Burke County A Brief History Edward W. Phifer Jr. COVER-View of Hawksbill Mountain, a Burke County landmark, from neighboring Wiseman’s View. Photograph (1954) from the files of the Division of Archives and History. Burke County A Brief History Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/burkecountybrief00phif_0 Burke County A Brief History Edward W. Phifer Jr. N. a DOCUMENTS CLEARINGHOUSE MUN 1 7 m Raleigh North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources Division of Archives and History © 1979 by the North Carolina Division of Archives and History All rights reserved Second printing 2000 ISBN 0-86526-130-X NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL RESOURCES Betty Ray McCain Secretary Elizabeth F. Buford Deputy Secretary DIVISION OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY Jeffrey J. Crow Director David J. Olson Deputy Director NORTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL COMMISSION William S. Powell (2001) Chairman Alan D. Watson (2003) Vice Chairman Millie M. Barbee (2003) Mary Hayes Holmes (2005) Janet N. Norton (2005) N. J. Crawford (2001) H. G. Jones (2001) Gail W. O’Brien (2005) T. Harry Gatton (2003) B. Perry Morrison Jr. (2005) Max R. Williams (2001) CONTENTS Maps and Illustrations ix Foreword xi I. Formation and Natural Background of the County 1 Geography 3 Climate 6 Minerals 7 Trees, Plants , and Wild Flowers 7 Burke County's Lakes 8 II. The Indians and the Pioneers in Pre-Burke County Territory 9 The Indian Tribes 9 Early Explorations in the Burke County Area 10 Attempts to Settle the Burke Frontier, 1 749-1763 12 Settlement of the Area That Became Burke County, 1763-1777 13 Ethnology of the Early Settlers 13 General Characteristics of the Burke Pioneer 15 III. County Government and Political Leadership 17 The Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions 17 Fiscal Affairs of the County, 1777-1868 17 Early County Political Leaders 18 The Board of County Commissioners 19 County Public Buildings 19 Party Politics 21 Party Leadership 24 IV. Education and Habilitation 26 Morganton Academy 27 Early Public Schools 27 Postbellum Private Schools 29 Twentieth- Century Public Schools 29 Rutherford College 30 Ravenscroft or Wilberforce College 31 Western Piedmont Community College 31 North Carolina School for the Deaf at Morganton 32 North Carolina Outward Bound School 32 South Mountain Institute 33 Silver Creek Academy 33 Western Correctional Center 33 V. Churches and the Clergy 35 The Lutheran Church . 35 The Presbyterian Church 36 The Methodists 37 The Baptists 38 The Protestant Episcopal Church 39 Negro Churches 40 The Roman Catholic Church 40 Other Denominations 40 The County Bible Society 40 Camp Meetings and Revivals 41 VI. Health and Allied Services 42 Nineteenth- Century Medical Practice 42 Early Twentieth-Century Medical Practice 43 Trends in Medical Practice, 1940-1975 44 Mental Hospitals 45 The Western Carolina Center 46 VII. Bench and Bar 47 The Court System, 1777-1868 47 Practicing Attorneys at Law, 1777-1868 48 Practicing Attorneys after 1868 50 Judicial Officers 50 Education and Practice v 51 Courts after 1868 52 VIII. Commerce, Banks, and Allied Institutions 53 Antebellum Banks 54 Postbellum Nineteenth- Century Commerce and Banking ... 54 Banking after 1920—A Brief Summary 58 A Changing County Leadership 59 IX. Transportation and Communications 60 Major Roads and Thoroughfares 61 Fords, Ferries, and Bridges 64 Stagecoach Lines 65 Progress in Transportation: The Railroads 66 Other Modes of Transportation 68 Communications: Newspapers 69 Other Modes of Communication 71 vi X. Agriculture and Industry, 1777-1865 73 Pioneer and Yeoman Farming 73 Plantation Farming 75 County Interest in Agricultural Reform 77 Manufacturing 77 The Food-processing Industry 78 Mining and Extractive Industries 78 Other Industries and Artisans 79 The “Sally Michael Pipe” 79 XI. Agriculture and Industry, 1866-1920, with a Glimpse Beyond 81 Agriculture 81 Agricultural Organizations 83 Artisans 84 Shoe Manufacturing 84 Gristmills and Other Food-processing Industries 84 Tanners and Tanneries 85 The Lumber Industry 86 Woodworking Shops and Furniture Factories 86 Textiles and Apparel 89 Tobacco Factories 92 Gold Mining, 1865-1920 92 Distilleries 93 Other Industries 93 Recent Industrialization 93 XII. Population Shifts and the Development of Communities 94 Towns, Villages, and Other Population Centers, 1865-1920 . 96 XIII. Social Activities and Organizations, 1777-1920 104 Early Public Gatherings 104 Antebellum Horse Racing 108 Resort Hotels 108 Fraternal Organizations Ill Later Public Gatherings Ill Games and Other Pleasantries, 1777-1920 112 Antebellum Morganton 113 XIV. Cultural Movements and the Arts 114 Music and Musicians 114 Artist W. G. Randall 115 Writers and Historians 116 Libraries and Literary Groups 117 Theatrical Performers 118 vii XV. Wars and Acts of Violence, 1777-1920 120 The American Revolution, 1776-1783 120 The War of 1812 125 The Mexican War, 1846-1848 126 The Civil War, 1861-1865 127 Reconstruction and Military Rule 131 The Spanish-American War, 1898 133 The World War, 1917-1918 134 The Avery-Jackson Duel, 1788 134 The Carson-Vance Duel, 1827 135 The Frances Silver Murder Case, 1831-1833 135 The W. W. Avery-Samuel Fleming Altercation, 1851 ...... 