Calvert Prison Camp

 

Calvert Prison Camp

Transylvania County has operated several jails in its history, including the original one located in the courthouse.  However, many residents are unaware that a state prison camp was also once located here. In the fall of 1933, the state of North Carolina purchased 50 acres of land from Tom Galloway in the community of Calvert near Rosman to build a prison camp.  The property was located near the current New Excelsior plant, once the home of Coats America and American Thread.

The number of prisoners the state said would be housed in the camp changed continually, with various estimates ranging between 75 to 125 men. The purpose of the facility was to use inmate labor to build and maintain county roads.  The camp would also provide local jobs for a superintendent, a steward, and seven to ten guards, good news during the hard times of the Depression. 

In June of 1934, construction began on what was officially called the Calvert State Prison Camp.  Labor was provided by “grade A prisoners” and a number of local craftsmen. The main building was built of brick.  A deep well was dug for a water and a sewage disposal plant was built on site.  Electric lights were installed by the Rosman Tanning Extract Company of Rosman. 

Construction was in full swing when work suddenly stopped after the Department of Corrections was informed the Tennessee Valley Authority was considering building a storage dam on the French Broad River.  This plan would inundate large sections of Transylvania and Henderson counties and flood the prison camp site. When the TVA finally decided they would not construct the dam, work on the camp continued.

Historic map showing the location of Calvert Prison Camp

In addition to the prison building itself, there was also a farm which prisoners worked in order to make the camp self-sufficient.  According to the Transylvania Times, there were “…nine acres of Irish potatoes, growing nicely; tomato and cabbage plants out and thriving, and other garden crops making a fine showing.”  Pigs were also raised.

To celebrate the completion of the Calvert prison camp in January of 1935, an open-house for the general public was held.  The final design allowed for 75 inmates. It was announced that Fred Johnson of Brevard would be superintendent of the camp.  Originally, the camp was intended to hold white-only inmates, but, after a series of delays, 65 African-American prisoners were assigned to the prison in August of 1936.

There is evidence of several escapes including three inmates who escaped from a road detail and a trustee named Jess Harris who simply walked off the farm.  The prison owned their own bloodhounds, which were once even borrowed by local law enforcement officers to help apprehend and arrest three men with two car loads of illegal liquor.

The Calvert prison was closed by the state in the fall of 1962 and the inmates were sent to other facilities.  The rationale the state provided was that Calvert was one of the smallest prison farms in North Carolina and larger prisons were more economical.  The state said they were willing to sell the prison camp for “a bargain”.  

With the prison sitting empty, there were discussions in the county about what to do with the building and land.  The Transylvania Times commented in a headline that the “abandoned prison camp mars the progress of Transylvania.” One proposal was to transform the prison into a factory, similar to what another county in the eastern part of the state had done, converting theirs into a factory making “junior miss dresses”. The record remains silent on the eventual fate of the Calvert prison camp.

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 assistant Joe Russo. For more information, comments, or suggestions, contact NC Room staff at ncroom@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.

The Bearwallow Springs Jelly House

 

Elise Greer, owner, outside the Bearwallow Springs Jelly House in Sapphire, NC circa 1961

The Sapphire community once was home to the Bearwallow Springs Jelly House. The Jelly House was started by Herman and Elise Greer in 1945. The Florida natives moved to Sapphire in 1940 along with their two children, Marie and Everette. Herman was a certified public accountant, and Elise was an art teacher in public schools before the move. Once they purchased land and built a house , they ran a filling station which sold fuel and picnic supplies such as non-perishable items and ready-made sandwiches. In addition, Elise taught private art lessons in a studio she rented above Varner’s Drug Store. Herman continued to work as a CPA in addition to assisting with management of the store.

Eventually, Elise began stocking the shelves with her own canned goods. The unique flavors of homemade jellies and jams she made were so popular that they soon eclipsed the profitability of the fueling station. The Greers focused the business on preserves production, even fulfilling mail orders much the way a small business today might have online sales in addition to a shop front. They employed kitchen help and bought produce from local residents, some of which was cultivated and some of which was harvested from the wild.

