28,793 research outputs found
Ben M. Arvidson farm, south of Campbell, Nebr. Webster County.
No full textBen M. Arvidson farm, south of Campbell, Nebr. Webster County
George Oliver Webster Correspondence
No full textEntries include brief biographical information, a typed letter introducing Webster to the Maine Author collection, and a typed letter from the Maine State Library on receipt of his historical novel Pentagoet for the Maine Author Collection with notice that a description of the book would appear in the Maine Library Association Bulletin
Historic Webster Vol. 1 No. 4
No full textHistoric Webster is a newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc., created at the Society’s founding in 1974. The publication helped to serve the Society's mission of collecting and preserving the history of Webster, North Carolina. Webster, established in 1851, was the original county seat for Jackson County.Volume 1 Number 4 a newsleffer of 16e we6sfer 6isforical sociel!: Summer 1914
Historic Webster Days
Celebration
Historic Webster Days will Swan, and Bill McinTyre will
provide a truly old fashioned gtve us a night of good listening
Fourth of July celebration for and square dancing. Music
Jackson County dur ing the four begins at 8: 00 on Thursday
days of festivities at the old night, 9:00 on Friday and SaturWebster
Elementary School. day nights.
~~~s~~~n~i~~oik~fSo~~e~: ~~~ Mr. & Mrs. Webster
the Sylva Jaycees, as a benefit
~or the ~ebst~r Historical Soc- The two oldest residents of
tety. It ts hoped that the e~en~ Webster' Arthur Allman and
c"!-n be ~n an!lual <:elebrati?n, Lilly (Nanniehart) Rhinehart,
wtth an espectally bi_g occast?n will be honored at the Opening
planned for the Bicentenmal Ceremonies of the first annual
year of 1976· . . . " Historic Webster Days Fourth
;<\mong,the many acttvtltes at of July Celebration." They will
th.ts year s. July 4th at Web~ter be named "Mr . and Mrs . Hiswtll
be dtsplays of old . tJ!lle toric Webster" in an official
crafts such _as. blacksmithmg proclamation presented by the
and boardsphttmg, manned by Mayor of Webster, Mr. Roy
Jack. Hoy!~ ~nd Gene Thorn- Baker. The proclamation will
burg! a spmnmg ~bee~ demon- be inscribed on a hand decorstrat!
On b~ Sophie. ~t.shop ; a ated scroll made by Elizabeth
broommakmg exhtbitlon ar.td Keys. Mr. and Mrs. Historic
broo!"" sale as wei~ as a qu!It Webster will then reign over the
~~M~"~~~~~~Jtr:;~~~ean~~~~l! four days of festivities.
~ ~~~~i~~~it i~~ffiu~.ut~~~~W~~ Opening Ceremony
Eldredge and Margo Crawford
are in charge of the STI exhibit. The Mayor of Webster, Roy
Handmade crafts such as bon· Baker , will ride into town in a
nets and wood carvings, signs horse drawn buggy provided by
burned in wood, and other items Dr. Ralph Morgan, to open the
will be sold at var ious booths to first annual Historic Webster
be set up on the school grounds. Fourth of July Celebration . A
Gracia Slater, Susan Morgan, dinner catered by the Canter·
and Judy Coyle are setting up a bury Inn and served by the
Country Store where they will women of Webster will begin at
sell locally prepared foods such 5:00p.m. on Thursday, July 4th,
as homebaked bread and followed by the flag raising
chcrned butter , honey, canned ceremony, courtesy of the Webfruits
and vegetables, and fresh ster Boy Scout Troop No. 903. A
produce. The Store will be cons- Readers Theatre production ditructed
inside the school house. reeled by Kathy Carr will be
On the grounds for the Fourth presented during the dinner.
will be baked goods and sand- Mayor Baker and Bruce Wike,
wiches sold .by the East Sylva C~ai~man of .the County ComBaptist
Church Dorcas Sunday !lllSStoners, wtll make the openSchool
Class; a lemonade stand mg remarks.
Horse Show set up by the Webster Home·
makers, who will also be selling
handmade bonnets; and a booth
selling watermelon slices. The first annual Webster
Some of the old fashioned Horse Show will be held on
games and contests planned Saturday, July 6, on the grounds
include a greased pig chase, a o~ the old Webster School begingreased
pole climb, a tug~f- nmg at 1:00 p.m. Show Secrewar,
and gunny sack races for tary. Diana Nicholson and Show
all ages. James Roper is in Chairmen Dean Allman and
charge of games, which begin at Johnny Watson have been larg-
2:00 p.m. on Friday and Satur- ely responsible for planning the
day. Also at 2:00 on Satur- show. The Judge for the show is
day is the tubing iace, under the Tommy Lucas of Franklin.
super vision of Jerry and Laura Woody Hampton, Sylva, will be
Coffey. While the games and Ringmaster, and Jon Danencontests
ar e in progress, David bower of Dillsboro is Master of
Purser will be offering buck- Ceremonies. Duggan Ledford
board rides around Webster, from Franklin will serve as
and the Jaycees will have all Farrier .
their tra ditional entertainmeQt Entry fees for the twenty·four
booths open. Paul Cowan, J r ., different events planned will
Buddy Lane, and Richard Tay- range from 2.50,
half the regular yearly dues.
The new membership year will
begin in January, 1975, when we
hope that all old members will
renew their memberships and
continue to be active in the work
or the Society.
School Grounds Are
Shaping Up For Fourth
Spencer Clark and his Build- and for l<.. .o urth of July decor·
ing and Grounds Committee ations.
have been getting the Webster The Bwldmg and Grounds
School in shape for the big Committee has also had the
Fourth of July festivities. Under help of eight young people
Spenc~r 's supe~vision and the working under the auspices of
direction of thetr Scout Master the Neighborhood Youth Corps.
Al Byers, the Webster Boy They are Davis Wood, John
Scou~ Troop No. 903 has been Houston, Dale Stiles, Billy Friz·
mee~mg at the school and zell, Joyce Hammerly, Pamela
helpmg to clean up. Bobby Ray Bradley, Kathy Powell, and ,
and Gail. Wtl~on , Paul Cowan Geneva Donaldson . Joyce
Jr. a~d Jtm Stmpson have been Hammet;Jy is answering the
workmg on the grounds, land· telephone at the Historical Sociscaping
and getting. the grass ety Offic~ and keeping the office
mowed. ~e School ~s surroun- open ft:om 8:00 to 3:00 daily,
ded by mne ~aubful acres. Monday through Friday. The
Buddy and Margaret Clark other ~YC workers ha.ve ~n
have donated plants for the scrubbmg floors_, washmg winbeautification
of the _gr'!unds ~~~~it~~~ cleanmg away trash
Attention, Artists!
Artists, please come for the artists who wish to commence a
hanging on July 3 and 4 at lively career in the Art World to
Webster, N.C., to be held in the enter their work. We will man
gray stone building on the hill the Art Gallery for the full four
(at one time, the School !) We days of the Webster Historical
expect to exhibit works of Society Festival July 4, 5, 6, 7.
celebrated artists who live or Any volunteers for duties in·
visit in our beautiful world of valved in conducting an art
the Smokies. gallery are welcome. Please
advise us by phone or come by
Any work to be sold will pay to the Webster School. Telephone
the Webster Historical Society Elizabeth Keys, 586·5988, Chairfifteen
per cent of the sale price. man of The Webster Art Lea-
There will be a Grand March History. DeSoto's people in- We also invite all aspiring gue.
and Judging of costumes, eluded the Gentleman of Elvas,
beards, and moustaches at the DeSoto's Portugese Scribe, as
Webster School Building Sun- well as men of the clergy,
day evening, July 7, '74, at 7: 00 scouts, and probably cooks and
p.m. (Men who arrive with dish washers, too. Later on,
Society Business Meeting
clean shaven faces may be fined there were British Red-Coats, The members of the Webster
or sent to the local jail"!) French Voyageurs from the Historical Society will meet at
and to make plans for the
future. Come and exchange
ideas .. You can have a large
share m determining the future
of Webster.
Whatever century, era, or Mississippi in quest of Furs, 7:30p.m. on Monday, July 15, at
occasion for the costume you then the proud military families the Webster School. The main
wear , try for authenticity first. who migrated after the Battle business of the meeting will be
For example, if you portray a of the Boyne, and the Revolt of to hear a report on and to
Croquet Buff of the Summer of the Irish Earls. There were the discuss the current status of
Music and square dancmg D · Th 1910, remember not to wear plantation aristocracy from effor ts to buy the old Webster This Fourth of July edition of
will be provided mght1y at Inner ealre nylons! The Spanish Conquista- South Carolina and Georgia; Elementary School. Officers of Historic Webster is being sent to
Historic Webster Days 4th of . . dares at the other end of our the American frontier settlers; the Society and members of the al~ m~mbers Of the Webster
J~y celebration. On Thursday t As /jart ~~ th~ ~tsto~:c "teb: tim~ ~ spec.trum did n~t sport loggers; miners; mail carriers Town Council will be meeting Htst?n~al Societ¥. We will be
mght the Webster Cloggers,ser ays e mverst¥ urn cham mail. OK? Durmg the on fast horses; doctors on withtheSchooi Boardon J uly 10 pubhshmg four J.SSues a year
directed by Ken Cabe, will ~;~ ~he~r~ Cpr~ct;ctdo; . ~~ time lapse between these two horseback or in buggies--depen- and will report the results to the from now on-Fall, Winter,
perform, fo11owed by music and .