136 The Lynching of Stack and Boone, 1889 137 XVI. An Overview, 1920-1977 139 The Year of the Great Depression 139 World War II and the Years Since 141 Index 145 vm MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS Map Showing Burke County’s Changing Configuration 4 Linville Falls 5 Table Rock Mountain 6 “Great Eyrie” 6 Lake James and Bridgewater Dam and Power Station 8 Portion of Collet Map, 1770 10 Burke County’s Courthouses 22 Table Rock Academy 29 Rutherford College Administration Building 31 North Carolina School for the Deaf at Morganton 32 Grace Hospital 44 Broughton Hospital 46 William Waightstill Avery 50 Tod Robinson Caldwell 50 Sam J. Ervin, Jr 51 Samuel McDowell Tate 55 Adolphus Calhoun Avery 55 Advertisement for Piedmont Bank 56 First National Bank of Morganton 58 Road Map of Burke County in the 1830s 63 Iron Bridge over Catawba River 65 Morganton’s Early Railroad Depots 68 New Cars Arriving in Morganton, 1914 69 Typical South Mountain Cabin 74 Creekside, an Early Burke County Plantation 76 Burke County Harvest Scene 82 Burke Tannery, Morganton 86 Drexel Furniture Company, Morganton Plant 88 Henredon Furniture Industries, Morganton Plant 89 Alpine Cotton Mills, Morganton 89 Henry River Manufacturing Company, Mill Office and Company Store 91 Placer Gold Mining in Burke County 92 View of Morganton, 1865 94 Quaker Meadows 95 Swan Ponds 95 Map of Burke County’s Towns and Villages, ca. 1895 97 Morganton’s Public Square 100 Hunt House 101 Morgan Hotel 101 Waldensian Sunday School Class 103 Show Day in Morganton 105 Fourth of July Parades in Morganton 106 Advertisement for 1893 Burke County Fair 107 Advertisement for Glen Alpine Springs 109 Connelly Springs Hotel 110 Maj. Joseph McDowell of John’s River 121 Map of Revolutionary Battlegrounds in the Carolinas 124 Corner of Union and Sterling Streets, Morganton, 1916 139 West Union Street, Morganton, ca. 1890 and 1937 141 Union Street, Morganton, 1948 142 Aerial View of Morganton 143 Foreword The Historical Publications Section first published Burke County: A Brief History by the late Edward W. Phifer, M.D., in 1979. The volume has , recently sold out, and Historical Publications is pleased to reprint it as part of the section’s county history series. Dr. Phifer, a practicing surgeon in Morganton, also was an accom- plished lay historian who published articles in the North Carolina His- torical Review and the Journal of Southern History. His Burke County: A Brief History derived from his larger book, Burke: The History of a North Carolina County 1777-1920, with a Glimpse Beyond published , , in 1977. Robert M. Topkins, presently head of the section’s General Publications Branch, condensed and edited Dr. Phifer’s large volume into the briefer version. He likewise obtained illustrations for Burke County: A Brief History and saw it through press. Ms. Terrell A. Crow assisted with proofreading. This reprint features a new cover design and index, both prepared by Mr. Topkins. Joe A. Mobley, Administrator Historical Publications Section October 2000 . ' I. FORMATION AND NATURAL BACKGROUND OF THE COUNTY It has been said that geography is half of history; and it is most cer- tainly axiomatic that terrain, soil types, indigenous vegetation and animal life, quantity and quality of available water, and weather condi- tions mold and fashion the character and physical attributes of the human inhabitants if they remain in an area for a sufficient number of generations. And so it is that this history will begin with the land in- asmuch as it seems to possess the greatest degree of tangible per- manency. On it, all else rests, and all else is dependent. Prior to independence the immense area that was to comprise the original Burke County (Old Burke) lay totally in the so-called Granville District. This geographic entity was created when Lord Carteret, earl Granville, was granted a vast tract of land as compensation for his one- eighth share of “Carolina,” which he had declined to sell to the British crown in 1729. Provisions were made in the grant to Carteret for com- missioners to be appointed to determine precisely where the tract should be laid off. The commissioners did not undertake their duties until 1744, when they decided that the North Carolina-Virginia border should be the district’s northern boundary inasmuch as this line had already been established. The Atlantic Ocean was made the eastern boundary, and “the bounds of government” to the west did not at that time extend beyond the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This left only the southern boundary to be surveyed, and it was determined that this line should run with the parallel of 35 degrees, 34 minutes north latitude, beginning on Hatteras Island and running due west.