Unique flavors set apart the preserves from store-bought goods and captured the whimsy of mountain culture for customers locally and from afar. Though familiar favorites like scuppernong grape jelly and wild strawberry jam were available, there were also unusual options such as wild crab apple jelly, spiced pumpkin sweet pickles, blue damson plum jam, and artichoke relish. The NC Room has copies of their product catalogs from 1965 and 1972 for the curious who wish to see the entire array of preserves created by Elise Greer and her staff. The Bearwallow Springs Jelly House operated for more than 30 years until Elise and Herman retired in 1977.

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.

Hooker Falls: The Site of Two Mills

Moore Mill, the first mill near what would later be named Hooker Falls

Hooker Falls is a well-loved recreation destination in DuPont State Forest. During the early settlement of what is now Transylvania County, it was seen as a more functional location. Though the original ownership date is not known, the first recorded owner of Hooker Falls was Clinton Moore and his wife Sallie, who owned property on Steel’s Creek, Little River, James Johnston Creek, Green River, and Crab Creek. Moore operated a grist mill known as Moore Mill at what is now called Hooker Falls for many years. In 1870, his son William purchased the property and continued to operate the mill. The deed stipulated that Clinton Moore and his wife Sallie would still be allowed to use the mill after the land sale. 

Postcard showing Hooker Mill, the second mill built near Hooker Falls

In 1882 all the property surrounding the mill was sold to John W. Hooker and his brothers Spencer and Edmund by William Moore and his wife Sarah. John was the only one of the three brothers to stay in the area; Edmund and Spencer moved to South Carolina. John Hooker built a cabin on the property as well as a second mill on the opposite side of the river, known as Hooker Mill. Reports claim that the cabin remained intact until the early 1940s, though the original location is unknown. 

Hooker sold the land where Hooker Falls is located to Tench Coxe in 1910. The sale included the mill and all its fixtures. Coxe also owned land in the area that was dubbed Buck Forest. In 1956 Coxe sold much of his land, including the piece that included Hooker Falls and the two mills, to the DuPont corporation. It is said that the millstones remained for many years, only being removed in the early 1970s.  Hooker Falls remained the property of DuPont until 1997 when it was sold to the state and became part of the DuPont State Forest. 

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 Pierce Moore Hotel - One of Many Boarding Houses

 

The Pierce Moore Hotel, date unknown

Built 1926 by Grace Timanda Piercy in 1926, the Pierce Moore hotel was on the corner of West Main and Oaklawn and originally had 21 rooms. Piercy was originally from Yancey County but moved to Transylvania County in the early 1920s and worked for the Silversteen family. There are differing accounts of what her job duties were, including being a seamstress and a cook; it’s possible she did whatever domestic tasks were needed. She struck out on her own to build and run the Pierce Moore Hotel in 1926, and Joseph Silversteen is said to have visited the dining room frequently for her home-cooked meals. When Piercy, who never married, was naming the hotel, she chose to combine her mother’s maiden name, Moore, with her own last name, Piercy, but dropped the “y” because she thought it sounded better. The endeavor was successful enough to justify a fifteen-room addition to the building in 1939.

Guest rules from the Pierce Moore Hotel

In February of 1945, a serious fire caused $25,000 worth of damage (equivalent to $391,000 in 2022) on the second floor and attic area. The blaze resulted in the death of one man, the hospitalization of another, and the arrest of two others pending an investigation of foul play. All four men were from Providence, RI and were staying at the hotel while they did contract work for the Ecusta Paper Corporation. The four had been having a late-night party in the room of the man who perished. Although his body was found in the fire-damaged hotel, the cause of death was a cut artery in his arm, a wound supposedly inflicted as he tried to escape. In the end, the two suspects were released, and all of the Rhode Islanders returned home. It was the first serious fire in the area since the 1918 Tannery fire, and it prompted the Brevard Fire Department to invest in upgrading equipment and training additional volunteers.

Miraculously, the Pierce Moore Hotel underwent repairs and reopened a mere six months later. In the height of its popularity, it was a known social center with dances and Sunday dinners. It hosted long term tenants, including families who stayed there through the summer to escape the heat of cities. It closed in 1965 when Piercy moved across the street to a smaller residence on Oaklawn which she operated as a seven-room boarding house until her death in 1979. After Grace Piercy’s passing, the majority of the original hotel was demolished. What is left now is the back part of the hotel, which is in disrepair and is scheduled to be demolished, along with other buildings on the property, in mid-April of this year.

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.