Ecusta Was More Than A Workplace

Ecusta, Winding Department

Before Ecusta was torn down, the library had the opportunity to get a few things from the offices. This included photographs which were added to a collection of Ecusta related photographs that various people have donated to the library through the years.

There are about 500 photographs all together. They include shots of people and machinery inside the plant, exterior shots, pictures of various sports teams and recreational activities and gatherings at Camp Strauss. The photographs are in three albums and have been scanned.

At least half of these photographs contain partial or no identification. If you are interested in helping identify some of the people, activities and events in these pictures, visit the North Carolina Room during regular library hours, Monday through Friday.

After hours gathering of shift workers

The photograph collection in the North Carolina Room also includes albums covering downtown Brevard, businesses outside of Brevard, churches, DuPont, historic homes, landscapes and waterfalls, logging and railroads, mills, people, schools and the Silversteen family and businesses. All of the albums are available for browsing. These photographs have also been scanned.

Ecusta Basketball Team, 1947

The photograph indexes are available on the Transylvania County Library's website at library.transylvaniacounty.org. Click on the Local History button, then Digital Collections for these indexes. Digital copies of historical photographs are available free of charge to users who agree to the library's Conditions of Use Policy.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs. For more information, comments or suggestions, contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or (828) 884-3151 ext. 242.

Historic McGaha Chapel Has Been A Place Of Healing

McGaha Chapel, 2011

(The following information was taken directly the Transylvania County Historical Society website, http://www.tchistoricalsociety.com, with permission. It tells the story of one of Transylvania County's hidden gems. The McGaha Chapel is located across from Sherwood Forest in Cedar Mountain. The community near the McGaha Chapel was known as Loftis in the late 1800s.)

The historic McGaha Chapel was finished in 1872 during the difficult Reconstruction period following the Civil War in the context of multiple families that had been split in loyalty, fighting on different sides. Documents indicate that an unsuccessful attempt had been made in 1854 to start a community church to seek some reduction in the coming tensions of the war.

Significant persons in the building itself were those who became trustees: J.C. McGaha, R.W. Raxter, F.M. Pressley, Jackson Gillespie and A.J. Loftis. Andrew Jackson (A.J.) and Margaret Loftis gave the plot of land for $5. Earlier deed work was revised so the Loftis names were removed to be sellers and it was finalized in 1883 stating: "The parcel of land lies within the Dunn's Rock Township, Transylvania County, N.C ., on the North side of the Little River on the Johnstone Turnpike Road, to be used, kept and maintained as a place of Divine Worship for the use of the ministers and membership of the Methodist Episcopal Church."

J.C. "Craf" McGaha (1832-1908) and his wife Harriet, were significant forces, and operated a free way-station in their nearby home for travelers and drovers (with their cattle, pigs, turkeys, etc.) who could not afford hotel or inn overnight fees. The Turnpike was the major connection to Greenville, S.C. and their hospitality was known far and wide. Craf was county surveyor and a teacher; as a child Craf, who later served in the Confederate Army, had convinced his parents, Jesse and Candace McGaha, to free their slaves.

The earliest membership roll shows not only Methodist but also other church members, underlining the ecumenical nature of the community.

Craf's and Harriet's son, Bunyan McGaha, who served three terms as Sherriff of Transylvania County and later as a Federal Revenue officer in the surrounding area, renowned for the illegal whiskey trade in the late 1800s and early 1900s, helped carry on the church for years. He started the first bus line between Brevard and Greenville, S.C. and used it for transporting members and preachers. An active businessman in Brevard, he established a newspaper in 1898, The Sylvan Valley News.

The pristine chapel remains essentially as it was in 1872. It has some of the original hand-pressed glass windows, weatherboard siding, front-gable roof and boxed eaves; the Chapel rests on stacks of fieldstones. The handmade pews made of single boards demonstrate the very large trees sawn by the local builders. The simple pulpit and mourner's bench, and probably the pews, were crafted by A.J. Loftis.

It was an active congregation until about 1930 when available transportation allowed commuting to Brevard. Some modifications such as a chimney have been removed, and the building has been restored to its original state (adding only a few safety items and some replacement wood). The First United Methodist Church of Brevard turned the Chapel over to the Transylvania County Historical Society in 2007.

For 140 years the McGaha Chapel has served as a symbol of bridging painful differences and healing through gathering, sharing and worship.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs. For more information, comments or suggestions, contact Marcy at marcy.thomp son@transylvaniacounty.org or (828) 884-3151 ext. 242.

DuPont Started As Silicon Plant

Aerial view of DuPont

In September 1956 E. I. DuPont purchased over 10,000 acres from the Frank Coxe estate (Buck Forest Club) and the Guion Farm in Henderson County to build the first full-scale silicon plant in the United States.

The production of hyper-pure silicon required extremely clean air, which the Cedar Mountain area offered. Silicon was used for electrical and electronic devices in radios, televisions, telephone switchboards and other electronics. It was a booming industry in the late 1950s and in high demand.