11 ~ or 0t d a~ th a~ ~r[ extremes, there are possibili- ding on terrain to be covered. membership at the July 15 Spring, and a special Summer
square dancing for everybody WI presen e a e e s er ties for a wide range of fancy meeting. Members will also issue for the Fourth of J uly.
provided by Wallace Swan. On Schr l on J uly .1~ tnd. 6· ~~~ dress, as Webster History in· Also, there were the elegant begin planning the 1975 Fourth Starting with this issue, the
Friday nigh.t "Train" will sup· ~r ormanc.e WI egm . eludes it all. Huguenots who may have at- of J uly and looking ahead to the Summer edition will be sold to
ply the mustc; and on Saturday n!g~ts. at ?1i3~ p.m. c;:: :r~day We will have highly compe- tended church in Parisian bon- Bicentennial in 1976. non-members during Historic
night Ralph Lewis and the mg t It w~ e ~rec e Y a tent J udges, also prizes. nets, with lace parasols. There This will be a good oppor- Webster Days at fifty cents per
Piney Mounta in Boys from ca~ered dmner 10 the school Surplfise us all and wear were brides, and judges and tunity to get acquainted with copy. Members will continue to
Asheville, Earl Cowart and the something colorful, original, or blacksmiths. What else? Plenty other members of the Historical receive all four issues as a
Blue Grass Four, W~llace Tul'n To Page Two beautiful, all Authentic Webster more. Surpr ise us? ! Soci~ty, to join a committee, me.mbership privilege.
Page Z
r~-~- .. ·- ~ -· .• .. . ·~
=••~::: ~~~~~: .~~ ~:~~· . ~ :0;e::: ::::k I ~~= Tickets for the dinner and play ment of Speech and Theatre fashioned hog barbeque, Web- · t
are available in advance at the Arts at Western Carolina Uni- ster is the place to' see one on . . t
Little Theatre Box Office on the versity is the director. July 6. . . The Webster Cookbook is and mk drawmg of Webs_ter 's ~
WCU campus at the Webster planned for publi ca tion landma rks--the covered bndge,
Post Office, o~ at Cowan Insur- Novef!lber I. The book features ~h~ old Webster school , the
ance Agency in Sylva. Tickets Gospel Sing fa voni('S of famous Webster J<u l. _lh_C' l'hurchcs, homes.
will be sold at the school on the Art Show cooks I rom over one hundred _It IS JUSt a good boo~--on_e you t
days of the performance. Cost year s. \\:Ill want to keep not JUSt m the t
for dinner and theatre is 3.50 for children Under the chairmanship of is invited to attend old fashioned _F~J a large dmner try _Mr~ . l{(~ llH'Ill?(' r Chnst rna ~ IS t
under 12. Theatre tickets alone Elizabeth Keys and with the church services in Jackson f~ 1 ~ 1 e , . C ow~ rd En J:?: lJ ~h s e~Hmng : 1 here. a re weddmgs, i for Friday or Saturday night help of Francois Cla~tier, the County and then to bring a .1 l<i nl .t t J,on Supper··a. n ~ h , birthdays. all kmds of reasons
are 3.50 for adults, $1.50 way. For Historic Webster Days School grounds and join in on a c ot n. meat · and noodles. ht•s Jdcs thoS(' you want for t
for children. Reservations may there will be an exhibition and " eatin' and singin' on the yours('lf. t
be made by calling the Depart· sale of paintings at the Webster grounds". Gospel music will be l\1 r s . Ed ith Moore Hal I 's t
ment of Speech and Theatre School, with 15 per cent of the provided by Mike Clayton, Bill (;arlic Grits will li ven a meal. ORDER t
Arts at WCU, telephone 293· sale price going to the Webster Deitz, and the Redeemed' Quar- any meal. It is just grits with t
This play, compiled and a- the show will begin on July 3. garlic. Sprinkled with YOUR
dapted by Norman Corwin, Ham Dinner .:ornflakes, it can be served for
covers the works of Carl Sand· Barlieque supp<·r at night and easily
burg from the cradle to the On Sunday night, July 7, the \\·arm<'d for the next morning's COOKBOOK
grave. It is a compilation of women of the First United hJTakfast.
song, prose, and poetry display· Monroe Lindsey will begin Methodist Church of Sylva will
ing Mr. Sandburg's sense of earlySaturdaymorning,July6, sponsor a ham dinner to be There arc cakes Mrs. Sally AT THE
MOTOR
COURT
Color
Television
Air
Conditioning
Your Bo•ll
Mr. 6 Mrl. A. T. Marroy
Tel. 586-2123
7491. Historical Society. Hanging of tet from Statesville, N.C. th(' lash' of cheese, and a hint of I
humor, sense of beauty and preparing a gigantic open pit served at the Webster School. 1\ ld 'onn('II'S old ' fa shioned
sense of tragedy. , barbeque on tht; Webster ~hool Afte_r the din!ler there will be a pound cak<·, known all over
. The players are Nancy Ham- grounds. He will be roastmg a closmg bonfire and a . vesper town . A hig spice cake has been FOURTH OF JULY + SYLVA, N- C. +
f!1111 of Brevard.' James E1ch· pig ~nd ftfty chickens all day for servtce conducted by the Rev. deH•Iop(>d by Mrs. An nit• Louise t , i hog of Pumpkm Town, and a dmner to be served at 6:00 Gene McCants of Webster. ~ t adi son Heed called War Cake- CELEBRATION + Ma•• St.
-it is (•nough for an army. t Get Involved In Helping ·············'
'
S<ilads, Mrs . Stella Broyles ••••••••••••••••••••-.
llall's Twt•nty Jo'our Hour Salad
Preserve And Restore Webster 1nadl' with (•ggs; brt·ads,
1\kxinlll Cnrnbr('ad , rolls: a
\\onderfu llv ril'h Coffp(• Punch··
Are you looking for a way to
get involved in the Webster
Project? Good! Join the more
than eighty people who are
already sel_'ving on committees.
Call any of the committee
chairmen, officers or directors.
Special Events··Fourth of Ju.
ly: Paul and Lynda Cowan
te~und Raising:Judy Carpen-mon
· and 'mo re··2:~7 recipes in
Tell them you want to help. Board of Directors: Roy Ba·
There's plenty for everyone to ker, Spencer Clark, Dick Iobst, all -- in a 1xlok that a cook who
do, fun in the work, and fine John Parris and Joe Rhinehart. has s<'<'n it ca lls "a readable
people to ~et ac9uainted with. Officers: Betty Pric~, Presi· i n t e r t' s t i n g , p r a ct i c a i
The followmg officers and com- dent ; Manlyn Jody, VIce Pres- cnokhnok." Pradical seems to
mittee chairmen are waiting to ident; Jim Simpson , Treasurer; be a good word for th('S(' times.
hear from you . and Mary Morris, Secretary.
Committees
Museum and Archives: Dick
lobs!
\lusic and Community
But lhNe is more than
rl'l"i pl's: l\ lrs. Lilly Hhinehart ,
1\liss Dorothy l\1ourc, Miss
1\lildrl'd Cowan, Mrs. Louise
Restaurant: Jerry Ewen and i\ lad_ison !~edford , _Mrs. Pat
Edna Beck l\ll'Kee 11lle-y. l\1 1ss Mary
1\Jnrris, and 1\Irs. Janice
i\lontipth Ulanton. all Webst<'r
Country Store: Gracia Slater girl s. talk ~1hout . food as they
and Helen Cowan ).!. l'l' \\" up m \rV(•bstl'l'. Mrs.
House Tours and Hospitality Tht'atcr: J .C. Alexander
Margaret Simpson
Louise B. Da vis has written
Wehs!('r's hi story.
ReCreation: James Roper The Webster Cookbook is
illustrated with d('licate pen
Newsletter: Alice HarriH and
Building and Grounds: Spen· Louise Davis
cer Clark
Scrapbook and Bulletin
Board: Mildred Cowan
Cookbook: Joe and Flossie
Rhinehart
Membership and Correspon-dence:
Kate Rhinehart Finance: BiH Fisher Town Planning: Roy Baker
Youmt Historians: Lucille
Bryson and Marilyn Jody
THE
NORTHWESTERN
BANK
Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Contributors:
Editors :
Louise Davis
Alice Harrill
Marilyn Jody
Mrs. Maurice Carlton
Mrs. Jennie Lou Hunter
Mrs. Elizabeth Keys
Ms. Mary Morris
Mr. John Parris
Mr. Joe Parker Rhinehart
Mr. Jim Wells
Western Carolina
Universi9'
Typeset and Printing by Herald
Printing Co., Sylva
HOOPER'S
DRUG STORE
Bob Kelley
KRISMART
FASHIONS
Wishes the best of luck to the
Webster Historical Society, Inc.
in its efforts to preserve and restore Webster
-.
