With deep ties to the region, company Co-Founder Dan Belk’s ancestors in the Carolinas can be traced back to the early 1700s. The name Belk is a recognizable family name in the Central Piedmont region.

Dan’s great great Grandparents had sixteen children. And the funny family quote at the time came from his great great Grandmother when she proclaimed to a news reporter that their family “had no Preachers, Teachers Doctors or Lawyers, they are all sticking to the soil for a livelihood.”

The vintage images below are from the Belk farm built by Dan’s great Grandfather. At the time, the farm was home to the second-largest Jersey cow herd in the state of North Carolina.

Although farming isn’t the modern-day family profession anymore, Dan & Ellen remain citizens of the region and small business owners. They are actively engaged in a variety of ways through their faith community, volunteerism, and support of local causes and businesses.