Red House Was Originally a Trading Post

Picturing the Past will feature some of Brevard’s historic homes over the next several weeks.  The houses in these articles will all be part of the upcoming Historic House Ramble.  They represent a variety of time periods and architectural styles. 

The oldest homes on the tour will be the Red House and the Lankford-Cleveland House.  Although the two houses are different in architectural style they do have some commonalities.  Both were originally constructed in the mid-1800s before the town of Brevard was incorporated and both were built by men who were leaders in the formation of Brevard. 

The west side of the Red House includes a large dormer on the roof
and a partially enclosed porch.

The Red House built by L.S. Gash was originally a trading post known as Poor’s Store.  After the Civil War it was leased to W.T. Moore who expanded it and operated it as a hotel.  Although Gash himself never lived in the house his family moved there shortly after his death in 1872.  It was around this time that it received its first coat of paint and became known as the Red House.

Time was hard on the old house though until Miss Boswell, Gash’s granddaughter, hired Moffitt Construction to remodel the home.  A brief mention in the Local Paragraphs of the September 15, 1911 Sylvan Valley News states, “The house will be practically rebuilt, a metal roof put on, the outside stuccoed, and the inside finished throughout in hardwood.  The improvements will cost about twenty-five hundred.”  The Gash family descendants would own the home for another 50 plus years.

Lankford built the two-story right side section of the home and
Cleveland extended the original front dormer into a large
one-and-one-half story gable addition.

Meanwhile on the east side of what would become the town of Brevard B.C. Lankford built a large home.  Lankford, known as Caldwell by friends and family, is the namesake for Caldwell St.  Unlike the Gash family, the Lankfords sold the home and property shortly after Caldwell Lankford’s death in 1895.  It went through several owners before John B. Cleveland of Spartanburg bought it in 1913.  The east side of the current structure was the original home which was referred to as “one of the most attractively situated dwelling sites in town” in a Sylvan Valley News article when Cleveland purchased it.  Cleveland had the home remodeled and the Cleveland family used it as a summer home through the 1960s.

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 828-884-1820.