Mountain Folks Are A Musical Lot
\
by John Parris
AFAMILYREUNtON
1905
Last Monday, J une 12, was
the anniversary of the birth of
Mountain folks are a musical Mr. Nathan Coward and the
loi. regular day of the Annual
Even the poorest cabin away Reunion of the Coward Family
off back of beyond will boast a including all of Mr. Coward's
banjo or a fiddle hanging on a children, grandchildren and
nail. grea t-g r a ndc hildren . It has
Neither the phonograph, ra- been a custom for several years
dio or television has caused the now for the Cowards and their
hillsman to part with his banjo rela tives to meet on their
or fiddle, albeit many a cabin ancestor's birthday every year
has one or all three. at the horne of himself and his
And when it comes to mountair.·- children taken in rotation
music--well , it 's right there at meeting first a t the father's,
the top in popularity. ·next the oldest child's and so on
Tunes that never knew any . around . This year the
instrument but a fiddle , broom- celebrat ion took place at his
straws, and a banjo have won own home. Mr. Coward was on
popularity with big orchestras · thC' occasion eighty-seven years
as program spicers. old being born just a bout six
Hillbilly bands are in demand years a ft er the War of 1812. <He
and mountain folk song sym- was born in 1818 l. We hope to
phonies have received acclaim give the story of his life in the
in recent years. journal soon .
ThEl mountain songs boast a There was not as large a
proud lineage for the most part. proport ion of the family present
Many of the ·tunes and words ,as usual, the families of Mr. Kit
can be traced to Elizabeth Z<t<:harv and Mr. Oscar Coward
England. tx•ing barely represented and
For this reason, students and that of Mr. Hobert Coward , who
collectors have been interested li vt•s in Piedmont being ent irely
in them for years. But it's only absPnt. Mr . Coward was also
comparatively recently that the vt'ry sick but in spite of a ll , the
sometimes lilting, sometimes Fiddle made by the tate Rogers Coward of Webster. Don.ated to the Webster Historical Society n·umon was very successful
~~~~~ulof~~!i~e~!~af~~t~Jc.the Museum and Archives by Elda Coward of Norton Commumty. ~~~~~'~1~~·~:·gf~!~~:~f~e:i~~~;
Even Broadway has it 's hill - Tht• di nnPr was served picnic
billy singer. So does Park fa shion : the eatables, whi~h
Avenue, the street .of milk and Several years ago an old-ttme Usually, they are folks who " I could sell ten times as W<'I'P many and good, being
millions. fiddle-player was discussmg fmd pleasure m domg a btg of many,"shesatd, " tf ihad them. spn·ad on two ta bles while the
But for the pure, unadulter- fiddles with a city feller and fidd1ing themselves. Sometimes BesJt:les bemg fme mstruments, gu<'sts all helped themselves
ated stuff, you've got to get off the city feller mentioned that they'll make two or three they are beautifully made and standi ng.
the main roads and plunge into the finest fiddles in the world fiddles a year and hide them would be something just to look Afl <•r di nner they all occupied
the out-of-the-way places back were those . made by a man around the house. And then at even if they never were th<'ll iS{'I\"PS with conversation
in the hills. named Stradivar ius. · they'll go a year or so without played." nnd otlwr amusements . All the
It 's ther
Historic Webster Vol. 1 No. 3
No full textHistoric Webster is a newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc., created at the Society’s founding in 1974. The publication helped to serve the Society's mission of collecting and preserving the history of Webster, North Carolina. Webster, established in 1851, was the original county seat for Jackson County.'VOLUME I NUMBER 3
Cook6ook Will Be
Ready 9n o lie :Jall
A cookbook containing mouthwatering local recipes,
pen and ink drawings of Webster, and "Growing Up
in Webster" sketches will be on sale in the fall.
Tho rocipe book1 which is being compiled by Florence
and Joe Parker Rhinehart , will have a hard
cover with a color picture of Webster as the dust
jacket. Joe Parker estimates that it will have approximately
200 pages, The book will be printed
in brown ink on off white paper, and will have a brown
cloth cover with a sketch of the former Jackson County
courthouse,
Original sketches of people and places in Webster
will be featured at the beginning of each of the II
divisions of the book, as well a throughout the 250
odd recipes.
A short history of the town accompanied by a
sketch of the courthouse will begin the book, Then,
in addition to the delicious recipes, the cookbook will
feature character sketches of some of the donating
cooks and several "growing Up in Webster" stories
written by Webster women of different generations,
Mildred Cowan, Mary Morris and other women who
grew up in Webster will be contributing their accounts ~
The book will conclude with a feature menu for
Christmas dinner with recipes, accompanied by a
story about Old Webster at Christmastime,
The recipes in the book were collected from cooks
in the area by Joe's mother, Kate Rhinehart, Florence
Rhinehart will draw the pen and ink sketches.
The price of the book has not yet been determined,
but it is estimated at 5 or be placed in a makeshift
"jail" on the school grounds, .
other harpenings at the July event will include
board splitt'ng lessons, booths of all sorts, sales of
cookies and cakes, old fashioned bonnets, a varied
display of mountain cr afts, and of course entertainment.
If you have suggestions for additional activities at
the Independence Day fest, contact Paul and Linda
Cowan, co-chairmen of the Special Events. and Projects
Comm ;:tee,
Webster, North Carolina
EDD DOUGLAS DAVIS
olie :Jirst Sheriff
of ~ackson County
Edd Doug Davis, known as Doog Davis, became in
1853 the first sheriff of Jackson County, With the
exce~ti.on of the period he lived, while sheriff, in
the Jail at Webster, he spent his adult life on his
large farm located between Webster and Cullowhee
Today this area is called Rolling Green, '
Sher iff ~Alvi s and his wife Nancy Allen, daughter
of Nathan Allen of Webster, were the parents of
seve~ sons and two daughters" Mro Davis, who died
at h~s home August 25, 1911, is buried in the family
P!ot m Webster Cemetery along with his sife, two of
his sons, Nathan A, and Joe W, and other members
of later generations of llivises,
The copy of the JACKSON COUNTY JOURNAL
from which the article is reprinted, and the tin-type
picture of Mr , ~Alvis reproduced here ar e are owned
by Cather ine ~Alvis of Big Ridge, Catherine is a
granddaughter of Sheriff Doug ~Alvis,
The following article was taken from THE JACKSON
COUNTY JOURNAL dated January 29 1906 - Webster
N,C, - Mr, E, D, ~Alvis ' '
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The author of this article was born in Buncombe
County <now Transylvania) Sept, 4, 1827, My father
lived where the late George C, Neil lived to the time
of his death, on what was then known as Lamb's Cr rek
which was a tributary of Fr ench Broad river, It~
head waters were near where llividson's river has
its source, with which it ran parallel, but being much
smaller, It was then known as Ben llividson's river
but of late years the "Ben" has been dropped,
Ther e has been a postoffice at this place for more
than seventy years" Davidson's River postmaster,
Ben .lli vidson, was my great-grandfather.
When I attended school the course embraced
reading, writing, and arithmetic, My teachers were
Turn to page four , , , •
~ ·'We6ster 9s ~ackson County's Hometown"
April 1974
A fetter
:Jrom the President
Dear Friends,
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with one
step" and that step in compiling and collecting the
history of Jackson County has resulted in 5,000 copies
each of three newsletters of the Webster Historic
Society; nearly 300 members and ll3,500 to the Jackson County Board of Education
for the old Webster Elementary School because an
an idea whose time has come can't help but succeed.
The school will become the Jackson County Museum
of Living History. The fund-raising committee needs
your help with the Webster idea. If you know wher e
money is a·.11ilable - from individuals, corporations
foundations, etc. - tell us - we'll contact theU.:'
Many grants have already been applied for from foundations
and other sour ces such as the Bicentennial
Commission in N.C. and the America the Beautiful
Fund,
We are hopeful that the County budget for the
1974-75 fiscal year will include a generous donation
toward the effort to preserve Jackson County's History,
But for many of these potential grants we need
non-federal matching funds, '
Th.e next newsletter will be sent only to the membership
of the Webster Historical Society, If you
have not joined but are "infected by the contagious
~n?'usiasm" as the honorable Hamilton Hayes wrote,
JOm. no:v, Send 5.00 yearly
Associate (outside Western N.C.): 10.00 yearly
Supporting: 30.00 yearly
Life: 1.00 a day to begin with) for her little family,
During the thirty-four years that mother was postmaster
the Post Office was in three locations: first,
in a little building where Mr. Baker's shop and apartment
are now located; next in the old Masonic build·
ing between our place and the home of Mrs, Nancy
Ensley Potts; then back to the Baker Upholstery Shop
location; and last to the little building in the corner
of her yard across the lane from the Monteith home.
