Early County Schools Charged Tuition

Broad Valley Institute, Penrose

The first schools in Transylvania County were private subscription schools. Parents paid a fee for their children to attend. The tuition could be cash or produce from farms or gardens. These schools were often in shared facilities, which were also used for church services or as meeting houses.

In 1824 the Davidson River Academy, a subscription school in what was Buncombe County at that time, opened on the North side of the Davidson River. It offered a mid-level education in the areas of classics and elementary reading, writing and algebra. This school operated until at least 1896.

Branson's Business Directories for 1867 and 1869 list three schools in Transylvania County. They were Corinth Academy, Cherryfield; Davidson River Academy, Davidson's River; and French Broad Academy, Brevard. The 1889 and 1896 directories list four academies located in Brevard, Davidson's River, Zachary's (Calvert) and Grange (Little River).

About 1880 the Broad Valley Institute, a church affiliated school in the Penrose community, built a large church auditorium and school together. Beginning in 1902 it was under the control of the North Carolina Baptists. The preachers also served as teachers. It provided education through one year of a regular college course and was in operation until about 1910. It was also referred to as Sylvan Valley Institute.

In 1895 Fitch and Sarah Taylor opened a school for young girls in their home. This became known as the Epworth School. The first year it was in the Henning House on West Main Street and had only three students.

As the school grew they moved to the Red House on Probart Street. By October 1899 the enrollment was 79 students and there were three teachers. After completing basic education students could continue at Brevard Institute.

"Old" Taylor Hall (right), a frame structure, was completed in 1904 and "bricked" in 1914. It later became known as West Hall. The middle building is Spencer Hall. The current Taylor Hall (left), the oldest building on the Brevard College campus, dates to 1924.

Brevard Institute offered four years of standard high school work in home economics, agriculture, business, music, college preparatory, and normal education in preparing teachers. The institute owned and operated a large farm on which students could work to pay their school expenses.

Begun around 1900 by the Taylors, Brevard Institute was under the control of the Methodist Church by 1903. Mr. E.E. Bishop was principal in 1904, followed by Carl Trowbridge from 1907-1933. The school closed in 1933.

Methodist School, Rosman

A year later Brevard College, created from the merger of Weaver College and Rutherford College, opened on the Brevard Institute campus.

In Rosman there was also an early subscription school. The Old Zion Baptist Church operated a school well before 1900, maybe as early as the late 1850s. When the school outgrew that building, they moved to the Presbyterian Church near the current high school. This church and school later became affiliated with the Methodist Church.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. Visit the N.C. 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 ext. 242.
 

Lowest Temperature Recorded

On this day in North Carolina History,

"The lowest temperature ever recorded in North Carolina: minus 34 degrees on Mount Mitchell." (1985)

Source: Powell, L. (1996). On This Day in North Carolina History.Winston-Salem, North Carolina: John F. Blair, Publisher. 

Blantyre Was First Railroad Stop In Transylvania County

The railroad helped open up Western North Carolina in the mid to late 1800s. It provided faster and more comfortable travel to and from the region and helped expand tourism. It also offered an easier and more affordable means of transporting goods to and from the area.

Short line railroads served small towns off the main lines. The Hendersonville and Brevard Railroad, Telegraph & Telephone Company was complete in 1894. Between the towns there were several stops to load and unload passengers and freight and to refuel.

The first stop in Transylvania County was Blantyre. The community of Blantyre blossomed around the railroad station. The area had a post office known as Irvin prior to the arrival of the railroad. The name was changed to Blantyre in 1901. Silas Merrill served as the Irvin/Blantyre post master from 1889 until 1910.

In December 1910 Thomas J. Shipman was named post master. Shipman was also the depot agent and a merchant. The Shipmans had a large home beside the railroad station that served as a way station, providing food and lodging.

The earliest store in the area appears to have been Silas Merrell's dry goods business. Other general stores were operated at various times by Shipman, King Justus, Charles Baldwin and James Knight. The last store in the area was operated by the Justus family. It closed in the late 1960s.

Other businesses in Blantyre included Carl Blythe's steam operated saw mill, William Byrd's timber saw mill and a mill to run a thresher engine owned by Justus and Morgan.

In the early 1900s the North Carolina Department of Agriculture operated test farms throughout the state to study the effects of various soil types and climates on growing crops. Reports from the Department of Agriculture provide information on these test farms, including the one in Blantyre.

The Blantyre School was built by T.C. Holtzclaw on property donated by Charles Baldwin in 1911. It served the area for about 20 years.

The Blantyre Baptist Church was organized in May 1921. They used the school house for several years before constructing their own building nearby. It was completed in 1932 using materials from the school which was being torn down.

A special thanks to Earlene Orr for providing information from her research on the Blantyre community for this article.

This painting (right) depicts the small Blantyre Station on the Toxaway branch of Southern Railway running from Hendersonville to Lake Toxaway. The large home beside it was owned by the Thomas J. Shipman family.

