Local Hospital Had Several Locations

Dr. Robert Stokes purchased property on the French Broad River in the Dunn’s Rock area in May 1920 with the intent of opening the first hospital in Transylvania County.  Named the Riverside Sanitarium, it was located in a large home that had been built by South Carolina plantation owner William Johnstone in the mid-1800s.

The hospital was heavily used and greatly appreciated by local citizens.  In 1921 electricity and a modern water system were added to the facility, as plans for growth were made.

Home of Dr. Stokes’ Brevard Hospital on Broad St. 

It was later Transylvania Hospital and then Lyday Memorial Hospital.

In April 1922 it was announced that Dr. Stokes had purchased the old Hickson House on Broad St (today County Club Rd) in Brevard.  The Brevard Hospital could care for 25 patients.  With the assistance of the eight nurses he employed Dr. Stokes continued to operate both facilities.  Dr. Summey also worked at the Brevard Hospital.

In July 1925 a group of local physicians opened the Transylvania Hospital in the 3-story Norwood House on Probart St.  Doctors included E.S. English, W.M. Lyday, G.B. Lynch, T.J. Summey and W.J. Wallis of Brevard, J.B. Wilkerson of Rosman, A.E. Lyday of Penrose and Owen E. Van Epp of Cashiers.

Exact dates of when Dr. Stokes closed the Riverside Sanitarium or his Brevard hospital were not located.  However, in July 1925 he sold the Riverside Sanitarium property so it had closed prior to that time.  At some point Dr. Stokes sold the Brevard Hospital to Drs. Summey and Lynch and they moved the Transylvania Hospital to this location.  It closed in 1930 because of poor economic conditions.

Norwood House on Probart St.
 was the home of Transylvania Hospital in the mid-1920s
and Lyday Memorial Hospital in the early 1930s

After two years of not having a local hospital Dr. Newland and Dr. Cunningham opened a 20-bed facility in the Norwood House (formerly the Transylvania Hospital) in June 1932.  Named the Lyday Memorial Hospital for Transylvania’s first physician, Dr. Andrew J. Lyday, it was fully equipped for modern treatment and surgery.  All physicians in the county had accessed to the facility.

Because of the continuing economic depression the hospital was soon turned over to the community as a public hospital to receive additional funding and provide care for those unable to pay.  It was incorporated as a non-profit with a Board of Trustees in 1933.

In 1935 the hospital relocated once again to the old Hickson house on Broad St.  Demand for health services grew quickly and land beside the hospital was purchased for future use.  

Next week’s “Picturing the Past” article will cover the history of the Transylvania Community Hospital, the first building in the county built as a hospital.

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.

African-American Churches Started in 1860s

Bethel Baptist (1913-1975) on Mills Ave. in Brevard

Early African-Americans in Transylvania County attended church at Cathey’s Creek Baptist or other white churches in the area.  As slaves, they were not allowed to take part in the service but had to sit in the back and care for the children of their owners.  

Once African-Americans received their freedom they started their own churches.  The first African –American church in Transylvania County was Bethel Baptist founded in 1865.  The church got its start in a small one-room house in Brevard.  For several years they moved around to various facilities before purchasing property from Frank Jenkins between the railroad tracks and Mills Avenue in 1901.  In 1913 they once again relocated, this time to the other side of Mills Avenue to be further from the noise of the railroad.  Here they built a traditional wooden white church that served as their home until 1975 when the current brick church was constructed.

New French Broad Baptist Church
off Everett Farm Rd. in the Little River area.

In the Little River area French Broad Baptist Church was organized in 1866.  Members first met in a blacksmith shop.  The congregation built a small church but it was destroyed by fire within a year.  After that they held services in the schoolhouse deeded to them by Mr. Allison while they erected a new church.  Around 1910 heavy snows caused the collapse of the church roof.  Once again the congregation rebuilt.

Some members of the French Broad Church who lived in the Glade Creek area decided to form their own church at that time.   For several years they held services in the Glade Creek School until they were able to buy property and construct a church of their own in 1913.  The two congregations have maintained a strong bond through the years.

Other early African-American churches include Shady Grove which was organized around 1868, Mills Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion formed in 1896, The Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God organized in 1919 and Bethel “A” Baptist which split from Bethel Baptist in 1919. 

The Shady Grove Church was located in the Cathey’s Creek area west of Brevard.  The other three churches were all located in the Rosenwald Community.  Bethel “A” Baptist remains an active church today.

There are also several African-American cemeteries dating to the mid-to-late 1800s located in Transylvania County.  Bailey’s Cemetery, off West Probart St., has a couple dozen graves.  Cooper’s Cemetery, off Country Club Rd., contains close to 200 graves.  There is a cemetery on Buena Vista Dr. where the old Shady Grove Church was located with numerous unmarked graves and a few marked stones.  There is also a cemetery at the New French Broad Baptist Church.  In addition a number of early African-American Transylvania County residents are buried at Cathey’s Creek and Davidson River Cemeteries.

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.

Mary Jenkins Center Is Hub of Rosenwald

The Mary C. Jenkins Community Center has been the hub of the Rosenwald Community for over 70 years.

