Hunter's Glen/Cove Homeowners Association
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Following the Revolutionary War the state of North Carolina disposed of lands formerly owned by the Crown and also by individuals such as the Earl of Granville, one of the largest British land owners. Under the state law settlers could locate unsettled land and claim it. A settler was authorized to claim up to 640 acres and an additional 100 acres for a wife and for each additional minor child. The fees for this granted land were two pounds and ten shillings per hundred acres. He could also purchase lands in excess of the authorized allotment for five pounds per 100 acres or approximately ten cents per acre. Upon purchase, the settler was also required to wait one full year to determine if there were other legitimate claims against the land. The Revolutionary War military grants were made on lands now held by the state of Tennessee and are not directly included in the Speculation Lands transactions or in this historical context.
The petitioner is then required to pay a set fee for the survey service per acre and the fee to issue the patent, or the combined fees. A document recording the payment of the settler's fee is made and the land warrant and the survey are filed in the county and in the state secretary's office. Generally the state recorded the warrants in bound volumes. After recording, the patent was then issued to the individual petitioner.The petitioner is then required to pay a set fee for the survey service per acre and the fee to issue the patent, or the combined fees. A document recording the payment of the settler's fee is made and the land warrant and the survey are filed in the county and in the state secretary's office. Generally the state recorded the warrants in bound volumes. After recording, the patent was then issued to the individual petitioner.
|
The engrossment of Cherokee land is particularly significant and poignant. Through a series of treaties, and through legislation, the Cherokee lands were first turned over to the Federal government to manage in 1783. Federal Commissioners negotiated their first treaty with the Cherokee in 1785.
This measure prohibited the settlement of Cherokee land by frontier settlers and restricted sale or cession of land without the approval of the U.S. government. It was, however, during this time that the Cherokee ceded territory in Buncombe County (now Buncomb and Henderson counties) and the surrounding area that bordered the French Broad River.
The acreage was reported to be some 352,000 acres. In 1791 a second treaty was negotiated and with this treaty the Cherokee relinquished another 462,082 acres in the region west of Asheville and extending to the Clinch River. Subsequent treaties negotiated increases in the amount paid out as annuities on the land by the Federal government. In an agreement, the treaty of 1798, the Cherokee again ceded territory. This time the acreage was some 375,680 ceded to the state of North Carolina. The acreage was located in an area that is roughly between present-day Hendersonville and Waynesville.
The North Carolina legislature hoped this new purchase would settle military bonus requirements. In 1827 the Cherokee adopted their formal Constitution. By all accounts the status of the Indian nation was extraordinarily progressive --- some would say more progressive than many of their frontier neighbors. In 1828 gold was discovered in western North Carolina and the progress of the Cherokee began to erode. In the landmark case of the Cherokee Nation v. State of Georgia the court declined to take the case, citing the foreign nation status of the Cherokee.
Events began to go against the Cherokee and their future spiraled downward and by 1835 the treaty that brought about the "Trail of Tears" had been enacted. This treaty resulted in the last cession of land, some 711,680 acres. Through the cession of land in the treaties of 1777, 1778, 1791, 1798, and now the final treaty, the 1835 buy-out, settlers came into possession of a substantial series of tracts of western North Carolina land. In the late 1820's another series of speculative land ventures occurred and the voracious acquisition of land began again. |
|
The Speculation Lands
The Speculation Lands boundaries covered territory lying east of the Blue Ridge and embraced lands lying within the present-day boundaries of Anson, Buncombe, Henderson, Polk, Rutherford, McDowell, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Mecklenburg, and Union Counties.
The Speculation Land Company, in advertising lands in Western North Carolina took advantage of the region’s beauty with promise and optimism. Augustus Sackett portrayed the area on a series of large printed dodgers or handbills, which were handed out and mailed from New England to Georgia. "For sale 400,000 acres of land in Rutherford, Mecklenburg, and Buncombe...not inferior in any respect to the Alabama or any other district of the county of the U.S." To a frontiersman, land speculators meant an eastern capitalist who purchased large quantities of newly offered land in anticipation of settlers to arrive. Those who sought land for investment rather than for a farm home were called land speculators.
Western North Carolina was portrayed as a State where the utmost progress in civilization had been made, where infrequent industrial possibilities awaited the prospective inhabitants, and where an extensive diversification of farming offered unimaginable opportunity. The Allegheny mountain chain that stretches form Georgia northward through Maine dominates the Western North Carolina landscape. In this immense chain the ranges form Georgia to Virginia are known as the Appalachian or Southern Highlands. Here the ranges boast their loftiest peaks. At 6,684 feet, Mount Mitchell claims the title as the highest peak east of the Mississippi river. Over one hundred twenty-five mountains have an elevation greater than 5,000 feet. According to Ora Blackmun, the mountain region has been one of “nature's thickly populated zoos” with food sources and numerous streams.
