For those not from North Carolina, the Kennedy's did not work in Western North Carolina. They were located in the Sandhills near Pinehurst in Moore County. This was in the Southern Piedmont, 150 miles east of the Appalachian mountains.
The town they worked in was originally named "Mechanic's Hill." For a few years the name of the town was changed to "Hemp." That town is today called "Robbins."
Local collectors often joke that if the Kennedy's were growing hemp, their neighbors, the Harper's were smoking it. I've seen a few Harper rifles that make me think this was true.
Michael Briggs