CCC Built Many Forest Roads And Bridges

The 1920s were generally a time of prosperity throughout the United States.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average peaked at 381.17 on September 3, 1929 but during September and October stock prices began to slip.  Then on just two days, October 28 and 29, the Dow dropped nearly 70 points.  October 29, 1929 is known as Black Tuesday and often associated with the beginning of the Great Depression.  During the early 1930s unemployment reached 25%.  Those who did have jobs saw their wages severely reduced. 

When Franklin Roosevelt became President in January 1933 he instituted numerous projects and programs, known as the New Deal, to aid in stabilizing the economy and provide jobs.  The leading program under Roosevelt’s New Deal was the Civilian Conservation Corps, popularly known as the CCC.  The work relief program provided thousands of manual labor jobs for unemployed, unmarried men from 17-28 years of age. 

John's Rock Camp

An April 20, 1933 Transylvania Times article states that a CCC camp will be built at John’s Rock on the Davidson River for over 200 men.  The men enlisted for six months initially.  They were paid $1 a day and provided subsistence.  The camp officially opened on May 20, 1933.

Balsam Grove Camp

    On June 22, 1933 a second Transylvania County CCC camp opened in Balsam Grove.  It was located on Shoal Creek Road, just above the Gloucester Bridge.  After the John’s Rock Camp closed in January 1938 the Balsam Grove Camp relocated to John’s Rock in June 1938.

The John’s Rock and Balsam Grove camps were both U.S. Forest Service camps.  There were a total of nine CCC camps located in the Pisgah National Forest, plus additional camps in the Nantahala National Forest and Great Smoky Mountains Park. 

The work included planting thousands of trees where lumbering had left bare mountainsides.  Hundreds of miles of roads, along with bridges and culverts, were built throughout the forest.   Trails and fire lookout towers were also constructed.   

The first group of men selected from Transylvania County to join the CCC was assigned to a camp near Barnardsville.  Older men from Transylvania County were employed to serve as foremen and supervisors at the John’s Rock and Balsam Grove camps.

Toxaway Mountain Cabin and Lookout Tower

On July 9, 1935 Camp Sledge from the North Wilkesboro area was relocated to Transylvania County.  The camp was located on the north side of Brevard, near the present day Blue Ridge Community College.  This was a private lands camp.  They worked on projects in Henderson, Jackson, Polk and Transylvania counties, including work on the Horse Pasture Watershed and construction of a fire lookout tower and cabin on Toxaway Mountain.

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.

PWA Constructed Brevard's Old Post Office

During the Depression the federal government built over 1,100 post offices throughout the country as part of the New Deal including at least twelve in North Carolina.  The Franklin Post Office was constructed in 1935, followed by post offices in Marion, Reidsville, Lincolnton, Louisburg, Newton, Warrenton, Boone, Leaksville, Weldon, Brevard and Madison.

Many of these post offices were built by the Public Works Administration and were similar in architectural style and design.  In North Carolina Brevard, Boone, Leaksville, Lincolnton, Newton and Marion all had post offices that resembled one another.

Brevard Post Office, 1941

On August 3, 1938 bids were received on ten sites available in the downtown Brevard.  A lot on the corner of Broad and Morgan Streets was purchased from Mrs. Beulah Zachary for $4000 on May 5, 1939.  Groundbreaking took place on May 6, 1940.  The Post Office began operating from the building in January 1941.

The structure was built of brick in the Federal/Greek Revival style.  The front featured a large central door with a classical surround under a segmental arch.  Limestone formed the lintels and sills of the twelve-over-twelve sash windows and the cornerstone.  There is a classical cupola with windows on the center roof ridge.

Brevard Post Office from Morgan Street side, 1941

The supervising architect for the building was Louis A. Simon and the government engineer was Victor J. Oliver.  J.L. Beam was superintendent for Boyd and Goforth contractors.  The PWA stressed the importance of high quality workmanship to ensure character and lasting benefits.

The building served as the Brevard Post Office for over 30 years until postal service moved to a new building on West Main Street in early 1972.

In 1973 the county purchased the building from the General Services Administration in order to provide a new home for the Transylvania County Library.  Renovations were undertaken to open the space up and lower the ceiling to provide better lighting and save on heating the building.  A 2300 square foot addition was also added to the north side of the existing 3500 square foot building.  Additions were also made on each side of the back entrance—for an office on the south side and the North Carolina Room on the north side. 