Because of the necessity of having the office convieniently
close to our home, the location changed as we
moved, The family moved from our old home (built
by Dr. C.Z. Candler's father at about the time of
the civil war) to Uncle Andy's house , then to the
Aunt Hicks Wilson house <now owned by the Potts)
later to the old jail <Mrs, Margie Penland's place)
which was the principal's home when my sister ,
Mrs. Ruth Allison Morris, was principal of Webster
High School, and finally to mother 's new home, built
after the old Candler house was torn down , on the
same lot which she had owned since my father's
dea.th,
When my mother was postmaster she loved her
work (though it did get aggravating at times she said)
and it enable her to make a living in her own yard
for the most part. She could keep an eye on Ruth,
Uln and me as we grew up, and grandpa too when
he was sick, while she looked after the post office
which was the social, as well as news center for the
community. Sometimes when we all gathered to watch
little Oscar Coward buck dance in the post office
vestibule things would get too noisy and we would
all be sent outside so my mother could do her work,
She wrote and read letters and orders for a few of
the patrons who could neither r ead nor write, and in
emergencies would open up the post offic e at night
and on holidays to better ser ve the community, Service,
honesty, integrity and independence wer e virtues of
great value to her, as they had been to her Godfearing
pioneering ancestors,
During the thirty-four years that my mother
was postmaster she was assisted to some extent
by the following : George Self, grandpa Moor e, my
sister Ruth, Mrs, Margie Penland, Mrs, Evelyn McKee,
Mr. Dan Cowan. When I became old enough I was
officially made assistant, or r eplacement, so I could
substitute occasionally when she was sick or away,
Dear to all of our hearts was the mail carrier, Arthur
Allman, who was always kind, cheerful, accomodating
and generous with rides to and fr om Sylva in his
truck for all of us.
HISTORIC WEJ~STER April 1974 Page 3
The Webster "Mail Box"
Some people have called the Webster Post Office
the "Mail Box" and frequently someone laughingly
remarks that it is surely the smallest post office
in the United States, They seem disappointed when we
tell them there are other smaller. We enjoy our
rather unique building, However, the size of the
building does not designate the size of the Post Office
housed therein.
The Webster Post Office is the oldest office in Jackson
County, It was established as Scott's Creek
(Haywood County) April 5, 1828. Jackson County
had not been established at that time, The Haywood
County and Macon County line was at that time the
Tuckaseigee River at Webster, The first postmaster
was Ulniel Brisson, appointed April 5, 1828, He
was succeeded by Samuel B, -Bragg December 17,
1828, The office was later discontinued for a brief
time and reestablished May 24, 1832 as Scott's Creek.
At that time William Thomas was installed as
postmaster serving till January 27, 1843, Thomas
was succeded by Allan Fisher.
When Mr. Fisher took the office he had a store
in Lovesfield, said to have been located near the
intersection of what is now highway 107 and ll6,
Presumable the post office was operated in his store,
The name of the post office was changed to Webster
on November 28, 1857 while Mr, Fisher was still
postmaster, He ser ved the office for 22 years which
was the longest time any postmaster served until
Mr s, Eugenia M. Allison was the postmaster in later
years. The second court held in Jackson County
was held also in this store. A great-grandson of his,
Mr. Allen Bergin Fisher, Sr .. , now lives in Addie
Community, Route I, Sylva, N, C.
On September 21, 1865 a Mr. George w. Stake
became postmaster and served until April 15, 1873,
Postmaster Cannon was the father of the late Lewis
Cannon of Webster . He was the grandfather of James
~ann?n of Cannon Brothers Gas and Oil Company
m Dillsboro and other descendents of Dillsboro and
the state of Washington,
Succeeding Mr, Cannon was Martin H. Lovelady
who ser ved thre
Historic Webster Vol. 9 No. 2
No full textHistoric Webster is a newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc., created at the Society’s founding in 1974. The publication helped to serve the Society's mission of collecting and preserving the history of Webster, North Carolina. Webster, established in 1851, was the original county seat for Jackson County.new s let ter o f t he Web s ter Hi s torical Societ y. In c .
VOLUME IX, NUMBER 2 WEBSTER, NORTH CAROLINA SUMMER 1983
Church Celebrates 131 Years
The Webster United Methodist Church was founded in 1852. The church building
was photographed for a 1907 booklet and has changed little since tha t year. Photo by
Dan Hirt.
Church is "Outstanding"
Example of Classic Country
Religious Architecture
By Doug Swain
The Webster United Methodist Church is an outstanding example of the classic country
church built to serve rural America throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Typical of the type, the church utilizes a simple gable-roofed rectangular form entered on one
end to create a " temple form" which harkens, ultimately, to classical Greek architecture.
other classical elements are present in the building's cornice treatment, corner boards, which
refer to columns or pilasters, and in the modest triangulation introduced above the side windows,
which refers to a classical pediment.
Most of the building's architectural interest, however , is found on its entrance facade. This
face of the building is dominated by an engage bell tower which rises in two stages and
culminates in a splayed pyramidal cap which serves as the church's steeple. Gothic arched
''The entrance design
is high spirited and full of charm.''
vents are centered on all four sides of the tower 's second tier , just beneath its cap. A blind fan
and a diamond-shaped vent ornament its principal face above the church's entrance.
The building's entrance composition is truly outstanding. Gothic arched windows flank the
base of the bell tower. The corners of the base are supported by boxed Ionic columns with recessed
gothic-pointed panels. These columns carry an elongated basket arch under which entrance
is made into a sheltering portico hollowed out of the base of the tower. The door into the church
is surmounted by a Gothic transom and is flanked by sidelights with Gothic heads. Fluted Ionic
pilasters with Spearpoint heads divide the sidelights from the doorway. In total the effect of this
vernacular entrance design is high spirited and full of charm.
Doug Swain is a member of the staff of the Western Office of the Division of Archives and
History, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. Asheville.
By Joe P. Rhinehart
"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills," the psalmist David
wrote, "from whence cometh my help."
For 131 years, since 1852, Webster Methodists have been
following David's directions. And after 33 years of moving
from building to building they built a church in 1887 whose
steeple still directs their eyes and the eyes of passersby to
those hills.
Webster was founded with Jackson County in 1851, and two
years later Methodism was recognized in the new town when
the church conference changed the name of the Tuckaseigee
Circuit (the part of Haywood County that became Jackson) to
the Webster Circuit.
The Methodists of Webster joined with the town's Baptists
and Presbyterians in church services at the Court House until
1870. That year the three congregations moved into a building
(now the site of the Lucy Hedden house) that they shared with
the town school. The Methodists made up the largest part of the
congregations and they were awarded the use of the building
on the first and third Sundays of the month. The Presbyterians
used the building on the second Sunday, and the Baptists took
possession on the fourth Sunday. The fifth Sunday was left for
special occasions for all denominations.
On December 11, 1881, trustees of the church, William A.
Enlow. L. C. Hall, James M. Candler, Thomas M. Frizzell and
James W. Terrell, with the minister , George W. Spake, purchased
from William Bumgarner and his wife, Mary, a lot on
Main Street for 75.00 to J . T. Myers and his wife, M. J . Myers, for that parcel
of Main Street land.
Six years after the purchase of the property, 25 years after
its founding, and who knows how many ice cream suppers to
raise money for the new church, in 1887 the Webster Methodist
Episcopal Church, South, opened its doors. Through the hard
work of the members, men who helped with the construction,
women, who provided the furnishing , the church was raised.
Today's Webster United Methodist Church is not a great deal
different from 1887. If the door is opened, a visitor steps into a
"mountain classical" sanctuary. Red carpet now covers the
hardwood aisle, the gas lights have been replaced, a modern
piano sits where the old organ, played so many years by Ethyl
Leatherwood, did, and the portrait of John Wesley has been
moved. The sunlight still sifts through handblown frosted
pains, the parishioners sit on peged wide board benches, the
minister preaches from the hand fashioned pulpit, and the
communicants kneal at the carved altar . (See article on the
church's architecture on page 1.)
The membership of the Webster church has never been
large. Early rolls, 1870, list 379 white members of the Webster
Circuit and five black members. A recent report shows 25 on
<Continued on page 3)
Page 2, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Summer, 1983
Church Leaders Past and Present
Mr. and Mrs. George McConnell came
from over the river to the Webster
Methodist Church.
Joseph W. Rhinehart, Sr. was a longtime
member of the church Board of
Stewarts.
Nan Frizzell, who spent
years in Washington,
always felt that Webster
was her home church.
Louise B. Davis taught
the adult class ilt Sunday
school for many
years.
Martha Lavenia McLain McKee
0872-1953) held many roles in the
Webster Methodist Church.
Minnie Wild and her husband
Jake were "across the
river Methodists.
Ruth Allison Morris was the Sunday
school superintendent and
teacher in the Webster church.
Is a bella Allison Ca lton ,
daughter of Eugenia Allison,
lives in Florida and continues to
help the Webster church.
L. C. Hall, Sr. helped build and lead the
Webster Methodist Church.
Robert Lee Madison provided years of thoughtful
Sunday school lessons.
Church
Founded
in 1852
(Continued from page I)
the church list. The influence
of these people has always
been felt. The church has
always provided a full
spiritual program for its
members. The best of
teaching, lead years ago by
Robert Lee Madison, Ruth
Allison Morris, and Louise
Davis, more recently by Ray
Ledford, Kate Rhinehart, and
Sally McConnell, continues to
challenge its listeners .
Ministers who have spread
the doctorine through the
country, William Hicks and J.