Daily life in Western North Carolina was hard. Living far from larger urban areas, residents of the region had little in common with the seafaring and shipping areas situated on the coast. With virtually no opportunity for outside contacts, these mountain people were by-passed by the advancement that came to other areas. Pockets of neighbors and relatives made up the reticent world of cove and mountain families, walled in by the splendor of the towering mountains. Transportation had already become recognized as the major problem in the development of the region.
Roads were virtual trails, remnants from the days of Indian occupation. The eventual opening of turnpikes would broaden their influence and created better economic possibilities. The Broad, First Broad, Second Broad Rivers as well as the Green River provided routes for trade. Additionally, the farms were self-sustaining with their owners able to manufacture everything they needed and purchasing only a bare minimum. |
|
Click on image for more detail
|
Henderson County
Henderson County was carved out of Buncombe County in 1838. Henderson was named in honor of Leonard Henderson, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. Portions of Henderson County were annexed in 1844. Charleston, South Carolina was an important port on the Atlantic but citizens of that city saw the need for access to a larger shipping area and turned toward the developing area of the navigable waters of the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys. A map line from Charleston to Cincinnati crosses Western North Carolina and very early exploration sought to cross the mountain barrier. This effort resulted in the mingling of a pioneer and a more developed society and made Henderson County more cosmopolitan than similar pioneer communities. James Dyer Justice of the Justice family lineage is credited with the layout of Hendersonville, the county seat that is located 25 miles south of Asheville. Many within the Justice family served as Baptist ministers in Hendersonville and surrounding areas.
Like other counties, the "first" roads were actually trails-most of them old Indian trails. A north-south line through the center of Henderson County was the most direct route from Asheville to Greenville. Henderson County shows every type of topography possible from river valleys, to flat lands, to rolling county to hill country. Henderson County has been carved and molded and shaped until it no longer even remotely resembles the land of its ancestors.
In the early 1900s, the Agents of the "Speculation Land Company" engaged the services of George E. Ladshaw of Ladshaw & Ladshaw, Hydraulic Engineers, Spartanburg, South Carolina, for the purpose of determining the feasibility of developing hydroelectric power plants on the Green River in Henderson and Polk Counties. |
click map to enlarge
Hendersonville
Hendersonville was a rich, rolling uninhabited Cherokee hunting ground before Revolutionary war soldier William Mills "discovered" it in the late 1780s. He received one of the first land grants west of the Blue Ridge and established it to later become the thriving community it is today.
Mills, by right of discovery, was allowed to christen some of Henderson County’s picturesque regions: Bearwallow, Sugar Loaf, Bald Top, Mills River, and Mills Gap are names that remain today.
The county was named for Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court, Judge Leonard Henderson. In the 1840s, Hendersonville received its original charter and had a population of several hundred residents. Henderson is considered a "typical" mountain county because it is comprised of mountain ranges, isolated peaks, a rolling plateau, and level valley areas. Elevations range from 1,400 feet near Bat Cave at the foot of the Blue Ridge, to 5,000 feet on Little Pisgah.
Originally, agriculture was the sole producer of revenue for Henderson county citizens. Tourism later added to the economy. |
Having easy access from the lowlands, Hendersonville became a vacation spot for people to spend the summer because of the area’s invigorating climate. Industrial development became an important aspect of economy after World War II, with the founding of the Chamber of Commerce program. As a result, the economic base today is manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and retirement development. Henderson County has long been known for its thriving apple orchards and leads the state in apple production as orchards, continue to spread up and down the hillsides.
Communities within Henderson County have played a large role in the success of the area. Flat Rock, with its wealthy settlers, formed a continuous and ever-renewing link between the mountain natives and the world of business and ideas. Today, Kenmure is one of the most exclusive golf communities in the area. Fletcher is known for the beautiful Calvary Episcopal Church, the "Westminster Abbey of the South," and has memorials to many historic figures.
There are many colorful community names throughout Henderson County named for land appearance as well as founders and settlers of the region. Others are of Indian origin. Zirconia, Horse Shoe, Etowah, Tuxedo and Bearwallow are but a sample. For detailed information about the history of Henderson County, contact the Henderson County Public Library |
Mountain Lily steamboat
Chances are the folks who conceived the "Mountain Lily" would have run her one day right down to New Orleans if the government had really taken an interest in making the French Broad a steamboatin' river. Hendersonville and Brevard could well have become the highest inland seaports in America. The saga of the "Mountain Lily" began back in the 1870s when Congressman Robert Vance of Buncombe, egged on by his constituents, astounded his colleagues from the big river country by introducing a bill in Congress requesting a $50,000 appropriation to make the French Broad navigable. Most of the Congressmen had never heard of the French Broad, but it sounded like a big river and, since they apparently didn't want to admit their ignorance, the bill went through without a murmur. Folks said later that Bob Vance could have got a million dollars just as easily, and some wondered why he didn't, since the French Broad is a long, tough river that today would take billions to put into shape as a steamboatin' river. With $50,000 at their disposal, U.S. Army engineers swarmed into the Carolina mountains and went to work on the French Broad. Strangely enough, they confined their work along the headwaters of the river, building jetties and deepening the channel between the mouth of Ochlawaha Creek and Brevard, a distance of 17 miles. No sooner was the work completed when Col. S. V. Pickens of Hendersonville organized the French Broad Steamboat Line to handle the river traffic. Colonel Pickens was president of the company and he set out to build his own steamboats right here in the mountains where few folks had ever heard of a steamboat, much less seen one.