Transylvania County Library, 1995

The new library opened at 3:00 pm on Monday, November 11, 1974.  The marble faced charge desk was saved from the old post office, as was the “Most Wanted Criminal” bulletin board.  The basement was also renovated to include a large meeting room for programs for both adults and children.

Children's Wing construction, 1985

In 1982 another addition was planned for a Children’s Wing to be added on the back of the 1974 addition.  Due to “delays in processing of county tax collections” and a “cash-flow burden” construction did not actually begin until September 1985.  Additional delays in the construction of the 2000 square foot Children’s Wing stretched the project to nearly a year.  The new Children’s Wing, along with a renovated area for the Sarah Keels Tilson Historical Room opened in early September.

In May 2006 the library moved out of the building to its new location just two doors down Broad St. 

In 2013 County Commissioners voted to renovate the building once more.  The Transylvania County Administration Offices opened in the former Brevard Post Office, later the Transylvania County Library, on Monday, October 20, 2014.

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.

Fire Department Always Located Downtown

October is Fire Prevention Month.  National Fire Prevention Week is observed during the week in which October 9 falls in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire.  That fire burned for three days from October 8-10, 1871 destroying over 3 square miles of the city and taking approximately 300 lives.  Also on October 8, 1871 a fire in Wisconsin, known as the Peshtigo Fire, wiped out 16 towns, burned over a million acres and killed approximately 1500 people. 

 In remembrance of those events the Fire Marshals Association of North American began working to educate the public about the importance of fire prevention.  In 1925 President Calvin Coolidge signed a proclamation observing the first National Fire Prevention Week.

The first Brevard Fire Department was organized in the late 1800s.  The fire station was located between the courthouse and the McMinn building, in the middle of what is today N. Broad Street. 

The 1911 Sanborn map shows a small wooden building approximately 170 feet north of the intersection with Main St. labeled “Fire Dept.”  Additional information states, “Volunteer Co., chief & 14 men.  2 fire stations.  1 combination wagon with 60’ of ladders, 3 Babcock extinguishers & 800’ 2½” hose (stationed near court house).  1 cart at Southern depot with 500’ 2½” hose.  Bell alarm.”

There is also a small structure on the east side of the building labeled “Fire Bell.”  According to Transylvania Times articles from May 31, 1984 and July 4, 1988 the fire bell was purchased in May 1911 from the Cincinnati Bell Company for $155. 

At this time the Transylvania County Jail was in a brick building about 100’ west of the Fire Department.  In the early 1920s a new jail was built behind the Courthouse and Citizen’s Telephone Company moved into the old jail building.  Apparently the fire bell was moved to a platform beside the Telephone Company.  When a fire call was received, the operator could pull a lever to ring the bell and notify firemen and anyone near enough to hear it tolling.

Brevard Fire Department, 1925 American La France engine, 

photo taken by William Austin 1928

The 1924 Sanborn map shows the same building without the fire bell structure.  Information included reads, “Volunteer.  Chief & 15 men.  1 American LaFrance equipped Ford auto truck carrying 1000’ 2½” hose.  600’ in reserve.  Auto truck has 40 gallons chemical tank & hose.  Alarm bell.”

 In 1925 the fire department was reorganized and relocated to a new brick building on W. Main St. across from the present City Hall.  City offices were located on the second floor.

In the late 1920s or early 1930s the fire bell was replaced with a siren.  The bell was purchased by St. Philip’s Episcopal Church but never used.  They gave it to Grace Baptist Church who eventually returned it to the Fire Department in 1984.  The old bell is now in front of the Brevard Fire Department as a display.

Brevard Fire Department, 1946

By 1945 the fire department and City Hall had moved to the south side of W. Main St. into the building where the City Council meets today.  Fire Department information from the 1931 and 1945 Sanborn maps state, “1 paid chief & 2 paid drivers, one on duty at all times.  13 volunteers.  1 American La France triple combustion auto truck, capacity 750 gallons per minute.  1000’ 2½” hose.  40 gallon chemical tank & 150’ chemical hose.  1 hand reel carrying 300’ 2½” hose.  Total amount of good hose 2000’.  Alarm by telephone & siren on City Hall.”

The current Fire Department on the corner of W. Main and England streets was built in 1969.  Currently the Fire Department has two paid staff members from 8 am until 5 pm.  The remainder of the personnel is comprised of volunteer firefighters.

