Monday, June 27, 2016

Ecusta Promoted Recreational Opportunities for Employees

The March 1940 issue of the Ecusta Echo expressed the need for an athletic program.  The goals of program were to get employees outdoors, provide physical exercise, add to work efficiency, and offer social benefits.

Recreation at Ecusta stretched beyond sports and included not only employees but their families.  In 1945 Harry Straus purchased Camp Sapphire.  The renamed Camp Straus offered swimming, fishing, row boats and canoes on the lake, as well as tennis courts, horseshoe pits, a track, a baseball diamond, a 3-hole golf course, and a rifle range.  Shuffleboard, badminton, volleyball, and basketball courts were soon added. 

The Recreation/Athletic Department managed all events and activities, including the Ecusta Band, the annual company picnic, and Christmas parties.

Ecusta employee picnics drew large crowds.
The first Fourth of July picnic was held in 1942.  It featured “every kind of contest for every member of the family with prizes in Defense Stamps to all winners.”  There were tug-of-war teams, boxing matches, square dance band contests, rifle matches, foot races, canoe fights, and much more.  The only cost to attendees for the entire event was 5₵ per game for bingo.

Attendees brought their own picnic basket but lemonade, iced tea, coffee, popcorn, and ice cream were provided.  If you entered the pie eating contest you could also have all the pie you could eat. 

Children enjoy playing in the sand at Camp Straus.
It was reported that approximately 2000 attended that first year.  The event continued to grow over the next several decades, regularly attracting thousands.

Generations of families learned to swim in Camp Straus Lake and participated in year-round recreational activities and gatherings for more than 50 years.
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.

Monday, June 20, 2016

Fire Bell Transformed Into Water Fountain

A recent search through photographs of the courthouse show a water fountain located in front of the building since the early 1900s.  Over the years the fountain itself has changed several times.  During the mid-1900s an old fire truck bell was converted to form the fountain. 

The story below, “From Fire Bell to Water Fountain” is from Ecusta’s monthly publication The Echo, November 1948.

We used to have a lot of bells in Brevard.  There were Church bells, school bells, the Court House bell and others, but older residents remember one bell which sounded as no other did.  This was the fire bell.

Yes, older residents remember the old familiar clanging—how it rang out over the town and the story it told.

Lads mowing lawns under specific instructions by their parents to finish the lawns come what may, would drop the handles of the lawn mowers and run through yards, fields, briar patches and various obstacles in the general direction of the fire bell.

On one occasion, it is distinctly remembered that one small eight year old, with great excitement written across his face, raced along the sidewalk dragging behind him a baby carriage which held his frightened, wailing baby sister.  The baby’s safety forgotten, baby blankets dropped to the sidewalk as the race to follow the fire truck continued.

Then there was another bell which played a great part in clearing the way for the fire truck and informed us of a fire.  It was a bell which was situated on the front of the truck.  As the old engine chugged along the street it could be heard above the noise ringing loudly.  With these two bells, it isn’t surprising that the youngsters were so greatly attracted to the fires.

Then like old Dobbin, the old bell was replaced by a siren.  In 1925 it was removed and placed rather sadly in a corner in the City Hall.

This 1943 photograph of a group of Girl Scouts in front of the Court House
clearly shows the old fire truck bell turned water fountain.
However, a fireman at the time, felt that the old bell with such interesting history back of it, should not be allowed to remain in the corner catching dust and becoming covered with rust.  He suggested that it be put to use as a water fountain.

After a period of inactivity, the bell which once rode to the fires clanging its message out to the town, was made into a water fountain and today it is in use in front of the County Court House in Brevard.  The old fire bell is still serving a very useful purpose and is a constant reminder of the days that used to be.

By 1962 the fire bell turned water fountain had been replaced.

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.

Monday, June 13, 2016

Early County Sheriffs Served Many Roles

Since Transylvania County was created in 1861 there have been 27 different sheriffs.  Last week’s Picturing the Past briefly mentioned some of the activities of two of Transylvania County’s earliest sheriffs, Robert Hamilton and George Neill.  Hamilton was the county’s first sheriff and later served an additional 15 months as sheriff.  Neill was the second sheriff. 

George W. Wilson was elected following Neill in August 1866.  He served for just under 3 years until resigning in May 1869 when Hamilton again took over the office. 

Sheriff duties included collecting taxes, summoning juries, summoning registers and judges for elections.  Prior to 1942 the sheriff was elected for a two-year term. 

Following the Civil War, in 1868, the North Carolina county government system was changed by the new state constitution.  A county commissioner form of government replaced the justices of peace in the old Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions method.

During this time anyone who served in office was required to take the loyalty oath to “sustain the constitution of North Carolina not inconsistent with the constitution of the United States.”  It was a time of great change and prominent county leaders often held a variety of positions at different times during the years of the Civil War and Reconstruction.  For example, Hamilton was not only sheriff and deputy sheriff, but also Card Agent, Road Commissioner, Chairman of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, magistrate and in both branches of the state legislature.  Neill served on the school commission, was Clerk of Superior Court and a U.S. Commissioner in the judicial system.

In August 1870 J.H. Lanning was elected Transylvania County sheriff.  Lanning would hold the office for the next 12 years, making him the second longest serving sheriff for the county to date. 
This photograph of Nathan and Lizzie McMinn was
recently donated by their great-grand-daughter.
McMinn served as Transylvania County sheriff for
six years, 1882-1888.

Nathan Van Buren McMinn, H.L. Hart and V.B. McGaha each served terms as Transylvania County Sheriff for the remainder of the 19th century.   McGaha was only 27 years old when he was elected sheriff in 1894.

Photographs exist for most of the former Transylvania County sheriffs.  However, photographs are still need for George C. Neill and Jeremiah H. Lanning.  If you have a photograph of either man please contact 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.




Monday, June 6, 2016

Robert Hamilton Was the First Sheriff of Transylvania County

The early Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions for Transylvania County contain a wealth of information about the development of the county during the Civil War and through the Reconstruction Era.  The Minutes identify the men who helped establish the county, the offices they held, and their roles during a turbulent time. 

Robert Hamilton, first sheriff of Transylvania County.
Robert Hamilton was the first sheriff for Transylvania County, elected in May 1861.  His deputy was George Neill.  Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions minutes state that George C. Neill was elected sheriff in August 1864.  Hamilton was named his deputy on September 10, 1864.  Neill was sheriff for two years.  Hamilton would serve as sheriff again from May 1869 through August 1970.

Hamilton and Neill, who were relatives through marriage (Hamilton’s wife was a first cousin to Neill), both lived in the Lamb’s Creek area.

Although, Hamilton and Neill represented the law in a Confederate state both were Union sympathizers.  A diary kept by a Union officer who had escaped from a Confederate prisoner camp tells of assistance provided by Hamilton and Neill as he and his fellow escapees passed through the county on their way to freedom.  Other accounts also tell of Hamilton’s role in aiding Union soldiers.

The Heritage of Transylvania Couth, North Carolina, Volume III contains an entire section, “A People Divided: Transylvania County and the Civil War” telling stories of those who supported and fought for both the Confederate and Union cause.

On Sunday, June 12 at 2:00 at the Allison-Deaver House Dr. Keith Parker will speaker on the Reconstruction Era in Transylvania County and efforts to bridge the divide created by the war.  He will also share stories of Hamilton’s role in aiding Union soldiers.


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.