Tobacco Farming in Transylvania County

According to “North Carolina Atlas” by Jule B. Warren and L. Pole Denmark published in 1952 “North Carolina ranked fourth in the nation in the value of farm crops, not including livestock.”  The leading product by far was tobacco, which had been cultivated in the state since colonial times. 

Different varieties of tobacco grow best in different climates and soils.  They are also cured in different ways.  North Carolina was the leading producer of flue-cured bright leaf tobacco, most of which was grown in the eastern and northcentral part of the state.  Burley tobacco, which is air-cured was grown in the mountain counties of Western North Carolina. 

While the burley variety accounted for a very small proportion of the total tobacco crop grown, it did bring a higher price.  Burley was valued as a flavoring ingredient in tobacco products, especially cigarettes.

North Carolina’s burley tobacco production amounted to only about three percent of the national total in the early 1970s.

Locally, County Agent R.E. Lawrence began promoting tobacco as a money crop around 1920.  S.E. Verner planted an acre of tobacco as a demonstration in 1925.  By the early 1930s there were several farmers in the Little River area raising burley tobacco.  Although it could be grown in heavy red clay soils, the bottom lands in the river valley provided good fields for the crop.

A group of Little River farmers listen to a discussion
on tobacco, 1957.

Little River community scrapbooks from the 1950s through the 1970s provide information and photographs related to tobacco farming. The community regularly held demonstrations and planted test plots to learn about tobacco varieties; control of weeds, insects and diseases; and to provide other educational opportunities for farmers. 

Tobacco hanging in Martin Shipman's drying barn, 1960.

In 1952 Martin Shipman, Lynch Moore, E.W. Medford and H.M. Merrill attended a field day in Waynesville where they saw a gas burner used for curing burley.  Shipman purchased nine burner units to install in his 1,200 square foot barn with controlled ventilation.  It was the first of the improved type of tobacco barn in Western North Carolina. 

Transylvania County farmers never produced large quantities of tobacco.  Under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 a quota was established setting the number of acres of tobacco that could be planted in each county.  Transylvania County’s quota was around 33 acres throughout the mid-to-late 20^th century.  When the quota system was eliminated in 2004 through the Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act it was no longer profitable for small farms to raise tobacco and ended tobacco production throughout the mountain region.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. For more information, comments, or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.

Bringing The History of the Pisgah Inn to Life

George Weston was raised in Buncombe County and served as Biltmore Estate’s superintendent of farms in the late 1800s and early 1900s before moving to New York for several years.  After returning to Western North Carolina, Weston obtained a concession permit from the U.S. Forest Service to build an inn near Mt. Pisgah in the newly established Pisgah National Forest.

The entrance to the original Pisgah Inn featured exposed log
trusses and bracing.  To the left of the entrance was the 
exterior of the field stone fireplace, which was the focal 
point of the lobby.

Weston and his wife, Mary Cynthia, spent the summer of 1919 camping nearby while their rustic inn was being constructed.  The large, two-story structure sat on a stone foundation with log piers supporting the porch.  Rough-sawn timber was used as board-and-batten exterior siding. 

In the interior the wainscoting, bookshelves, post-and-lintel ceiling supports and other woodwork was made of chestnut.  The inn included a lobby with a large stone fireplace, a dining room and kitchen, and eleven guest rooms.  Porches and terraces offered specular panoramic views.  Mrs. Weston’s native plant gardens were always open for a pleasant stroll or for botany students to study.  There were four cottages for visitors, as well.

Originally known of the Pisgah National Forest Inn, references to the Pisgah Forest Inn, Old Pisgah Lodge, Pisgah Motor Lodge and Pisgah Inn are also found.  By whatever name, the inn was popular among leading businessmen, architects, foresters and wealthy tourists.  Many guests braved the difficult journey to return year after year.

After the Westons retired in 1937 ownership and management of the Inn, which had several years remaining on the original 30-lease, changed a couple of time.  In October 1951, Leslie and Leda Kirschner took over its operation. 

In the early 1960s, when the Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville to Wagon Gap Rd. was finally scheduled to be completed, the property was transferred from the U.S. Forest Service to the National Park Service.  Anticipating an increase in visitors and concerned about the condition of the old inn the National Park Service demanded major improvements, including a new inn before extending the concession contract.

The old Pisgah Inn served as 
employee housing for many years,
1984.

The Kirschners joined with several investors to construct the current Pisgah Inn, which opened in 1966.  Although efforts were made to save the original structures, they were eventually taken down in 1990. 

A detailed architectural description, with historical context, can be found in a Historic American Buildings Survey by the National Park Service and in the 1982 National Register of Historic Places nomination form.  Both are available in the Local History Room at the Library. 

