The Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room

Monday, May 11, 2015

Downtown Brevard Changes Gradually

Over the next several weeks Picturing the Past will look at downtown Brevard—its development, what’s changed, and what hasn’t.

When the town was originally laid out in the 1860s it included a town square for public use. The primary streets were Main St. running east and west and Broad St. running south out of town. Broad Street did not originally go north beyond the Courthouse.

The first courthouse was a two-story wooden structure on the northwest corner of the town square.

The old Courthouse stars can be seen at the
Heritage Museum on West Main St.

In 1881 the current brick courthouse was completed. The courthouse tower originally had stars on each side. As early as 1911 there was talk of a town clock in the tower. Money was raised by showing moving picture shows at the courthouse throughout the summer. According to a Transylvania Times article on Library History this money was diverted in 1912 to help pay for repairs and improvements to the U.D.C. Library. Clocks were eventually installed in 1984.

The courthouse also has a bell. At one time it was rung when superior court was in session. Today it is not often used but was rung 150 times on February 15, 2011 for the Transylvania County Sesquicentennial Opening Event.

August 1910--Note the cannon and cannon balls in the middle of the walkway.
There was also a drinking fountain and fire hydrant

In 1910 Mayor Breese acquired an “obsolete cannon and some empty shells for decorative purposes”. The cannon is on a mounted stand to the east of the Courthouse.

In 1920-21 a new jail was built behind the Courthouse. The two building weren’t joined until the 1980s when the jail moved to Morgan St. and the Courthouse was renovated.

Through the years there have been numerous the bandstands or gazebos on the Courthouse lawn. Early photographs show a round, covered, raised bandstand on the west side of the building. Later there was a large rectangular, covered and raised bandstand on the west side. In May 1929 a major wind storm caused extensive damage throughout the county, including knocking down a large oak that crushed the municipal bandstand. A smaller covered bandstand replaced it. The current gazebo is located near where the U.D.C. Library stood from 1911-1956.

1905--The original bandstand and pool with a central fountain.
There is also a drinking fountain in the lower right corner of the photo.

At one time there was also a large round pool with a central fountain on the southwest corner of the Courthouse lawn.

During the early 1900s the city Fire and Street Departments were located to the west of the Courthouse of as well. They were both relocated to West Main in the mid-1920s.

In 1926 North Broad Street was opened up from Main St. to Probart St. for the first time. North Broad was also paved at this time.

A photograph dated 1926 shows a low stone wall across the front of the Courthouse lawn and a newspaper photograph from May 1929 shows the stone wall on both the south and west sides of the building.

Overall the appearance of the Transylvania County Courthouse itself has not changed a lot in 134 years. The major changes have been the additions to back and changes on the grounds surrounding it.

Next week’s article will feature businesses along East Main Street.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. Visit the NC 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 X242.

Monday, May 4, 2015

A&P Had Many Locations From 1925-1982

A & P Food Stores, South Broad St.

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company began in 1859 as tea and coffee stores in New York City. By 1900 it had become the first grocery chain in the U.S. with nearly 200 stores. Continued growth through the first third of the 20th century led to $1 billion in sales in 16,000 stores in 1930.

The first A & P store in Brevard opened on April 21, 1925 on Broad Street, next door to the Post Office. A second A & P opened on Main Street beside the Waltermire (Aethelwold) Hotel. For approximately 20 years both stores operated in downtown Brevard.

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., East Main St.

For many years Harry Sellers managed the Broad Street store and A.E. “Whitey” York managed the Main Street store.

In the 1950s A & P fell behind as new larger, modern supermarkets were being built by other companies. Although the exact dates for the closing of the Main St. and Broad St. A & P stores has not been located, by 1954 there was one store located on Jordan St. behind the Aethelwold. Harry Sellers was the manager at that location.

A & P Super Market on Jordan St.

Early on a very cold Sunday morning on February 7, 1960 fire completely destroyed the Jordan Street A & P. The fire appeared to have been burning for several hours before being reported at 8:37 am when the front window was blown out. A large crowd gathered to watch the fire and reported canned goods exploding as they became overheated.

Reportedly the "worst blaze in history" for Brevard, two adjoining businesses, Owenby Brothers Amoco and United Radio and TV, were also heavily damaged. Both businesses relocated to Caldwell Street.

A & P temporarily relocated to the former Schulman builidng on East Main Street. In September 1960 A & P opened a new, modern supermarket on South Broad Street where Grover's Office Supply is currently located.

The Brevard A & P closed for good in 1982. Today there are approximately 300 A & P Supermarkets located in the northeast United States.

The new A & P on South Broad St.

Monday, April 27, 2015

Barn is Only Remaining Outbuilding

Barn, photo courtesy of Dan Bennett.

The barn is the only remaining outbuilding on the farm that Benjamin Allison, William Deaver and Carl & Mae Smith operated for 170 years on the Allison-Deaver property. It was most likely constructed in the 1920s or 1930s on the foundation of a much older structure using a mix of old and new materials.

Evidence of 19^TH century construction includes thick uncoarsed stone slabs on three sides of the foundation, a central timber dated to 1827 through dendrochronology and hand-hewn mortise and tenon joints with hardwood pegs.

Property-- The barn is approximately 150 feet northwest

of the house and sits 16-18 feet below the grade of the house.

Evidence of 20^TH century construction includes machine-sawn studs and rafters for framing, thick poured concrete foundation along the east wall, concrete floors in the corn crib, stair room and open pen and manufactured rolled steel roofing.

