6] The community was originally spelled with two separate words, "Why Not".[7] The origin of town's name came from residents debating a title for their community. A man finally remarked: "Why not name the town Why Not and let's go home?"[8][9][10]
The Why Not Academy and Business Institute, a combination public and private school, was located in the community from 1893 to 1916.[11][12] Whynot has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.[13][14]
Arts and culture
Area residents first began making pottery in the 18th century.[15] The area still contains several pottery shops including Dirtworks Pottery, Tom Gray Pottery, Dixieland Pottery, Marsh Pottery, Kovack Pottery, Michele Hastings & Jeff Brown Pottery, and Whynot Pottery.[6][16]
^Ridpath, John (1897). "The Standard American Encyclopedia of Arts, Sciences, History, Biography, Geography, Statistics, and General Knowledge". Encyclopedia Publishing Company, Harvard University: 3287. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^Sharpe, Bill (1954). "A New Geography of North Carolina". Sharpe Publishing Company, University of Michigan: 1036. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^Patterson, Homer (1916). "Patterson's American education". Educational Directories, New York Public Library: 579. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