Historical photographs of the early inn and cabins, the present inn and the surrounding area are featured in Marci Spencer’s new book, “Pisgah Inn”, which is part of the Images of America series.  Although Spencer’s presentation on the history of the Pisgah Inn for the Library’s June 2020 Bag Lunch program was cancelled we hope to reschedule it at a later date.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. For more information contact the NC Room staff at 828-884-1820 or ncroom@transylvaniacounty.org.

Service And Leadership: Remembering T.C. Henderson

T.C. Henderson returned to Transylvania County to serve as Superintendent of Schools for a second time in 1923. 

In a 1924 report on the state of Transylvania County schools Henderson offers an early history and a statement of progress made over the past sixteen to eighteen year including the addition of standard high schools at Brevard and Rosman, as well as a reorganized high school at Davidson River.  

The new Brevard High School opened in September 1925.

He continues, “It is the plan of the State Department of Education and the hope of the county board of education and the county superintendent of public instruction very soon to have high school instruction within reach of every boy and girl who has completed the elementary course in our public schools.  This can be accomplished by means of transportation for high school pupils.  One of the greatest needs of our schools, especially the high schools, is the installation of shops, laboratories and scientific paraphernalia for the addition of courses in vocational agriculture and home economics.”

Henderson proposed establishing one county wide tax district so every child would have an equal opportunity.  This policy was being used in the more progressive counties in the eastern part of the state and included a recommendation for an eight month school term for all schools.

After the Uniform Tax passed on December 15, 1925, Henderson received high praise from across the state.  A.T. Allen, State Superintendent wrote, “The success that you have had will put heart into many of the fellows in other counties.  This is the best bit of information we have had in support of the State-wide eight month school term, and I can’t think of enough to say to you in commendation of the wonderful way in which you have handled this election.”

At the start of the 1925-26 school year Transylvania County’s first school truck (bus) began transporting high school students from Calvert, Cherryfield, Quebec and Lake Toxaway to attend Rosman High.  By Spring 1927 there were four school trucks operating in the county.

T.C. Henderson would serve as Superintendent of Transylvania County Schools from 1905 through 1917 and 1923 through 1929.  Following his “retirement” Henderson taught for several more years at Rosman and in the Gloucester and Hogback townships. 

 The North Carolina retirement law stated that teachers must retire at the end of the school year after reaching the age of 70.  T.C. Henderson’s final year as a teacher was the 1941-42 school year when he taught twelve students at the Montvale School, the same school where his brother Charlie had once taught 72 students. 

T.C. Elementary School in 1962.

Whether as Superintendent of Schools or teaching in the county’s smallest one-teacher school T.C. Henderson always worked for the good of the students.  He was a leader in education advancement in Transylvania and Robeson counties and across the state.  His brother, Charlie stated, “His entire life was spent in laying the foundation for others to build upon.” 

When the last of the rural schools were consolidated the new elementary school in Quebec, not far from where T.C. Henderson was raised, was named for him.  T.C. Henderson Elementary School opened on August 26, 1957, just fourteen months after Henderson died on June 17, 1956.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. For more information contact the NC Room staff at 828-884-1820 or ncroom@transylvaniacounty.org.

T.C Henderson: Insight Into His Early Life As An Educator

Thomas Calhoun Henderson was born October 9, 1871 to George and Millie Henderson.  Like his younger brother Charlie, who was featured in last week’s Picturing the Past article, T.C. received limited schooling as a child. 

The Henderson boys were eager to pursue more education though.  They attended Professor A.T. Hord’s private academy in Glenville and then Cullowhee Academy, which later became Western Carolina University.  Throughout his career T.C. would take many additional courses to continue his own education.  His first teaching experience was in a one-room log schoolhouse in the East Fork community in 1897. 

The Henderson boys, a niece and a cousin lived in this cabin 
while attending school at Cullowhee in 1896.
Seated from left: Isaac Henderson, Latha Miller Thomas (niece),
Charlie Henderson.  Back from left: Kennedy Henderson, Mabel 
Peek Watson (cousin), Calhoun (T.C.) Henderson.

Henderson served as the principal of the Croatan Normal School in Robeson County (1900-1905) and was superintendent of The Cherokee Indian Normal School of Robeson County (1917-1923).  The school, which provided education for Native American students during a time of segregation, went through several name changes over the years and is The University of North Carolina at Pembroke today.  According to “Hail to UNCP! A 125-Year History of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke” Henderson is credited for “raising the standard of work” throughout his term as principal and “a surge of progress” during his second stint at the school.

In Transylvania County, T.C. Henderson was first named Superintendent of Schools in July 1905.  Henderson immediately began to push representatives from the 35 small schools scattered throughout the county to comply with state regulations regarding education.  He held mandatory teacher meetings in each district, inviting school committee members and parents to attend, as well.  He advocated for longer school sessions, the hiring of better qualified teachers and major improvements to school facilities.  