If you have information or photographs telling the story of Transylvania County’s Fire Departments in Balsam Grove, Cedar Mountain, Connestee, Lake Toxaway, Little River, North Transylvania or Rosman that you would like to share contact Marcy at the Library.

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.

Cannon Brought Medicine to Balsam Grove

Edward Gaine Cannon was born in the Calvert community of Transylvania County in 1900 to James and Anna Whitmire Cannon.  James Cannon was a physician who served the surrounding mountain area on horseback.  The Cannons moved to Pickens, South Carolina in the early 1900s where they raised their seven children.

Gaine Cannon graduated from Berea College in 1925, then attended the Medical College of Virginia at Richmond and studied at Northwestern University and in Denmark.  Cannon served in the Army for 12 years after graduating from Medical School. 

There were two doctors that Cannon held a great respect and admiration toward—Dr. James Alvin Cannon, his father, and Dr. Albert Schweitzer.

Gaine Cannon first learned about Dr. Albert Schweitzer through a magazine article in 1931.  He was inspired to learn all he could of Schweitzer and later met the revered doctor while travelling in Africa.  The two formed a close friendship that lasted until Schweitzer’s death in 1965.

In 1947 Gaine Cannon returned to Pickens where he started a three-room clinic.  The little clinic, named for James A. Cannon, grew quickly.  He typically saw 70-90 patients and made 10-20 house calls a day. 

Dr. Gaine Cannon in Balsam Grove

Realizing he needed a place to get away and relax Cannon bought property in the Balsam Grove community.  When the local people learned that they had a doctor, who was also a native Transylvanian, living nearby they flocked to his little cabin.

Dr. Cannon soon “retired” and made caring for the people of Balsam Grove and surrounding communities his sole purpose.   He lived Albert Schweitzer’s philosophy of Reverence for Life.  His dream was to build a 30-bed hospital; the only hospital in U.S. that Dr. Schweitzer allowed to use his name. 

Dr. Cannon did not turn away patients who could not pay.  He accepted whatever they could offer.  Patients were asked to contribute two or more river rocks for each visit to the doctor.  The rocks were used to build the hospital.

The people of Balsam Grove and throughout the mountains supported Dr. Cannon with volunteer labor and by organizing fund raisers.  Money flowed in from around the country and from all over the world.  Donald McCall, one of the early supporters of the project tells of taking “a big box full of foreign money” to the Rosman Bank where banker Rowell Bosse exchanged it for U.S. currency. 

Early Construction on the Albert Schweitzer Memorial Hospital

McCall’s Boy Scout troop was among those who worked tirelessly to dig and lay the hospital foundation.  Brevard contractor C.R. Sharp donated his time and skills to lead volunteers from Balsam Grove, Quebec and Lake Toxaway in completing the roof.

Unfortunately, Dr. Gaine Cannon died in 1966 before the hospital was able to open.  Stored in the building were 41 hospital beds and all the equipment for the unfinished hospital.

In 1980 the dream of medical care in Balsam Grove finally became a reality when the Balsam Grove Medical Clinic opened.  Staff included registered nurse, Juanita Butterworth and receptionist, Fran Whitmire.  Dr. James Keeley and Dr. Raymond Dunkleberg each visited the clinic once a month.  Services offered included general outpatient, immunizations, health education and illness prevention, monitoring chronic illnesses, physicals, prenatal care and even minor surgery and emergency stabilization.  There was also an in-house pharmacy so patients did not have to travel to Brevard for prescriptions.  Although the facility only operated for a few years Doc Cannon is remembered with love and respect in the community.

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.

A Train to Asheville

On this day in North Carolina History,

"The first train across the Blue Ridge arrives at Asheville, ending the city's isolation and igniting a tourist explosion. In the coming decade, Asheville's population will jump from 2,610 to 10,237." (1880)

Source: Powell, L. (1996). On This Day in North Carolina History.Winston-Salem, North Carolina: John F. Blair, Publisher.

NC Archives Month, October 2014

“North Carolina at Play: Health and Leisure in Our State”

Archives Month is an annual observance of the agencies and people responsible for maintaining and making available the archival and historical records of our nation, state, communities and people.

Two photographs from the Transylvania County are included on the poster.  The Pisgah Tavern photo is in the C and H of "Archives" and the July 4, 1895 photo is in the North Carolina map collage twice.

At the Pisgah Tavern, 1942

July 4, 1895