 

Mary B. Kilgore, photo  from
  Reflections:  TCIO Celebrates 40 Years of Community Service

Mary B. Kilgore envisioned creating a place for African-Americans to gather for community meetings and social events.  She initially presented this project to a group at Bethel Baptist Church.  The idea was greeted with enthusiasm and on June 8, 1942 the first Community Center in Rosenwald opened at the church.  It offered a children’s nursery, daily craft activities for 6-12 year olds, and sports activities for teens.  Jeanie Kilgore was the supervisor. 

Mary B. Kilgore was a leader in the community for improving education and building opportunities for all.  She was also a teacher and librarian in the Transylvania County Schools for over 30 years.

On August 24, 1944 Mary C. Jenkins sold approximately ½ acre to the trustees for Brevard Community Center (Arthur Heffner, B.M. Mackey, Freman Darty, D.C. Hall, C.P. Smith and G.I. Elliott) for $85 to be used as a “Community Center for the colored people of the Town of Brevard”.

Mary C. Jenkins was the widow of Frank Jenkins.  Jenkins had been a prominent businessman in Brevard for many years.  He started Brevard Lumber Company, which the Jenkins family owned for nearly 100 years.  Mrs. Jenkins worked within the white community of Brevard to help raise money for the Community Center in Rosenwald. 

A January 22, 1948 Transylvania Times article shows the Community Center under construction and states the project was begun in September 1947 but additional funds were needed to complete the building.

 

The project lost momentum and was neglected until a group of young people in the Rosenwald community came together to form the Transylvania Community Council.  They held numerous fund-raisers and in 1952 held the Founder’s Day Opening for the Community Center.

Their goals included a library which operated as a branch of the Transylvania County Library.  Mrs. Mary Kilgore served as the librarian.  Clubs, including Boy Scouts & Girl Scouts, the Merry Hearts Social Club and the Children’s Play House, along with a variety of parties, dinners and dances were regular events.  A craft workshop in the basement of the building was set-up to teach carpentry skills to young men.  And in the summer of 1953 the Happyland Nursery and Kindergarten opened.

 A swimming pool was built in 1958.  They struggled to meet regulations and stay open though.  In 1974 the pool was rebuilt and the county took over its operation for a short time before it closed for good.

The Boys & Girls Club of Transylvania County got its start at the Mary C. Jenkins Community Center and operated there before moving to its present location on Gallimore Rd.

Today work is underway to restore and revitalize this valuable place in history.

Mary C. Jenkins Community Center, photo courtesy of Nicola Karesh.

 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.

Several Communities Comprise Rosenwald

The African-American population in Transylvania County has always been relatively small.  When Transylvania County was created in 1861 there were 447 slaves recorded living in the county.  The first U.S. Census for Transylvania County was taken in 1870.  It lists the total population as 3536, with 3227 white and 309 colored.  African-Americans accounted for 8.74% of the county’s people.

The Historical Census Browser from the University of Virginia allows users to examine populations, ethnicity, race, education, agriculture and economic statistics by county from 1790-1960.  It shows that the African-American population in Transylvania County grew over the 100 year period from the county’s formation to 1960.  However, the total population grew at a faster rate so that by 1960 African-Americans made up just 5.22% of the county’s population.

During this time period communities were segregated.  Although whites and blacks may have worked together in places like Transylvania Tanning on the south side of Brevard, they lived separate lives.  They shopped at different stores, attended different churches and schools, and lived in different communities.

There was a well-established African-American community between the Transylvania Tannery property and downtown Brevard on the west side of Caldwell Street.  Around 1910 a school was built on West Main Street for African-American children.  In 1920 Rosenwald funds were used to help expand the school.  Since that time the area has been known as the Rosenwald community.

Jip Mills’ Store on Mills Avenue. 
 Callie Mills later operated a beauty parlor there.  

Then it served as apartments.

Rosenwald was actually made up of several smaller neighborhoods though.  These include The Flats, Georgia Hill, Goose Hollow, Greasy Corner and Hemphill Circle.  In the days of segregation there were numerous businesses located in Rosenwald.  These includes grocery stores operated by Jip Mills, Annie Bell Killian, Sherman Crite, Jr., Mattie Pierce and Dorothy Hill; cafes owned by Grady Elliott, Roy Whitesides, Ed & Ophelia Hutchinson, Sam & Winona Whitesides, George Wilks, Frank Kilgore, Norvail Mooney and Hub Langston.  Victor Betsill and William Henry Hutchinson had barbershops, Callie Mills and Evon Kelly ran beauty parlors and George Bailey and Ed Killian both operated taxi services.  There were construction, masonry, janitorial, garbage, real estate and other businesses owned by African-American as well.  There were also a number of boarding houses in the Rosenwald community.

Hub Langston’s Café on Carver St. 

Mattie Pierce had a café in the building later.  

She added the cinderblock addition for a billiard’s room.

In addition, there were four other African-American communities in Transylvania County with strong ties to Rosenwald.  These included Glade Creek, French Broad, Pinnacle and Frog Bottom.

During the month of February there will be a display created by Edith Darity celebrating the history of Transylvania County’s African-Americans on the 2^nd floor 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.