| LAKE LURE, RUTHERFORD COUNTY HISTORY 1829 to 1900 |
- FROM 8000 BC TO 1829 PLEASE CLICK HERE
- FROM 1829 TO 1900 PLEASE SEE BELOW
- FROM 1900 TO THE PRESENT PLEASE CLICK HERE
1800
Fox haven Plantation ( Green hill)in high productivity. Listed on National Registrery of Historic Places:/Fox Haven is listed on the National Registery
1806- " Ghost Armies" reported being seen on Chimney Rock See : http://www.carolinacountry.
com/StoryPages/ourstories/gorge/HickoryNut10.03.pdf
1830 – 1860
Hickory Nut Turnpike through Hickory Nut Gap becomes extensively used as toll road for stagecoach travel. Tri-
weekly round trips from Lincolnton to Asheville via Rutherfordton.
1831
Bechtler Mint Site (*NRHP near Rutherfordton, North Carolina. Gold mines and prospectors supplied gold to the mint and Bechtler’
s gold coins were widely accepted in trade and are now highly prized by coin collectors. C. Bechtler operated his mint until 1838 and
then his son, Augustus Bechtler, operated it until 1857. In the meantime the U.S. had established mints at Dahlonega, Georgia and
Charlotte, North Carolina; yet the private operations of Bechtler were not interfered with, for the reason, it was said, that the Bechtler
coins were found to equal or exceed the federal standards of fineness and weight. From 1831 to 1840 the mint coined $2,241, 840
in gold coin plus more than a million pennyweights. (A four acre site was donated to the Historical Society and now the owned by
Rutherford County. A master plan is being developed as the first step in establishing a visitor prepared historic site. The site will link
to significant other Bechtler and gold history in the Town of Rutherfordton where the Bechtler home, later the site of the mint and a
jewelry and gunsmith shop were located. (The site is not currently open to the public.)Contact: John Condrey, Rutherford County
Manager 828-287-6060 or jcond@blueridge.net (Link to http://www.southerngoldsociety.org/bechtlers.html)
1834
Bedford Sherrill Purchases John Ashworth Property and establishes Sherrill Inn ten miles west of Chimney Rock.
Becomes stage coach stop. Later becomes McClure farm and home.
1838 – 1839
“
Trail of Tears”. Cherokee and other tribes removed from tribal lands to the Indian Territory of eastern Oklahoma
pursuant to the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Some Cherokees manage to escape and hide out in the North Carolina
mountains.See:Trail of Tears
1843
Post office established near present day Bat Cave along Hickory Nut Turnpike.
1848
Rutherford County Poorhouse (Rutherfordton)In existence in 1848 See Poorhouse History
ca. 1860 – 1865
Underground Railroad moves slaves northward through Bat Cave area.
It allowed slaves to flee the Plantation located at Greenhill: Fox Haven Plantation, circa 17759 s1866
Harris Tavern becomes Logan House after purchase by Judge George W. Logan. Subsequently leased
in 1877 by James M. Flack.
1861
- Secession of the state of North Carolina from the American Union.
- One thousand seven hundred and thirty four men from Rutherford County were in the service during the Civil
War.
Carolina and southwestern Virginia to disrupt the Confederate supply lines, destroy mines and ironworks and to free
prisoners at Salisbury. Word of Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston’s surrender at Durham (April 26, 1865) reached
Union Gen. George Stoneman’s raiders near here along with news of Confederate president Jefferson Davis’s flight
through North Carolina. Troops camped in the Hickory Nut Gorge were ordered to pursue Davis, which they did until
he was captured in Georgia.See: http://www.civilwartraveler.com/northcarolina/nc-more.html
1870
First Church in Chimney Rock established – Chimney Rock Baptist Church.
1874
Series of earthquakes begins on January 3, 1874. Centered in Bald Mountain (Rumbling Bald). Religious panic occurs
in and around Hickory Nut Gorge. "The mystery of Rumbling Bald Mountain began (during modern history) in 1874 as
tremors rattled dishes and broke windows. Dust, smoke and eerie sounds emanated from the rugged peak as shocks
dislodged boulders inside the mountain and opened massive fissures. Residents were terrified, and even the National
Speleological Society sent scientists from Washington, D.C., to investigate. "from Carolina Country Magazine.
The first textile plant located in an old wheat mill on the Second Broad River near present day Henrietta opened. It
manufactured cotton yarn and employed fifty persons but operated only a few months before being destroyed by fire.
In 1885
1880
Jerome B. Freeman Purchases 400 acres of land including Chimney Rock from the Speculation Company, for 25 dollars.
"The Shadow of the Hangman!' I have heard this from several locals
1880
Chimney Rock Post Office opens.
1883
Smallest post office in the US established at Uree ( the present day Bill's Creek Community".
It measured 9x12 and had no boxes as everyone was known and the mailed handed to the citizens.
Mr. B.F. Egerton was appointed the first postmaster and served until his death in 1914 when his daughter Mrs. W.F.
Whitesides was appointed in his place. From: "Good Old Uree" by Martha Jane Norbitt Melton
1885
Chimney Rock opened to the public by J. B. Freeman.
1889
Logan, George Washington (1815-1889) — of North Carolina. Born in Rutherford County, N.C., February 22, 1815.
Representative from North Carolina in the Confederate Congress, 1864-65; delegate to North Carolina state
constitutional convention, 1865; member of North Carolina state legislature, 1866-68; state court judge in North
Carolina, 1868-74. Died in Chimney Rock, Rutherford County, N.C., October 18, 1889. Interment at St. Francis Episcopal
Cemetery, Rutherfordton, N.C.
1890 – 1893
J. B. Freeman Purchases acreage in gorge from M. L. Toms, H. and S. Ewart, J. W. and L. C. Freeman, and J. H. and L.
Freeman.
1891
Steps constructed to Chimney Rock.
1892
Col. Thomas Turner opens Esmeralda Inn. Turner family operates inn until 1937. The Historic Esmeralda Inn is located
in Chimney Rock, NC. The original Inn burned down in 1916 and rebuilt in 1917. 1917 Inn burned to the ground in 1997.
Rebuilt from the ground up, the Inn re-opened in October of 1999 with the assistance of Preservation North Carolina.
The Esmeralda has housed a number of movie stars who were in the area making movies, including Mary Pickford,
Douglas Fairbanks, Gloria Swanson, William S. Hart and Clark Gable. Author Lew Wallace finished the script for “Ben
Hur” in Room 9.
The Esmeralda Inn was named after the screenplay “Esmeralda”, written by Francis Hodges Burnett. Ms. Burnett wrote
this play while staying at the Logan House. Esmeralda was the longest running Broadway play in the 1800’s
Whitesides Valley Baptist Church was organized. The Church is now Chimney Rock Baptist Church. The Whiteside
Church was located in the Valley that is now Lake Lure. It was named after .J. M. Whitesides the Pastor for many years.
1895
George P. Horton opens Mountain View Inn across from Chimney Rock.
1897
Florence Mill built by Raleigh Rutherford Hayns See the following for a Time Line for Rutherford County Mills :Time
Line for Mills in Rutherford County
1898
James M. And Lavena Flack purchase Mountain View Inn.
FROM 8000 BC TO 1829 PLEASE CLICK HERE
FROM 1829 TO 1900 PLEASE CLICK HERE
FROM 1900 TO THE PRESENT PLEASE CLICK HERE 1800
SHOW CASE YOUR BUSINESS ON OUR NEWSLETTER AND WEB SITE!