The Mountain Lily steamboat was constructed in 1881 to carry passengers and freight between the junction of the Oklawaha River and the French Broad River, to just east of Brevard, NC, a distance of some seventeen miles. The vessel was the central capital of the French Broad Steamboat Company, owned by Col. S. V. Pickens of Hendersonville. The steamboat was designed to link Brevard, Hendersonville and Asheville. The Mountain Lily was 90 feet long with two decks and staterooms to accommodate 100 passengers. On the maiden voyage it held some 100 people, friends of Pickens, but was never successful in showing a profit. The Company tried several other ventures with the steamboat, but all were unsuccessful. A flash flood in 1885 pulled the boat from the mooring at Banner Farm Road and it became mired in a sand bar near King's Bridge near the current Haywood Road in the 1880's. The boat was sold for salvage and her wood was used to build the Horseshoe Baptist Church. and her bell was hung in the church belfry.
|
 |
 Transportation
Oxen were used because they were cheaper and could get around on the mountain roads much better than horses. Most Hendersonville farmers had an ox for farm work. If someone came into town driving a horse drawn wagon he was considered to be well-off. |
Turley Falls
If you've wondered what Turley falls looks like, here it is. It's about 3 miles off hwy 64 at the sign on the right going into Hendersonville. This pic was taken from the backroad about 1/2 mile from the falls. If you continue on the road, it goes to Laurel Park, coming out at The Wine Shop.
Stop in and tell George and Susan I sent you; maybe he'll loosen up and give me some free wine. |
Apparently, Brevard’s white squirrels originated from a carnival animal truck. According to Brevard resident Mrs. W.E. Mull, a pair of white squirrels was given to her brother-in-law, H.H. Mull, by Mr. Black of Madison, Florida, in 1949. A carnival truck had overturned near Black’s home and the squirrels were caught by Mr. Black when he observed them playing in his pecan grove.
Mull gave the critters to his niece, Barbara, who unsuccessfully tried to breed them. In 1951 she married and left home. Eventually, one of the white squirrels escaped and Mr. Mull soon let the other one go. Before long, the squirrels began breeding in the wild and appeared in several areas of town.
The white squirrels became so prized that the Brevard City Council voted to approve an ordinance declaring and establishing a sanctuary for squirrels, especially the white ones, in 1986. And that it “shall be unlawful for any person to hunt, kill, trap, or otherwise take any protected squirrels within the city by this section.”
Biologists recognize no known species of all-white squirrels in the world. The Brevard squirrels, with dark eyes and sometimes gray streaked fur, are not albinos, a condition in which an animal’s body has no melanin, a color pigment, resulting in white skin and fur, and pink or reddish eyes.
click on the pics to the right for more pics and info
|
|
|
|
82 Years of the real stuff....................and more................
Since 1928, mountain fiddlers, banjo pickers, dulcimer sweepers, dancers, balladeers and others have come to enjoy themselves “along about sundown” the first weekend in August at the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival. In 2009, the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival happened for the 82nd. time at Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place in downtown Asheville, along about sundown.........
There's something about this area that brings out the music in people, from folk music, to the classics. Just head for the Brevard Music Center in the summertime, sit on the grass or covered auditorium, do a picnic, sip a good wine, and listen to the music.........
|
|
|
History of the Blue Ridge Parkway
The birth of the Blue Ridge Parkway 60 years ago resulted from an amazing coincidence of people, foresight and events. The Great Depression, growing mountain poverty and the growing use of automobiles provided the motivation, while President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal administration provided much of the funds and manpower. For more information about the planning and construction of the Parkway, check out the Parkway History page.
Cultural Resource Management
In addition to interpreting the history of the Appalachian peoples, the Blue Ridge Parkway is actively involved in preserving the physical remnants of that culture. This is done in many different ways, such as restoring an 18th-century log cabin, interviewing neighbors whose families have been here for generations, and cataloging and placing especially fragile artifacts in museums. Cultural resource management is the technical name for the preservation of these irreplaceable treasures. The Cultural Resource Projects page looks at some of the current activities and issues now underway on the Parkway.
Appalachian history does not begin with the European settlement of the area. For centuries several Native American tribes shared the abundant resources available in the lush valleys of these mountains, shaping their lives and culture to the natural world around them. To learn more about the human history of the Appalachians, from pre-historic times through the present, check out the Appalachian Culture page. |
|
|
If you are really interested in southern appalation folklore, the Foxfire series of publications are the definitive source. You can click on the pics to the left for a free download of the first books in the series. When you get to the location, search for "foxfire". The body of work is being managed by a non-profit, The Foxfire Fund,Inc. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