However, within just a few years demand was down and DuPont decided to shut down the silicon production and construct a larger film plant at their Cedar Mountain site. The photographic products plant, specifically x-ray film, officially began in May 1964.

For the next 20 plus years the plant continued to grow. There were several major expansions throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. At its peak in the 1980s, DuPont employed nearly 1,500 people.

With the emergence of the digital age, changes to the medical film industry were inevitable. In 1996 DuPont sold its diagnostic imaging business to Sterling Diagnostic Imaging. A couple of years later the Agfa Corporation purchased the plant from Sterling. In 2002 Agfa announced that it would close the plant, laying off the last 270 employees.

When Sterling purchased the plant, the sale included 2,200 acres along the Little River containing Bridal Veil Falls, High Falls and Triple Falls. At the same time, the state of North Carolina purchased 7,600 acres from DuPont, establishing DuPont State Recreational Forest. When Sterling placed the waterfall property on the market in 1999, the state attempted to purchase it as well. They were unsuccessful though and the property went to the Cliffs Communities for $6.35 million to be developed as an upscale gated residential community.

Original water tower at DuPont's Silicon Plant

The Sierra Club and a grassroots group, Friends of the Falls, joined in urging the state of North Carolina to protect the area and retain public access. Gov. Jim Hunt and the Council of State tried to negotiate this with The Cliffs owner, Jim Anthony. Gov. Hunt and the Council of State on Oct. 23, 2000 unanimously voted to invoke eminent domain on the property.

Today DuPont State Recreational Forest offers over 80 miles of trails for hikers, bikers and equestrians to enjoy.

In 2012 DuPont State Recreational Forest hosted approximately 358,000 visitors.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.

For more information, comments or suggestions, contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or (828) 884-3151 ext. 242.

Cedar Mountain: A True Summer Community – Cedar Mountain NC

Camp Burgiss Glenn’s Hill Top Cabin has
board-and-batten siding and a stacked stone chimney.

By the 1880s Transylvania County had recovered sufficiently from the Civil War that people were once again coming to the area to enjoy the healthy, natural environment and cool summers.  Unlike the resort areas around Sapphire and Lake Toxaway, Cedar Mountain was primarily a summer community for South Carolinians who came back year after year.  Families pass their homes on to the next generation and continue the tradition of summering in the mountains.

The cottages are relatively small and tucked in among the woods providing a cool and peaceful environment.   A true summer colony, the homes are located close to one another along the Greenville Highway and winding side roads.  Many are one or one-and-a-half-story, weatherboard or board-and- batten frame houses with gable roofs and shaded porches. 

Transylvania County did an architectural survey of significant historical structures in the early 1990s.  More than 20 of the Cedar Mountain cottages were included.  Architectural descriptions and photographs can be found in Transylvania: The Architectural History of a Mountain County, with additional photographs and information available in the architectural survey files at the library.

One of the largest of the Cedar Mountain summer homes is The Lodge, built around 1934 by Ted Snyder for the McKissick family.  The Lodge is spread out over one and two story sections nestled in the woods but with open lawn areas and a pond nearby.

Ted Snyder was a land-surveyor and self-taught contractor who designed and built many of the Cedar Mountain summer cottages.  Snyder’s son, John, has written a fascinating memoir, Hill of Beans : Coming of Age in the Last Days of the Old South, of life in Cedar Mountain and later upstate South Carolina.

The Lodge is a rustic, split-oak shingled two-story house,
with stonework throughout including the fireplaces and chimneys.

Snyder also built the Robin Hood Inn in 1938.  The Inn which included a swimming lake & tennis courts, opened in 1939.  The first year was a success with solid bookings for 1940 as well.  Then on April 19, 1940 the Inn burned to the ground.  Although the fire was ruled as arson no one was ever charged.  The Snyder family moved to South Carolina shortly after. 

Another aspect of the Cedar Mountain summer community is the many summer camps.  Over the years camps in the area have included Camp Burgiss Glenn, the Elks Camp, Harmony Farm—a summer riding school, Camp Socareda, Eva Good Presbyterian Conference Center, Camp Greenville-YMCA, High Rocks Camp, Summit Camp and various textile mill camps.  Only Camp Greenville and High Rocks Camp are still in operation today.

The textile mill camps offered an escape from the heat and humidity of upstate South Carolina for millworkers and their families.  Victor Monaghan Mills operated Camp Reasonover on Reasonover Rd.; Piedmont Mills had Piedmont Camp just north of the present day Cedar Mountain Post Office; and Judson Mills ran Judson Camp where Sherwood Forest is today. 

Ted Snyder also built Piedmont Mill Camp, including the dam and lake, the roads and summer houses.  Piedmont Mill Camp closed in 1950 but for many years the Elks Club of Greenville leased it for a children’s camp. 

Camp Reasonver was sold to the South Carolina Education Association in 1954.  They operated it as Camp Socareda, a summer camp for teachers and students.   It was the Eva Good Presbyterian Conference Center from about 1969-1992.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-3151 X242.

The one-and-one-half story Liberty Lodge, built about 1880,
is one of the earliest summer cottages.  
It was weatherboard on the gable ends with board-and-batten below.