Cornelius Hunt, The First Black City Official

 

Cornelius Hunt (1919-1990)

A Brevard native, Cornelius F. Hunt was a well-known leader in Transylvania County and had a significant impact on the community. Born in 1919, his parents James & Emily died a couple of years apart when he was very young, and he was raised by relatives in Louisville, KY. He later returned to Brevard, married Jessie Mae Rosemond, and had five children in addition to a foster child. Jessie, a nurse, died of cancer at age 39, and Hunt never remarried.

Hunt worked at Transylvania Tanning and then Ecusta/Olin for 31 years before retirement. He served on numerous boards, councils, and non-profit organizations both during his employment and into retirement. Some of his notable achievements were being a Brevard City Council member for 17 years, a founding member of the Transylvania County Human Relations Council, the first president of the TCIO (Transylvania Citizens Improvement Organization), the director of United Way, the director of the Mary C. Jenkins Community Center, and a mayor pro tem. He was a Sunday school superintendent for Bethel “A” Baptist Church for 35 years and a Scout Master for the Boy Scouts of America. These are only a handful of his many accomplishments, which are almost too extensive to list.

While continuing to serve in office as a Brevard City Council member, he died unexpectedly of heart failure in 1990. In 2015, the Public Works building on Cashiers Valley Road was dedicated in his honor and bears a plaque acknowledging the honor.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. This article was written by Local History Librarian Laura Gardner. For more information, comments, or suggestions, contact NC Room staff at ncroom@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.

 

The Goodwin Building on East Jordan Street

 

The Goodwin Building 2022

With the recent announcement that The Center for Women will be moving from its long-time location on East Jordan Street, there has been interest in the history of the location they occupied: The Goodwin Building.

Dr. Carey Jackson “C.J.” Goodwin moved to Brevard in 1937 along with his wife Christine. A newly licensed dentist, Dr. Goodwin originally rented an office in the Picklesimer Building before having the stone building built on Jordan Street in 1947. Street numbers were changed for many downtown areas in the late 1990s, so the original address was 15 East Jordan Street.

C.J. and Christine Goodwin had a home built on Country Club Road in 1939 and lived there until 1953 when they moved to East Main Street. During that time their two children, Judy and Jack, were born and grew up to become honor students at Brevard High School. Both C.J. and Christine were very involved in the community with C.J. serving on the Board of Directors for the Kiwanis Club, and Christine serving as the president of the Brevard Garden Club, a member of the Mathatasian Club, and a member of the First Baptist Church Fidelis Class.

The Goodwins were supportive members of the First Baptist Church, and so when they decided to move to Atlanta in 1959, they deeded their East Main Street house to the church, presumably for use as a parsonage. The Goodwin Building was sold in 1959 to a law firm: Potts, Ramsey, & Hudson. The names of the law firm partners changed over the years, but the building was consistently a law firm office until 1987 when it was sold to the First Baptist Church located right beside it. It was first occupied by The Center for Women in 2003 (under the name C.A.R.E. Pregnancy Center). The building remains in the ownership of the First Baptist Church.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. This article was written by Local History Librarian Laura Gardner. For more information, comments, or suggestions, contact NC Room staff at ncroom@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.

Fred and Ethel Mills: Significant in the Rosenwald Community

The Fred and Ethel Mills House on West Lane, Brevard NC 

Anyone who has seen the stone wall surrounding the courthouse, the rock gate at the corner of Brevard College’s campus, the entrance to the Silversteen playground, or the many stone structures in the vicinity of the Rosenwald community has enjoyed the work of Fred Mills. Frederick Douglas Mills was born in Brevard in 1892 to Thomas James Mills and Frances McIntyre Mills. The second of six children, not much is known about his early life. A hidden gem of information shows that he played on the African-American baseball team known as the Brevard Sluggers sometime during his teen to early adult years He married Amy Robinson in 1915, and his World War I draft card in 1917 shows that he claimed a 5-year-old son, Louis Jack Mills, as a dependent. It is unclear whether Louis was Fred’s natural son or his adopted stepson that Amy brought into the marriage. Amy passed away in 1920, and Fred remarried to Ethel Kennedy seven years later. Census records show that he worked in Silversteen’s Tannery as late as 1930, but by 1940 his occupation was listed as stonemason. Mills learned stonemasonry from Hendersonville’s Wright Brothers. 