R. Long, and those now filling
the highest Carolina pulpits,
Ernest Fitzgerald, Donald
Ellis, began their careers at
Webster.
The early membership
roles of Webster read like a
who's who in North Carolina:
Madison, McKee, Terrell ,
Alley, Enloe, Allison, Moore,
Fisher, Broyles, Bryson,
leaders of both church and
state.
The church, through its
history, has offered study opportunities
in its classes, its
summer Bible schools, its
Christmas and Easter programs,
its women's group,
and its youth group.
As population has changed
in Webster, the church has
altered its programs, but one
group that has always been
active is the women's
organization, now headed by
Sarah Barrett. These women,
many wives of the church's
early male leaders, have
often pulled the church
through with their spiritual
and financial support. Begun
in the early days of the church
as the Ladies Aid, the association
is now the United
Methodist Women. It continues
its active social programs
to its neighbors both
local and worldwide, its study
of religious questions, and its
aid to the church program.
Bordering the Webster
church is the parsonage for
the Webster Circuit. This
building, one of the few recent
buildings on Main Street, was
built in 1956. The original parsonage
was begun about the
time the church was completed
in 1887. In the early
part of this century, additional
rooms were constructed,
making a large, but
not particularly comfortable
home. After many freezing
winters, the circuit decided it
was time to build a modern
house, complete with central
heat and an electric stove.
(One minister , name no
longer remembered, and his
wife, lasted only one night
when the kitchen cook stove
damper got stuck.) By 1963
(Continued on page 6)
HISTORIC WEBSTER, Summer, 1983 Page 3
Reflections by Janice Monteith Blanton
Webster United Methodist Church
When I was in Webster recently for Mother's Day, I attended
Sunday school at the Webster United Methodist Church, my
borne church, with my mom. We sang "The Church in the
Wildwood" that morning, and Mrs. Kate Rhinehart told about
a time when Mr. Lewis Cannon was superintendent of the Sunday
School. She said he wanted to sing this song quite often and
that once she suggested they change the "brown" church to the
"white" church. He emphatically said " no" and that settled
that. Well, somehow the idea of the "white" church has stuck
in my mind the past few weeks since then, and I hope Mr. Cannon
will forgive me from his heavenly home for the following:
The Church on the Hill
(sung to tune of "The Church in the Wildwood)
There's a church on the hill in Webster,
No lovier church in the world.
No place is so dear to my childhood,
As the little white church on the hill.
Oh, come to the church on the hill,
To the church where my good friends all go.
Where the Gospel will be taught,
Where we all learn to love the Lord.
How sweet on a clear Sunday morning,
To see all my neighbors go by.
They proudly carry their Bibles,
On their way to the church on the hill.
From the church on the hill in Webster,
When I was growing up.
I received good christian training,
Which I'll use for the rest of my life.
Chorus :
Oh come, come, come, come - come to the
church in Webster, 0 come to the church on
the hill; no spot is so dear to my childhood,
As the little white church on the hill.
Yes, the Webster United Methodist Church will always be
very, very special to me for many reasons. It is the church
where I became a Christian ; it is the church where I received
excellent training in the Bible and Christian leadership; it is
the church where I was married; and it is the "love nest"
where I grew up being loved and encouraged by the adults of
the church.
I can easily recall many, perhaps incidental, but memorabl·~
church-related events during my years in the church: being
called down by a preacher for talking during a revival ; being
given chewing gum by Professor Robert Lee Madison between
Sunday school and church; being a student in various Bible
schools and the fun and learning that went with them ; being
pulled around on a large cloth to serve as a "shiner" for the
church floor that the young people had waxed ; being a part of
many, many M. Y. F. and church programs "ready or not! "
being a eater of the scrumptuous food prepared for various
social events by the fine cooks of the church; being a listener to
flannel-board stories told by one of our pastor's wives; being
excited over two handsome college-age workers we had work
with the youth one summer; being a baby-sitter for the Rev.
Don Ellis and his wife who, when I told him he didn't owe me
anything, always replied, "Well, I'll give you a 'free'
wedding," <I held him to it too ! l; and being a helper Mrs. Eva
Mae Davis decorate for my wedding.
Too many people to possibly mention at length come to mind
as I think of church members who have meant a lot to me during
my years in the church. Members of the church were good
people who loved God and loved one another. I cannot recall a
single significant conflict between members. At the top of my
list would have to be Mrs. Kate Rhinehart, because she was our
youth leader and the person who naturally had the most contact
with, and influence over, us young people. She unselfishly
gave of herself in ways that many adults will never know. She
believed in us and made us believe in ourselves. Others in the
Rhinehart family come to mind: Nannie Hart, whom I enjoyed
sitting and talking with and dearly loved; Joe, who, unbeknown
to many, was often responsible for the warmth of the church in
the winter as well as other maintenance ; and of course, Joe
Parker and Jim, who, in effect, were so close to me that I consider
them my brothers.
Other young people who were members of theM. Y. F. during
the time I was, who went through many of the same programs,
who took many of the same trips, (I know I don't have
to remind Jack, Joe Parker and Jim of how Nell and I always
got car sick!) included: the Allmans : Jimmy, Alan, and
Blake; Dickie McConnell; Paul Jr. Cowan; Jack Allison; Nell
Ensley ; Jeanetta Cannon ; and my sister, Billie Jo Monteith.
TheM. Y. F. was really a strong working force in the church
during those days taking responsibility for programs, singing,
janitorial work, and many other activities. Our Sunday evening
M. Y. F. meetings on the church lawn, on the pastor's
porch, in the church, or at Mrs. Rhinehart's hold very special
memories for me. I recall the Rev. Ellis as being one of our
most supportive pastors ; he attended our meetings and gave
us lots of positive attention.
Music has always been important to me, and I especially
remember the McConnell family in this respect. I loved to hear
Sally and George McConnell sing, and Anne Laura Cowan's
piano playing always fascinated me. Miss Nan Frizzell, about
whom I've written an earlier article, felt very strongly about
the church's music propgram and I really have her to thank for
my finally learning to play the piano when I was in high school.
Mrs. Lillian Madison introduced me to the "lemon"as a means
for clearing the throat for solo singing.
The Davises: Doug, Louise, Eva Mae, Myrtle, and Wood ; the
Penlands : Mrs. Penland and Aunt Dess; the Cannons : Lewis
Elizabeth, Jeanetta; the Madisons : Professor Madison and
Mr. and Mrs. Roe Madison ; theFulmers: the Nicholsons : Mrs.
Eugenia Allison ; Mrs. Fred McKee ; Mrs. Vearl Ensley; Miss
Lucy Hedden, and, naturally, my own Mom are some of the
folks whom I remember were going to the Webster Methodist
Church when I did. I loved each and every one these members
and have many special memories stores away about each of
them.
"Yes," there 's still a church on the hill in Webster (thank
God!) - the WEBSTER METHODIST CHURCH, and " No," no
spot is so dear to my childhood (and adulthood) as the little
"white" church on the hill.
Methodist Women Added Support
By Oberia Wild Hyatt
I grew up in Webster and I
often think of the good times
and good friends of my days
in the Webster Methodist
Church.
The women ot the church
called their organization The
Ladies Aid Society (now the
United Methodist Women).
The group met once a month
in the home of one of their
members. I can just see them
walking down River Road to
my mother's home. For other
meetings they climbed the
red clay hill to Webster. They
had several good times.
The ladies sponsored ice
cream, box and oyster suppers
. These community
events were well attended
and provided fun and enter tainment
for young and old.
These parties were one of the
ways the ladies raised money
for their special projects such
as church and parsonage
repairs. They really were
aides to the church.
Prepa ring welcoming
meals and directing the
" pounding" of a new minister
was another of the ladies' activities.
They always had din-ner
or supper ready for the
family and saw that it was
supplied with staples - a
pound of this and a pound of
that.
Some of the ladies I
remember include Lela
Moore, Eugenia Allison, Lillie
Broyles, Lillie Rhinehart,
Hannah Hall , Dean Frizzell,
Laura Moore, Gracie Hall
Brown, Ella Davis , Nora
Coward, Mattie McKee, Mag
Nicholson, Sallie McConnell,
and of course my mother,
Minnie Wild.
Mr. Lewis Broyles was Sunday
school superintendent
and was loved by all
Professor Robert Lee
Madison was one of the Sunday
school teachers. He
would teach the class with
tears running down his
cheeks.
Uncle Andy Allison would
sit in his pew during
preaching. He would get so
excited that he would shake
all over, but he never uttered
a sound.
My father, Jake Wild, Uncle
John Wild, and Mr.
George McConnell were
faithful church attenders
from our side of the river.
Page 4, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Summer, 1983
Webster Methodist Leaders Were
Coleman Hall, though he lived many years in
Mississippi, always supported Webster church.
Gracie Hall Brown, living in
Cullowhee, has continued her loyal·
ty to Webster church.
The Reverend and Mrs. Vero R. Masters
were in Webster in 193J.l933.
Eugenia Moore Allison and her daughter Ruth
were leaders in Sunday school and church.
Mr. and Mrs. Gene McCants
were entertained at a church
dinner in 1977. Sally McConnell
served the dinner.