The exterior of the barn is mainly open-slat design to allow for ventilation. Some areas are more tightly enclosed, while the east side is an open equipment storage area.

The interior consists of an 8 foot wide alleyway with double door access on both ends. An open-slat corn crib with mesh lining and an open pen flank a stair room between the alleyway and the equipment storage area. Three open-slat stalls, an enclosed storage room with plank flooring and one box stall are on the west side of the alleyway.

The stair room provides access to a large loft. Large openings on the ends of the loft allowed for hay or straw to be hoisted into it via a pulley system. This could be dropped through a hatch in the loft floor into the alleyway below as needed.

To the east of the barn is an in-ground silo used to store corn silage. It was rock walls and tin roofing was used to cover it when in use.

Carl and Mae Smith owned the property for over 30 years from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. During their time at the Allison-Deaver House Mae Smith had flower gardens all around the house and down the bank behind the house. She had a large vegetable garden in the flat area in front of the barn. She kept all her canned goods, along with baskets of root vegetables and crocks in the cellar. The Smith’s kept a cow and a pig at the barn and in the pasture. There was a chicken coop east of the house near the edge of the pasture.

Weathervane, photo courtesy of Dan Bennett.

In 2002 a weathervane in the shape of a rooster with the date 1815 in its tail feathers was installed on the barn. The weathervane was crafted by Irv Haines. Weathervanes were once common on barns. Used to indicate wind direction, they are mainly decorative today.

The Allison-Deaver House is open on Saturdays (10-4) and Sundays (1-4) beginning May 16. Groups are invited to contact the Transylvania County Historical Society at 884-5137 for special tours.

Monday, April 20, 2015

William Deaver Purchases Land From Allison

William Deaver was born September 9, 1794. As a teenager he was apprenticed to his grandfather, Andrew Miller, after the death of his parents. He also inherited property in Tennessee from his father. In 1830 he began purchasing property in the Davidson River area, including three tracts from Benjamin Allison.

He married Margaret Patton in 1833 and over the next 15 years the Deavers had seven children. As the Deaver family grew so did the family home.

Floor plan of the main floor of the home during the Deaver era.
Plan drawn by Angela Patane.

Following a fire in the 1830s Deaver undertook repairs and soon enlarged the home to 2200 square feet, doubling its size. A cellar was dug under the house, lowering the grade on the west side, and a stone foundation was laid beneath the entire house.

The original porch across the west side of the house was extended and enclosed on each end, creating two additional rooms with an open porch between them. The east side porch was extended across the house on five stone piers.

Floor plan of the second floor of the Deaver home.
Plan drawn by Angela Patane.

The final major alteration was the addition of a two-story porch on the east side. When this porch was added, the roof of the house was also raised and extended to cover the porch. A flight of external stairs joins the upper and lower levels of the porch. The porch style and construction were influenced by South Carolina low country architecture and plantation owners who were building summer homes in this area. The Boylston Turnpike had been relocated and now ran on the east side of the home. The new, large double-porch now faced east and the nearby road.

Although exact dates of the additions and renovation are not known they occurred prior to the Civil War.

Deaver was a leader in the local community and amassed a large estate. According to the 1860 U.S. Census Deaver’s real estate was valued at $18,000 and his personal property at $10,000. Deaver also owner eight slaves, including a male and female in their 40s and six children.

William Deaver’s son, James was a Captain in the Confederate Army responsible for arresting armed Confederate deserters and Union supporters who were hiding in the mountains. On February 24, 1865 an outlaw band looking to kill Captain James Deaver came to the Deaver home. James was not there but William was shot and killed.

Deaver family at the “Old Deaver House”.

By 1878, Deaver’s son William E. owned the house and property. His daughters, William and Margaret’s granddaughters, lived in the house until 1938. Three generations of the Deaver family called the house home. It was sold to Carl and Mae Smith in 1952.

Although electricity, heating and air conditioning have been added, the house is basically preserved as it was in 1865. The Transylvania County Historical Society restored the home and maintains it as an example of mountain-crafted architecture and as a gift to present and future generations. The House is open on Saturdays (10-4) and Sundays (1-4) from May 16 through October, 2015.

Monday, April 13, 2015

Allison Purchased Property in 1813

Sketch of the west facing side of Benjamin Allison’s home.

The Allison-Deaver House reflects the lives of two men and two builders—Benjamin Allison and William Deaver—and the evolution of a house over two centuries. This week’s column takes a look at the house during the Allison era.

Benjamin Allison was born in the 1770s in Maryland. He moved to the Old Fort area of Western North Carolina with his extended family in the 1780s. Allison married Margaret Wood around 1793.

As previously mentioned Benjamin Allison purchased property along Ben Davidson’s River in what was Buncombe County in 1813.

Allison built an 1100 square foot wood frame house in the Federal-style. The house had three-rooms on both the first and second floors, central doors, between two windows on the main floor and two windows on the second floor on both the west and east sides.

Floor plan of the main floor of the original south-side of the home.

Plan drawn by Angela Patane.

Today the smallest room on the main floor retains the original beaded sheathing and original window surround. Other original elements within the house include the second-floor joists, exterior beaded weatherboarding, and a pattern board at the cornice of the southwest corner.

Evidence shows there were one-story porches on both sides of the house. The west side porch was larger though. Originally the property on the west side was at the level of the porch. The house would have faced the Boylston Turnpike. The old roadbed is still visible to the west.

Floor plan of the second floor of the Allison home.