Connestee Was Part of 'Walton War'

Although Native Americans never had permanent villages within the boundaries of Transylvania County they certainly travelled through the area, camping for extended periods of time while on hunting expeditions.  They also fished the abundant streams and rivers and gathered berries and nuts.

Folk history tells of the Connestee tribe having a village in this area.  And legend says that a heart-broken Cherokee maiden plunged to her death off Connestee Falls.  Folklore is full of similar tales and although there is no evidence to support it, it does make a good story.

As white settlers began moving to the area in the late 1700s, North Carolina and Georgia engaged in a land dispute over the exact location of the state boundary lines.  At stake was a piece of land, often referred as the “Orphan Strip”.  Georgia claimed it as Walton County and North Carolina claimed it as part of Buncombe County (today Transylvania County).  Skirmishes broke out, folks were jailed but “escaped”, there may have been one or more deaths, and law suits ran on for years.  While the facts concerning exactly what happened during the “Walton War” vary, today Connestee Falls, Dunn’s Rock and Eastatoe are all within the boundaries of this disputed territory.

In the late 1880s The Carolina, Knoxville & Western Railway planned to construct a rail line from Augusta, Georgia to Knoxville, Tennessee through the mountains of western North Carolina.  It would have run through the Connestee Falls area.  Deeds show right-of-ways granted through Transylvania County.  There remains evidence of clearing for the proposed railway near the Connestee Falls main gate and on to where a trestle would have crossed above Batson Falls as well as in other places along the route.  Rails were never actually laid in Transylvania County and the project was abandoned by 1899.

The steep mountains and poor roads in the area above the Dunn’s Rock valley kept Connestee from having many early settlers.  However, the little community of Reba flourished from 1898-1907.  There was a post office, along with Carson Creek Baptist Church and Carson Creek School.  If The Carolina, Knoxville & Western Railroad had been built the area would have been much different than today. 

The current Connestee Falls community began with the purchased of nearly 3000 acres in 1971.  Connestee Falls was developed as a vacation community but over the years many property owners became full-time residents.  Originally there was a small motel and restaurant at the entrance. 

Some of the information for this article came from Ed Comer’s book, Shadows of the Past, a history of the Reba community and early residents of the area.

Photograph above:  Carson Creek School, 1907.  Teacher, Bonnie Wilson.  Children include Bagwell, Batson, Clark, Garren, Hubbard and Raines.

Left:  Lewis Summey built a mill at Connestee Falls after the Civil War.  It is unusual in that it sat above the falls and had an undershot wheel. It operated as a grist mill only. According to the Summey family around 1900 he traded the mill for four fine horses and the family moved to Brevard.