Janet Highfill, daughter of the Reverend
and Mrs. T. G. Highfill, was three years
old when this photograph was taken in
the parsonage yard.
Rachel Hall in 1907 was Webster's oldest
church member.
Judge Walter E. Moore and his wife were
Webster church members.
Rachel McKee Hall and her husband, L.
C. Hall, brought their children up in the
Webster church.
Summer, 1983 HISTORIC WEBSTER, Page 5
Part of Many Community Events
The Reverend Dale Troutman
served Webster from 1979 until
1981.
Edith Moore Hall and Stella
Broyles Hall.
Mary Jane Fisher (Aunt
Molly), In 1939, was 90
yean old
Dr. and Mrs. Ernest A. Fitzgerald lead the Webster congregation in
1943-1948.
. .. - .;
j i:.~ t~: ·, 4
James W. Terrell was chairman
of the Board of Stewards
in 1907.
Lewis Cannon presided many
years as Sunday sc hool
superintendent.
Captain William A. Enloe was a long
time Webster church member and
church trustee.
Before Judge Felix E. Alley moved to
Haywood County he was a Webster
Methodist Church leader.
Lela Enloe Moore worked with
the Ladies Aid Society.
The Reverend G. A. Hovis
preached in Webster in 1936.
Lillian Gudenrath, Lily Broyles, and Mag
Hooker were church member s and
workers in the Ladies Aid.
Page 6, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Summer, 1983
Ministers Were
Life of Webster Village
By Lawrence C. Frizzell
Only a few of the Webster
Methodist Church ministers
are clearly remembered by
me, but two come distinctly to
mind.
I do not remember the first
one at all, but my parents
must have thought highly of
him because they named me
for him, my middle name being
Cordell. That is all I know
of him. (L. T. Cordell served
Webster in 1886-1888.)
The next one is also indistinct
in my mind. His name
was Richards or something
like that. (Could have been J .
S. Ragan, 1900-1901). He used
to ride a very spirited gray
horse when he came to visit
us. I used to think that horse
was about to run away or
throw his rider every time he
came around. That made me
admire him tremendously,
because in those days a good
horseman was something to
be admired.
The last two come clearly to
mind. The first was Mr. C. H.
Clyde, who served during the
early years of the century.
(1906-1908) He had two
daughters, Mabel and Helen,
who were very popular
among the students of our
new Webster school. Mr.
Clyde was a very ardent and
oratorical preacher, and put
on some spectacular performances.
One time he leaped
to the rail around the pulpit
and balanced himself there
for several seconds to emphasize
a point. On another
occasion he put on an impassioned
appeal to care for
those in need, ending each
sentence with "FEED MY
SHEEP" ! He loved to gather
a few of us boys around him
and pray for us. He did this in
the small barn back of the
parsonage instead of the
church, which always puzzled
me.
The fourth one was Mr. J .
A. Peeler. Again I don't
remember just when he served,
(1908-1910) but it was also
early in the century. As nearly
all other men in those days,
he chewed tobacco. And his
favorite "plug " was
"Browne's Mule", only he
pronounced the "mule" as if
it had two syllables, making it
sound like " mu-el" . He probably
had several children,
but I remember only one. His
name was John, and I rescued
him from drowning one day.
A bunch of us boys were
swimming in the river about
half way between the bridge
and the Hall house. There was
a big rock out in the river at
the upper end of the bend, and
another jutting out from the
bank at the lower end. The
water between the two rocks
was pretty deep and
dangerous for one who
couldn't swim. It was in this
deep stretch of water that
Walter Wild drowned in 1906.
John Peeler was one of the
boys swimming there that
day. I happened to be on the
rock at the lower end of the
hole when John started yelling.
We thought he was just
trying to kid us, but when I
looked up to where he was
about the middle of the deep
water I saw his face just as he
went under the water. There
was no question about his being
in trouble, so I dived in
and got to him just as he came
up and grabbed his arm and
started swimming for the
rock at the lower end. Just as
we got near the rock Frank
Coward got there to help, and
we got John up on the rock
and drained him. He was one
scared boy, and I never saw
him swim again. As we were
all probably swimming
without the permission
Historic Webster Vol. 1 No. 1
No full textHistoric Webster is a newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc., created at the Society’s founding in 1974. The publication helped to serve the Society's mission of collecting and preserving the history of Webster, North Carolina. Webster, established in 1851, was the original county seat for Jackson County.VOLUME I· NUMBER I
History of t6e
Historical Society
Webster is changing, not so much in appearance but
in attitudes toward toe small town. People who remember
or have learned about Webster's rich heritage are putting
its great potential all together - people, history, education,
recreation, preservation. Webster might have
became a plush new development, a commercial campground,
or nearly anything which would have changed the
character of its environment. Instead, Webster is to be
preserved as it is, with only adaptive restoration changes
that will maintain the present atmosphere and preserve
the spirit and quality of a charming historic village.
These changes began last year on February 15 when a
few interested townspeople met with Webster Town Coun.
cil members at Mayor Ray Baker's house. Betty Price
suggested appointing an Historic Sites Commission to study
the possibility of having Webster designated a State Historic
Site. The Town Council members - Roy Baker, Margie
Penland, Claude Cowan, Goldman Monteith, Louise Davis,
and Joe Rhinehart - approved the idea and appointed
Mildred Cowan chairman of the new Commission. Others
named were Louise Davis, Mary Morris, Kate Rhinehart,
Jack Morris, Jim Allman, Claude Cowan, and Betty
Price. Due to the efforts of this Commission Webster
is now on a list of proposed historic sites in North Carolina.
On March 5, six persons representing the Webster Town
Council and the Historic Sites Commission met with the
Jackson County Board of Education to ask for the Webster
Elementary School (which was vacated in December 1973'
as a result of consolidation of schools) to use as a community
center and town office building. They were told
they would be kept informed of progress toward that possibility.
The Webster Historical Society, Inc. was chartered
April lith as a fund-raising and promotional organization
for the preservation and restoration of Webster.
The first public interest meeting was held on Friday·
the thirteenth of April at the Webster Elementary School
sponsored by Southwestern Technical Institute and the
Webster Historic Sites Commission. Nearly 200 persons
attended the meeting to discuss the possibility of a preservation
- restoration project in the Town of Webster.
The Webster Elementary School cloggers opened the
evening with an exhibition of buck dancing. Exhibits
included an old-fashioned kitchen scene, Jack Hoyle splitting
boards, and pottery-making with Brant Barnes.
Sugar cookies and pound cakes from Historic Webster
recipes and lemonade were refreshments. At the churn,
homemade bread and Hattie Cowan's butter were available.
After a media presentation by Dorris Beck and Arlene
Stewart, the decision was made to undertake a preservation
project in Webster.
When the society organized in the tall, Betty Price
was elected president; Marilyn Jody, vice president;
Mary Morris, secretary; and Jim Simpson, treasurer.
Joe Rhinehart, Spencer Clark, !tichard Iobst, and John
Parris were elected to the Board of Directors. Members
of the Webster Town Council and of the Historical Society
met with representatives of Wachovia and First Union
National Banks of Sylva: Bruce Wike; chairman of the
Jackson County Board of Commissioners; and Jim Allman
·, Board of Education member for a buffet luncheon
at Canterbury Inn on December 10. The purpose of the
luncheon was to inform the county commissioners and
the Sylva banks of the fund raising plans of the society.
On December 3 and January 7, representatives of the
Historical Society and Town Council met with the Jackson
County School Board about purchasing the Webster school.
The School Board accepted an offer of 1,500 option will
be paid at the Board's February 4th meeting, the remainder
to be paid on or before July 10.
~
"If only we are faithful to our past, we shall not have to
fear our future." -John Foster Dulles
Webster, North Carolina
THE JACKSON COUNTY Courthouse in Webster
was the center of all county business until 1913.
This picture, taken in 1932, shows Ann Cowan in
the doorway.
Origins of ~ackson County
The history of Webster is the history of Jackson County,
for Webster served as the county seat from 1853 to 1913.
During that 60 year period, all official Jackson County
functions occured in Webster.
Jackson County came into being on January 29, 1851.
It was formed from parts of Haywood and Macon Counties,
which, before that date, were divided by the Tuckaseigee
River. Two Haywood County men, Michael Francis,
who served in the State Senate, and R.G.A. Love, who
served in the House, were largely responsible for the birth
of the county.
In 1850, the population of Haywood and Macon was
divided between Whig and Democrat factions. In order
to please both groups the county was named Jackson after
the popular Democrat . hero Andrew Jackson, and the
county seat was called Webster after the famous Whig
orator, Daniel Webster.
As Edgar H. Stillwell writes in "The Conquest of the
Carolina Frontier ,t' "the name of the new county was
to keep alive the memory of 'Old Hickory,' father and
founder of our Jacksonian Democracy; while the seat of
government for the new county was to honor that great
champion- of the Union of States - Daniel Webster."
On the third Monday in March, 1953, the final step
in the creation of Jackson County took place in a log
cabin built by the piontier Daniel Bryson in what is now
the Beta community. Here the first court ever held in
Jackson County convened with Judge John W. Ellis, later
Governor of North Carolina, presiding. At this meeting
the wheels of the new county were set in motion.
