A Look Back To 1958
On August 2, 1958, the Saturday Evening Post profiled Percy Flowers of Johnston County, labeling him the “King of the Moonshiners.”
Throughout his career, Flowers managed to stay just out of reach of the law and developed a reputation as a local Robin Hood.
Born in 1903, Flowers grew corn and tobacco on his nearly 5,000 acres, like many others in region did. Unlike most others, he began to use some of his corn for making illegal liquor, concealing the stills and spirits in his tobacco barns.
Story and photo courtesy N.C. Dept. of Natural and Cultural Resources
