According to 19th and early 20th century maps, Cokesbury was originally known as Chalk Level. In 1889, Chalk Level had a population of 65. There were two churches, Cokesbury Methodist and Cumberland Union Baptist, and two ministers, but both of them were Methodist. Three physicians lived in Chalk Level, but no lawyers. Chalk Level had three blacksmiths, one cooper and six other businesses, including three general stores, a fertilizer store, a lumber seller and an auctioneer. Other nearby businesses included the Buckhorn Coal Mine, the Cape Fear Steel and Iron Mine, two flour mills and one woolen mill.[citation needed]
Chalk Level had one school, the Cokesbury Academy, and one teacher, J.A. Cameron.(Branson 1890, pp. 349–52)
The earliest map to show the change from Chalk Level to Cokesbury is a 1916 Harnett County soil map produced by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture.[citation needed]
Powell, William S. (1968), The North Carolina Gazetteer: A Dictionary of Tar Heel Places, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, ISBN0-8078-1247-1
Branson, Levi (1890), Branson's North Carolina Business Directory 1890, Raleigh: Levi Branson, publ.