The commissioners who were appointed to select a
suitable place for the county buildings at first considered
locating the county seat where the second county court
was held, on the old Love farm near the County Home.
However, the hill just west of this place, on the right
bank of the Tuckaseigee River, was chosen to be the site
of the county seat.
A brick courthouse was built on this site in Webster
in 1854. Later a larger brick building was erected on
the site of the first one. This latter building, which
was made of bricks formed from Webster clay, wa"
used until 1913 when the county seat was moved to Sylva.
The building stood until the 1930's when it was torn down.
February 197 4
A fetter
3rom t6e President
Dear Preservationist Friends,
It was once the county seat. Nothing put on - a real,
living, breathing, working town that is simply making
history its industry. Historic Webster is the result of
a giant effort by the people of Jackson County who visualize
its ootential. The reclaimers are as heterogeneous
as a group of people you would ever hope to
meet- old and young, members of pioneer families who
have a strong heritage to share and newcomers attracted
by the quiet and gentle life of t~?e m?untains. . .
The Webster Historical SoCiety IS a non-prof1t orgamzation
supported principally by contributions and memberships.
Besides sponsoring preservation and adaptive
restoration, the Society is planning an oral history
collection. Think of it - tape-recordings of interviews
with senior citizens in Jackson County recalling the day
when Thon.as Edison and Henry Ford ·visited here; reminiscences
of the debate about moving the public buildings
from Webster to Sylva; tape-recordings of long-time
residents talking about the changes over the years;
school teachers discussing the changes in education.
One day-maybe soon-it will be possible to walk through
Historic Webster and see a fire in the blacksmith shop,
to see herb gardens and orchards; to visit the Museum
and Archives where you can push a button and see and
hear instant history.
All of this is possible because you are taking up
the challenge now. We've got to hurry and capture the
oral history we have left. Join today! Send your contribution
to Historic Webster for its 1-year, tax deductible
campaign to raise 5.00 yearly
Associate (outside Western N.C.): 10.00 yearly
Supporting: 30.00 yearly
Life: $100.00
All contributions are income tax deductible.
Page 2 HISTORIC WEBSTER February 1974
A Guide To The Map Of Webster
This drawing of Webster at the turn of the century
has been compiled by Betty Price, Through records,
ne·wspaper articles, and with the help of Claude Cowan,
Lily (Nanniehart) Rhinehart, Arthur Allman and Mildred
Cowarr,-the-JI'ap-has beefnlrawn up to simula:te Webster
around 1900.
The town well across from the Court House is the one
depicted in the HISTORIC WEBSTER banner. The well,
according to Nanniehart, was a gathering place for thirsty
travelers and their horses. Though the well has been
filled in, its cornerstones can still be seen next to the
Webster Post Office. ·
'!be Court House was built with red bricks from the
clay mine and brick plant across the river. The Webster
clay mine also supplied clay for dolls' heads and fine
china made in New Jersey,
The Wilde store, the two mills, and the homes on the
river were washed away in the flood of 1940, and the road
was rebuilt closer to the river, on the site of these
buildings.
Prize Given For Design
The Historic Webster bannerhead was designed and
drawn by Karen Moscowitz, a sophomore art student
at Western Carolina University, Prof. Ray Menze's
two-dimensional drawing classes took the newsletter bannerhead
as a class project, and the work of each student
was submitted to the Historical Society for review, Members
of the Historical Society Executive Committee chose
Moscowitz's work out of approximately 30 entries.
Moscowitz, who comes from Leona, New Jersey, will
be awarded five dollars by the Historical Society for her
efforts,
The Mountain View Hotel, ~athan Coward Hotel, drug
store, Tuckaseigee Bank, and Allison home were destroyed
in the fire of 1910. The Allison home has since been rebuilt
in its original style,
The map was drawn by Julie Blankenship, a student
at Southwestern Technical Institute.
If you have any additions or corrections to the map,
or if you can narrow down the date to a more specific
year, please write Betty Price, Drawer w, Webster, N.C.
28788. Any information about specific homes or buildings
will be welcomed.
In "Jackson County: Its Climate :and Natural Resources,"
a column in THE TUCKASEIGE DEMOCRAT, this siatement
appeared each week:
... "The water is pure, cool and sweet, and for household
purposes is taken from springs with which the county
abounds."
olie 'Oown of We6ster
around 1900
OJokbook
<.oll'hw...,
(_()\l)o."\
L...woH:
Will Provide
- Good Reading
A forthcoming Webster recipe book promises to provide
not only a cpllection of Webster's oldest and most
delicious dishes but also interesting reading and browsing
material.
The cookbook, which is currently being compiled by
Flossie and Joe Parker Rhinehart, will feature original
pen and ink drawings of people and places in Webster.
Character sketches of the donating cooks will accompany
some of the mouth-watering recipes, and Joe Parker is
compiling a series of "Growing Up In Webster" stories
written by Webster women of several generations. Mildred
Cowan, Mary Morris and other women who grew up in
Webster have been asked to contribute their accounts.
The recipes in the book were collected from cooks
in the area by Joe's mother, Kate Rhinehart. Flossie
Rhinehart will draw the pen and ink sketches.
The Rhineharts hope to have the cookbook completed
and on sale by mid-April. The recipe book is a fund
raising project of the Webster Historical Society, Inc,
Joe Parker Rhinehart, who grew up in Webster, and his
wife Flossie, who comes from Georgetown, Kentucky,
now live and teach school in Bethesda, Maryland, They
have worked with the historic preservation and restoration
of Murfreesboro, N.C., where they are restoring a home,
HISTORIC WEBSTER February 1974 Page 3
Nanniehart Recounts
Her Memories Of Webster
NANNIEHART in her earlier years. This photograph
was taken when she was about eighteen or
twenty years old.
Arthur Allman
Nanniehart was born Lily Cagle on August.
13, 1881. She and her husband, J. W. Rhinehart,
used to run the Mountam View Hotel
until it burned down in 1910. After that,
the Rhineharts managed hotels in Sylva and
Bryson City before they came home to Webster
and opened up the country store across
from the Court House.
Nanniehart got her nickname 34 years ago
when her grandson, Joe Parker Rhinehart,
was a baby whose ver sion of " Granny Rhinehart,
came out "Nanniehart/' Now there's
not a person in Webster who calls her
anything else.
As the oldest resident of Webster, Nanniehart
tells some colorful stories of the town
in its younger days. Of her school days,
she says, "I was raised out on a farm about
two miles from here, When I first went
to school I didn't come in to town. I went
to a country school. That was four months'
school. Later on they changed us to the
Baptist Church at the top of the river hill,
we'd go .ill_ven monthLout of the year.
in the summer, thy'd have what they
subscription school and I went to that.
That was when a teacher would come wantin'
to work in the summer and he'd char ge either
50¢ a week or 50¢amonth,Ican't remember .
But I went to school every chance I could
get up until I was 18. I would have kept
on then but my mother go~ sick and I had to
stay home."
Is Prize Storyteller
Arthur Allman has a story to tell about
practically every person or event he can
remember throughout his 89 years in Webster.
And he's even got some tales about
times he can't remember - like being born
on March 17, 1884.
His parents, Polk and Betty Allman lived
on the George Penland place at that time.
Dr. Candler was the doctor then, and he
was going to come deliver the baby, but,
as Arthur relates. "there come the awfullest
snow storm you ever saw. We had
a picket fence then, and the snow was banked
up all around it. I was born, my mother
said, at 5:00 in the morning, and of course
nobody could get there so the girl that was
staying with us and my father were the only
ones there when I was borno
"Now old llln Boone (no kin to lllniel
Boone) lived up in the house right above
us, When they shoveled out a trail, his
mother came lookin' around, and she saw
me and said, 'why, this baby's about froze
to death. ' Now her son llln wasn't much
older than I was, so she took me home and
nursed both of us until my mother could
take care of me. And it took three weeks
for my mother to get strong enough to take
me home.
"So, I had it rough from the time I come
into the world; I've had it rough and I'm
still having it rough."
Arthur describes Webster during his childhood
as ''a nice clean country town with
lots of nice people. The (Tuckaseigee)
River was a beautiful river then, clear as
a crystal, just as pure as any spring water
you could find. You could drink out of it
then, and now it's not even clean enough to
take a bath in. It was bigger in those days,
about four times as big as it is now. And
fish--that river was just loaded with fish."
The covered bridge in Webster was a
gather ing spot during rainstorms until sometime
in the nineteen-teens when it was torn
down. It, too, sparks a story by Arthur.
"That old bridge was covered and had
two windows on either side. It sheltered
many a person on a rainy day. Hunters would
go there to kill ducks. Back then there were
no lakes on the river, so there were lots
of ducks. Well, one bad rainy day when
Bill Henson was sheriff, old Henry Norman
and I wer e going to go hun tin ' and we were
standing under there because of the rain.
Henry had a new double-barrel gun and he
was mighty proud of that gun. Now they
were strict about taxes then; it's not like
it is now; if you didn't pay your taxes
they'd just come and take something you
owned until you did pay.