To achieve these goals, Henderson purposed a school tax in each school district of the county.  An April 27, 1906 Sylvan Valley News article stated, “So far in the history of this county no citizen has ever paid a cent of tax for public schools—and generally speaking there have been no public schools worth supporting by taxation.”  The special tax was approved in Brevard in April 1906 and other districts soon approved school taxes, as well.

Over the next twelve years, enrollment increased from 75 percent to 82 percent of school age children in the county.  Daily attendance also went up from 54 percent of those enrolled to 65 percent.  The school year was extended from 84 to 123 days overall, and 147 days in districts with a school tax.

The number of teachers increased from 40 to 60 county wide and they were much better trained.  Thirty-seven teachers had attended Normal School for Teachers, as opposed to just six previously. In addition, nine teachers had college diplomas, up from just one in 1905.

 School conditions were greatly improved with numerous new buildings and upgraded equipment and supplies.  There were now two state-aided high schools, ten schools with a piano or organ and 25 rural schools with a library.

T.C. Henderson

Nonetheless, Supt. Henderson wrote a March 16, 1917 Brevard News article titled, “Brevard’s Greatest Need Is High School Building.”  He proposed a 20-year, $25,000 bond to build a high school with at least four traditional classrooms, two rooms for domestic science, an auditorium and office space, plus a lab and manual (vocational) training room in the basement. 

Despite the vast improvements Henderson brought to the schools of Transylvania County when a new school board was elected in 1917 they voted to replace him with Professor A.F. Mitchell, who had served as the principal at Penrose High School for the past three years.

Next week Picturing the Past will look at T.C. Henderson’s second period as Superintendent of Transylvania County Schools and his legacy to the local school system.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. For more information contact Marcy at 828-884-1820 or marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org.

Charlie Henderson's Life Was Well Lived, His Advise For A Long Life - Don't Worry

Charles Washington Henderson, born November 7, 1873, was the eighth of George and Millie Henderson’s eleven children.  The Henderson family had moved from Macon County into the old Tom Cantrell cabin in the Tiptop (later renamed Quebec) area of Transylvania County in 1872.

George Henderson was instrumental in establishing Oak Grove Baptist Church.  He was actively involved in the church his entire life and ensured that his children were as well.  According to son, Charlie, “Father and Mother never sent their children to Church and Sunday School. They always took them. That gives us an example we never forget.”

The old Quebec School.

The children attended school in the old Quebec log schoolhouse when it held short sessions but had limited opportunities for education outside of the home.  As they got older, the boys went to a private academy in Jackson County, later attending high school and taking courses at the State Normal School for teachers in Cullowhee.  Four of the boys would teach school at some point in their lives and two went on to careers as preachers.

As a young man, Charlie Henderson worked in a grist mill and a saw mill, he drove an oxen team to market, worked on a railroad construction crew and taught school for four years.  He was paid $77.76 to teach a three-month session at Montvale’s one-room school in 1898.  There were 72 children registered from the A.B.C. class through 8^th grade.

Charlie Henderson, a carpenter, built this large
Craftsman-influenced house around 1930
after the family's home burned.

Charlie married Janie Cash on December 24, 1905. They had a 137-acre farm near Quebec where they kept chickens, milk cows and hogs, as well as a large garden and an apple orchard.  They also raised eight children, plus three grandchildren after the death of oldest daughter, Berdell.  Henderson spent most of his career working as a carpenter though.  He is reported to have cut the first board for the Toxaway Inn.

Charlie or Uncle Charlie, as he was fondly called in later years, was a natural storyteller and had a sharp memory.  In 1975 the Transylvania Times ran a series of his reminiscences in the newspaper.  These stories provided a history of the Henderson family and a vivid picture of growing up in the mountains in the late 1800s.  

He tells of the sheep the family raised, adventures with brother, T.C., to earn money and much more.  His mother sheared the sheep, then cleaned, carded and spun the wool into thread, which she used to weave cloth.  She sewed all the family’s clothes by hand.  His father made their shoes. 

As young men, Charlie and T.C. decided to walk over the mountains to Asheville for jobs.  They spend some time working as carpenters, shingling the roof on the Skyland Hotel.  After a quick walk home to check in with family, they walked back to Asheville, then caught a train to White Pine, Tennessee where they spent a season harvesting wheat.

Henderson’s advice for a long life was not to worry.  He said, “A body should never sit down and brood and worry about his mistakes.  He should forget them and look ahead and plan ahead.”  Charles Washington “Uncle Charlie” Henderson died October 12, 1976 just shy of his 103^rd birthday.  He is buried at Oak Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Quebec.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. For more information contact Marcy at 828-884-1820 or marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org.