"The Baggage Road" (Summerfield Road) and "Salisbury Road" (NC-150) intersected to form "Bruce's Crossroads." The area was named in 1768 after Charles Bruce, an early Guilford settler who owned extensive area property and was active as a Patriot in the Revolutionary War. The community was renamed "Summerfield" in 1812 after Reverend John Summerfield, a traveling evangelist who held an area revival.