St. Philip's Episcopal Church built in 1926 after the smaller wooden church on the site burned down.

The Wrights created many stone projects in Transylvania County and documentation shows that Fred Mills was their partner in much of this construction. Some projects that were attributed to Mills in partnership with the Wright Brothers are: St. Philip’s Episcopal Church (1926), The Orr House (1936), The Brombacher House (1939) and The Clement House (1941). Based on the years when these projects were completed, it’s likely that Mills started out with stonemasonry as a second job in addition to the Tannery. Though the year is not documented, it is known that Fred lost an arm while working at the Tannery. This didn’t stop him from continuing stonemasonry. 

The stone-veneered garage of the Mills House

The retaining wall and built-in grill
on the property of the Mills House

Mills trained other men in his neighborhood including Avery Benjamin and Quillie Glaze to do rockwork, and the many river stone structures in the Rosenwald community are a direct result of his knowledge and expertise. Mills home is pictured above and the stone work for the veneer of the house and garage, retaining wall, and built-in grill are all his own handiwork utilizing leftover materials from his work projects. Other structures in that area attributed to Mills include rock walls, steps, flowerbeds, and a water fountain at the Rosenwald School that is no longer there. 

 Fred’s wife Ethelyn “Ethel” Kennedy Mills was also influential in the Rosenwald community. She was born in 1902 in Franklin, NC to James and Florine Kennedy and was the fourth of six children. Once she graduated high school, she became a teacher in Buncombe County. It’s not documented how she and Fred met, but she married him in 1927. Census records list her occupation as a schoolteacher in Brevard in both 1930 and 1940. This likely refers to the fact that she was the principal of the Rosenwald School once it was completed and for many years thereafter until schools were desegregated and the students of Rosenwald began attending county public schools. She is remembered today as an educational leader and inspiration. 

 Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. This article was written by Local History Librarian Laura Gardner. For more information, comments, or suggestions, contact NC Room staff at ncroom@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.

Silversteen Daughter Adelaide Had Many Talents

 

Elizabeth Adelaide Silversteen Van Wey Hill at her writing desk

Many may be familiar with the influential Silversteen family due to the public park created from the donation of their house and property, Silvermont. The youngest Silversteen daughter Adelaide Van Wey (her stage name) was renowned for her musical talent and was an internationally touring and well-acclaimed performer as a contralto singer. Few may know that she had other talents as well, such as writing.

Adelaide prided herself on her literary talents, as seen in this staged photo of her at her typewriter with a portrait of Silversteen matriarch Elizabeth looking on. She was a regular contributor to the Transylvania Times as a columnist for the ongoing series “Cook’s Corner,” where she shared her favorite recipes. In today’s terms, she would be known as a “foodie” and loved that she could share with readers favorite cuisine collected from her world travels and from her own adventures in the kitchen. The column ran from 1953-1968, with the very last column appearing three days after her death with favorite desserts such as Strawberry Charlotte Russe and Banana Pudding with Apricot-Brandy Sauce.

The front cover of the original manuscript for “Murder in View”

In addition, she wrote a mystery novel, “Murder in View” and the original manuscript is part of the NC Room archives.  The narrator seems to be based somewhat on herself – a vivacious, childless “auntie” who is involved in the lives of her neighbors and becomes part of a murder investigation. Details such as the natural death of the narrator’s mother followed shortly by that of her father seem to mirror Adelaide’s own lived experiences and add depth to the story. A shrewd investigator helps to round out the cast of characters and reveals a surprise solution to the case that involves multiple characters engaged in covering it up. The original manuscript cover is shown above. A display recreating her writing desk with a copy of the manuscript is on display at Silvermont during the museum’s open hours.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. This article was written by Local History Librarian Laura Gardner. For more information, comments, or suggestions, contact NC Room staff at ncroom@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.