Long Hunters of Transylvania County

Long hunter James Washington Fisher Jr. and his wife Darcus Levisa Fisher in their golden years

Untamed and unnamed Transylvania County had a number of men known as “long hunters” in the 1800s who would make a living by embarking on hunting expeditions for six months at a time. From October to March, they would travel and hunt, preserving the meat, tanning the hides, and preparing pelts that they procured along the way. When they returned to civilization, they would often distribute their goods to prearranged buyers in larger towns of the area, such as Greenville, Spartanburg, and Asheville.

One well-known base camp was situated near Mount Toxaway, then known as “Hogback Mountain.” From here, the long hunters could replenish supplies and gather a group when it was time to set out on a long hunt. The animals they hunted included deer, bear, fox, beaver, and even the occasional panther. Hunting dogs were usually part of the team and were employed to help bring down the largest game, such as bear.

Notable long hunters of what would become Transylvania County included Nathan Lankford, Aleck Wood, John J. Green, and Jim Fisher.

Part of the camaraderie of these groups included sitting around a campfire and telling tall tales of their hunting exploits during their leisure time. These stories were not expected to be entirely true; in fact, it was a badge of honor to elaborate and embellish one’s story for the utmost effect. For this reason, these gatherings of hunters were known as “lying camps.” James “Jim” Washington Fisher Jr., was one of the most well-known long hunters. He often won these impromptu competitions and was also renowned for his fiddle music. The winner got to wield a carved powder horn until a new winner was declared.

The exploits of the long hunters might have been lost to history if not for the writings of a Charleston-based author named William Gilmore Simms who immortalized them in his short stories, essays, and books. Simms was taken out on an expedition in 1847 that included the notable long hunters of our region. He glorified their adventures and shared them with a public eager to hear stories of the untamed frontier lands of the rugged Appalachian mountains. Their remarkable stories now live on, and it us up to the reader to decide how much of these tales is true.

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

Westall Vineyard

 

Westall Vineyard in 1974

One mile east of Penrose, Thad Westall, retired Chief Warrant Officer in the U.S. Army, owned and operated a vineyard from 1964 to the late 1970s along with his wife Geri. Thad grew up in Flat Rock and bought a couple of acres in Penrose for retirement in 1962. The first couple of years were spent in renovating the house. Later he purchased an additional 27 acres and began cultivating grapes. At the time, laws were still in place to limit the production of alcohol other than for personal and home consumption, and so Westall was sure to get federally licensed to make wine for his own use. What grapes he couldn’t use for his own wine production were made available to the public as a “pick your own” vineyard experience.

The way that Westall approached wine production was similar to how hobbyist microbrewers might approach crafting beer today. He often created small, distinct batches of wine in an experimental fashion, learning from each attempt. He tended to keep each strain of grapes separate and did not dabble in blending, as is common in commercial wine production, though he did cross-breed grape varieties and create cultivars.

Westall devoted his time to developing the best kind of wine grape for the region. One difficulty with grape production in the western North Carolina mountains is the short growing season, so it was important to grow a variety that could ripen in time before the cold season. Although hobbyist gardeners have long cultivated Concord grapes successfully for food consumption, the different varietals needed for wine production did not easily flourish in this climate. It took research, trial, and error for Westall to find the right variety of grapes for the region.

Thad Westall in the fermenting room 1974

He created his own cultivars, the “W 101” and “W102” named for the W of Westall, tried out growing the “Fontaine,” and worked on cross-breeding the “1918 G.B.” Each grape variety seems to have its own story. Legend has it the 1918 G.B. was brought from Europe to the U.S. in 1918 by a soldier in World War I and the “G.B.” stands for golf ball, in reference to the grape’s large size. Fontaine was an heirloom variety from Transylvania County created in the 1920s by a man with the last name Fontaine who cultivated grapes on his property near where Brevard Middle School is located today and only quit when prohibition made his wine production illegal.

As Westall experimented with grape production, he got help from the Extension Services chair, Jim Davis, to learn more about farming and growing grapes specifically. Westall also found a fellow grape-growing enthusiast in local physician Dr. J.B. Scroggin. They exchanged information through the years as they learned more and more about farming grapes for wine production.

Although now long-gone with the road name “Vineyard Loop” as the only remnant, this early wine production was ahead of its time in the Penrose community of Transylvania County. 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 Sperry Gardner. For more information, comments, or suggestions, contact NC Room staff at ncroom@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820. 

A Brief History of the White Squirrel Festival

 

A car show was part of the first White Squirrel Festival in 2004

This year’s White Squirrel Weekend has started a new era for spring downtown events, and so a retrospective seems in order. The downtown festival, which traditionally was held on Memorial Day weekend, started in 2003. The inaugural event kicked off with the unveiling of a white squirrel sculpture outside of City Hall created by local artist Kathryn Wilson. The White Squirrel Festival began as a street festival with events like a car show and developed into a way to highlight local and regional musical talent. With each year, it grew to incorporate new events and highlights.

Common features of the festival included vendors for food, drink, and art; kids activities, a photography competition, and guided tours to see the white squirrels that reside on Brevard College’s campus. The event often aligned with downtown Brevard’s “4^th Friday Gallery Walks”, which would extend the hours of local art galleries for visitors. In 2007, the Squirrel Box Derby began and was held every year except 2015 until the final run in 2018 when a tragic accident led to the decision to discontinue the event.

2008 brought three new features to the festival: the first being beer sales, the second being the Rotary Club sponsored 5K and 10K races, and the third being a Memorial Day parade to honor fallen soldiers.  At that time, there hadn’t been a Memorial Day parade in over 25 years, though they were once a regular part of community celebrations in bygone days. In partnership with the parade, memorial services at one or more historic cemeteries followed by the opportunity to decorate grave markers of fallen soldiers helped to remind the community of the ultimate sacrifice made by service men and women. These memorial services were at times led by the American Legion Post 88 and the Waightstill Avery chapter of the DAR.

To give everyone a chance to see a white squirrel, “Pisgah Pete” was available for visitors during the festival from 2015-2019. This white squirrel ambassador was known for his weather and Superbowl predictions that coincide with Groundhog Day, though he recently retired and has passed the torch to his niece, Pisgah Penny.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, there was no festival in 2020 or 2021, making 2019 the last year of the festival in that iteration. The decision to switch the festival to the weekend after Memorial Day weekend provided an opportunity for reimagining what the festival’s focus would be and to extend the number of weekends with happenings in downtown. The first annual White Squirrel Weekend is now in the books as a brand-new conjunction of community, culture, and fun.

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

Pisgah National Forest Gate

 

The Pisgah National Forest gate in the 1930s

Many residents recognize old photographs of the gate that once graced the entrance to the Pisgah National Forest. This photo from the 1930s shows how the original gate looked  --a pair of crenulated stone pillars flanking the highway, an arch emblazoned with the forest’s name topped with an eagle with outspread wings. The eagle and castle-like pillars are long gone, though a portion of one stone pillar remains.

It may not be immediately apparent that the stone pillar that still exists today is not part of the original construction. The original gate was constructed and dedicated to the memory of fallen soldiers in 1920 just after World War I and displayed two plaques honoring Transylvania County residents who lost their lives in that war. Native stone and two bronze plaques from the original gate were used to create the second gate, and it was rededicated in a ceremony documented in the August 7, 1941 Transylvania Times. Part of the second gate still remains at the entrance to the Pisgah National Forest on Highway 276, honoring the sacrifice of the enlisted decades later.

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.