Throughout the coming year "Picturing the Past" will be featuring the communities across the county. We are particularly interested in the small stores and businesses that operated outside of Brevard and Rosman. If you have photographs and basic information on any of these that you would be willing to share, contact Marcy at the library.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. Visit the N.C. 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 ext. 242.

County Post Offices Have Often Changed Locations

In today's world of cell phones, text messaging and email, instant communication is the expectation. It was not too long ago though that letters, delivered through the U.S. Postal Service, were the leading means of both personal and business communication. People exchanged hand-written letters frequently and eagerly anticipated the arrival of news from family and friends.

Since Transylvania County was established in 1861 there have been at least 57 different names, from Ashworth (1919-1922) to Zachary's (1880-1890), for local post offices.

The earliest post office in what is today Transylvania County was Claytonville. It operated from 1806-1861 when this area was part of Buncombe and then Henderson County. Lambert Clayton was the first postmaster from 1806 until about 1813. It was located in the area around the Davidson River and the Allison-Deaver House.

In the early days post offices were generally located in the store and/or home of whoever was the postmaster, so if there was a change of postmaster the post office itself probably moved - although usually not very far - and sometimes even changed its name.

Other early post offices included Cathey's Creek established in 1826, Davidson's River in 1840, Cherryfield in 1852, Dunn's Rock in 1855, Calhoun in 1856 and Cedar Mountain in 1856.

While many of the post offices were named for the postmaster, such as Deavers, Galloway and Loftis, others have more creative stories behind their names.

The Reba Post Office, located North of the Sherwood Forest area, operated from 1898-1907. When residents were trying to select a name, Sheriff Bunyan McGaha in jest suggested Reba, the name of his then 4-year old daughter and that's what was selected.

Overlooking the valley of Dunn's Rock is the community of See Off. Before the post office was opened in 1903, names were submitted for it. Laura Raxter suggested See Off for the obvious reason that you could "see-off" into the valley and mountains beyond. Although the post office only operated for four years, the community is still known as See Off.

Today there are eight post offices in Transylvania County.

Cedar Mountain is the oldest continuously operated post office in the county. Cedar Mountain, the mountain, is actually four miles south of the current Cedar Mountain community. The first Cedar Mountain post office was located there along with a hotel built by Micajah Thomas in 1852. The hotel served as a stage coach stop and post office and provided lodging for travelers, hunters and fishermen.

Brevard, established in 1868, has had several different locations for its post office through the years.

Balsam Grove's first post office opened in 1875, followed by Penrose in 1889 and Lake Toxaway in 1903.

Rosman's first post office was known as Toxaway and opened Dec. 7, 1900. To avoid confusion with Lake Toxaway, the name was changed to Eastatoe on Jan. 12, 1903. Six weeks later, on Feb. 28 that name was rescinded and it again became Toxaway. Then from April 7-May 8 it was French Broad and from May 8-13 Eastatoe. On May 13, 1903 the name once again became Toxaway. Finally on July 18, 1904 the name of Rosman was selected.

The Sapphire post office, which has been in existence since 1892, was actually in Jackson County until 1914 when it relocated.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. Visit the N.C. 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 ext. 242.

Photo Caption:
Jess Johnson delivered mail from Horseshoe to Brevard. The horse's decorative cape was made by Johnson's mother and was to keep flies off.

Transylvania Promoted Tourism 100 Years Ago

Cover from Brevard Board of Trade tourism brochure, circa 1912-1915.

Since the mid-1800s the mountains Western North Carolina have attracted those escaping the heat, humidity and disease of the lowlands of South Carolina and Georgia in the summer. During the winter the area offers respite from the harsh weather of northern cities.

When the railroad arrived in the late 1890s Transylvania County boomed as an ideal place to live, work and play. Seeing an opportunity, the Brevard Board of Trade and later the Chamber of Commerce promoted the town of Brevard and Transylvania County as "Nature's Playground" and the gateway to the "Beautiful Sapphire Country."

Folks flocked to the area, often staying several weeks or months at a time. Large hotels, including the Franklin and Aetholdwold in Brevard and Toxaway and Fairfield Inns in the Western part of the county were built to accommodate the tourists. There were also several small hotels in Brevard and Rosman.

The Brevard Club tourism brochure, circa 1912.

Tourism brochures dating from around 1907 through 1929 advertise all Transylvania County has to offer in the way of recreation, business, education, lodging, and amenities. These broch-ures identify approximately 70 boarding houses and private homes offering visitors a home-like atmosphere with fresh, wholesome meals in settings ranging from stately town homes to quiet country homes. Rates were reasonable, ranging from $5-10 per week and included meals.

Typically families would enroll their children in one of the local summer camps and then spend a leisurely season themselves playing tennis, golf or croquet; exploring the countryside on horseback or in motor cars; attending concerts, dances, card parties and afternoon teas.

The brochures and photographs of some of the boarding houses are currently on display on the second floor at the library. With the current emphasis on "branding" what Brevard and Transylvania County have to offer, it is interesting to look at the marketing of nearly 100 years ago.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. Visit the N.C. 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 ext. 242.