"Now the sheriff walked in and saw Henry
there with that gun, and asked him, 'Henry,
is that a good gun?' Of course, Henry was
proud of it and told him it was, and the
sheriff said, 'well, Henry,Inoticeyouhaven't
paid your taxes, so I'll just take the gun
until you pay it. • Poor Henry had to give
him the gun, and he didn't get to go huntin'
that day,"
~oin tfie Historical Society 'Godayl . "e The mailing list has been compiled from the Webster
township tax listings, the Sylva Herald out-of-county subscription
list, a list of Jackson County public school
teachers, the Western North Carolina Historical Society
membership list, WCU faculty and staff directory; the
Appalachian Consortium Board of Directors list and personal
lists from members of the Webster Historical
Society.
0
D
I want to be a Charter Member ~
If you know of anyone who would like to receive the
newsletter , please send the name and address to Drawer W,
Webster, North Carolina, 28788·.
The first three issues of HISTORIC WEBSTER will
be sent free to anyone interested in receiving them.
Further issues of the newsletter will be sent to all
members of the Webster Historical Society at no cost
other than membership dues.
D
My dues are enclosed
10
30
ll5,000
Plans call for the building to house the Webster Town payable on or before July 10. The Jackson County Board
Council offices, Historical Society Offices, a museum and of Education on January 9 agreed to accept the offer made
archives, a restaurant, a community theater, an
Teamroom Caverns: Looking at Learning in a Whole Language First/Second Multi-age Classroom
No full textHistoric Webster Vol. 8 No. 2
No full textHistoric Webster is a newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc., created at the Society’s founding in 1974. The publication helped to serve the Society's mission of collecting and preserving the history of Webster, North Carolina. Webster, established in 1851, was the original county seat for Jackson County.newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc.
VOLUME VIII, NUMBER 2 WEBSTER, NORTH CAROLINA SUMMER, 1982
W. N. Cook Served Town's Needs
By Joe P. Rhinehart
For years, a familiar
figure on the roads and hills
of Webster was the
Reverend W. N. Cook, the
minister of the town's Baptist
Church. Not only did he
minister to his own flock at
the church by the river, but
he was a minister to the entire
village. Not a person.
was ill, not a person died,
not a disaster struck that
Mr. Cook was not called in.
He was a partner to the joys
and sorrows of the village
for sixteen years.
William Newton Cook was
born June 28, 1878, in
Caldwell County, North
Carolina. His parents ,
farmers in the county's
Globe Township, were
Margaret Hartley and
WilliamS. Cook. W. N. Cook
was one of eight children,
six brothers, Mack, Todd,
Dan, Charles, Gaither, and
Jacob, and one sister Cora
Ann.
The Cook family lived the
life of the mountain farm
family, working the hillsides
for food to eat, sell, or
barter, raising cattle, providing
for most of their
physical needs through their
own hard work. For their
spiritual needs, as with most
of their neighbors, they attended
the Wilson Creek
Baptist Church. The father
was a deacon of Wilson
Creek and W. N., as the rest
of the family before him,
was baptized by the Minister
J. M. Payne into the faith on
a cold winter afternoon,
December 15, 1893, when he
was fifteen years old.
The Reverend W. N. Cook began his service in Webster as
leader of the Baptist Church in 1917.
Within years W. N. Cook
was licensed to preach by
Wilson Creek, made a
member of the Caldwell
Baptist Association, and on
December 20, 1903, at
twenty-five, just ten years
after he joined the church,
he was ordained a minister
of the Southern Baptist Convention.
During these ten years the
young Cook had spent four
years attending the Lenoir
Baptist College and
Dear Frie nd :
Your sympathy and co-opera
ti o n durin g our soj o urn amo n g
you has been hi gHy a?pre ciated
for which y o u have o ur thanks.
May b!euin gs r e s t upon you
t his e ntire year .
Let us know your j oys, your
sorr ow s, y our n e e d s that w e
may b e able t.o h ~ lp y o u at any
time. Yo ur humble pas t o r,
W. N. COOK.
Business Institute and had
on October 13, 1898, married
Mary Lezinka Bean, the
daughter of E. C. and
Emeline Bush Bean of
Burke County.
The Cooks were soon immersed,
not just in their
church work, but into the job
of raising a family, and
within the years that followed
they became the parents
of nine children. They were
the twins, Dan and Margaret
(Applewhite), three other
sons, John Earl, William
Lee, and James Judson, and
three four more girls, Mary
Ann (Briggs J, Minnie
Elizabeth (Nipper), Grace
Pauline (Mathis), and Eula
Beatrice.
The early churches that
the Reverend and Mrs. Cook
served , and it was a
cooperative effort, with
Mrs. Cook serving as
organist, Sunday School
teacher, and missionary
society leader, were rural.
In those days, in the mountain
area, a minister did not
pastor just a church, but he
traveled to several ,
preaching several Sunday
sermons and leading
numerous church and community
events.
The early Cook churches
were Mountain Grove,
Blanes, Fork, and Sardis in
Carta. By 1911 they were
working with the Hickory
and West Hickory, the
Penelope, and the Brushford
Baptist Churches, all in
Caldwell and Catawba counties.
In 1916, the Cooks moved
to Jackson county and they
took over the leadership of
the Scotts Creek Church.
During this first tour of the
county, the Reverend Cook
not only served the Scotts
Creek Church, but from
September 1917 to December
1918 he ministered to the
Baptists of Webster.
The Webster Baptist
Church had been founded in
December 30, 1854, only
three years after the county
and its county seat,
(
Webster, had been established.
The years 1917-1918
would be Mr. Cook's first
(Continued on Page 4)
Mrs. Cook Helped
Minister Husband
By Mildred Cowan
"Miss Lillian" Stillwell
Coo was born March 28,
1874. She was one of two
daughters born to Richard
Siler and Martha Allman
Stillwell of Webster. She
died May 8, 1948.
Miss Lillian was educated
at Cullowhee Normal
School , now Western
Carolina . University. She
taught for many years in the
Jackson County public
schools system. Most of
those years, and possibly all
of them, were in the Webster
Elementary School. According
to records in the Jackson
Cuonty Board of Education
she retired in 1922. "Miss
Lillian" was a strict
disciplinarian, but she did it
in such a manner that her
students respected and loved
her.
"Miss Lillian's" first love
was her church. She taught
the adult ladies Sunday
School class for years ; they
would have no one else for
their teacher . She also
organized one of the first
Women's Missionary Society
at Webster and was president
of that organization until
she could no longer carry
on the work. After she
became too ill to attend any
church services she would
sit in the living room of her
home and watch, and even
count, the people coming to
church.
After " Miss Lillian's"
teaching experience she
married the Reverend W. N.
Cook, who came to pastor
the Webster Baptist Church
and had become a widow
some two years before. She
was his faithful wife and a
good mother to his young
children, James and the
twins, Dan and Margarget.
The older Cook children
were able to care for
themselves by that time.
The Reverend Cook was
pastor of the church sixteen
years and they lived next
door to the church until her
death.
Mrs. Cook had four
brothers . They were
Ephrim, a lawyer ; Edgar,
who taught in the history
and English departments at
Western Carolina University
; and Charles and Iverson
who were farmers . Her
sister was Hattie Stillwell
Bryson who moved with her
husband to Alabama.
Page 2, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Summer, 1982
Mr. Cook's Hymns
IN HIS NAME
THE PREFACE TO
IN HIS NAME,
BY REV. W. N. COOK
Published By
The Teachers Music
Publishing Company
Hudson, North Carolina
strong in the Lord, and in
the power of His might,
and that all who sing
these songs may be stirred
to a pure devotion to
the glorious gospel of the
Son of God.
This little song book,
"In His Name," is respectfully
dedicated to
all workers in the spiritual
harvest.
It is hoped that whereever
it may go and into
whose hands it may fall,
that it will be "In His
Name."
The chief desire of the
author is that it may be
the means of leading a
part of the teeming millions,
to the foot of the
Cross, and of helping any
who are weak to be
This little work is sent
forth In His Name, may
the Lord accompany it
with His divine blessings,
and God shall have all the
praise.
Hickory, NC 1916
FOLLOW JESUS
Follow Jesus at His word
Oft His mandates you have heard
With an humble heart fill the truth today
In life's pathway walk anew
As it is revealed to you
Be baptized since all your sins
He's washed away.
Chorus: Follow Jesus, follow Jesus, let His wondrous
Mercy, be no more disguised
Follow Jesus, follow Jesus
In the presence of the world
Oh be baptized!
Follow Jesus and obey
Ne'er from His example stray
If you're grateful for His mercy
Make it known
Wondrous blessing you will lose
If His bidding you refuse
Be baptized. Your gracious Savior
Gladly own.
Follow Jesus pardoned one.
Sacred duty never shun
If you love Him as you should
No longer pause
Felling 'til a solemn rite
With a spirit now contrite
Strong in faith go be baptized
As Jesus was.
THEY ARE WAITING FOR ME
They are waiting for me, o'er the shadowy sea
In the home on the deathless shore
There I'll meet them again, free from trials and pain
When my journey 'mid earthly scenes is o'er.
Chorus : They are waiting for me over there
Cherished friends who have gone from my side
They are waiting for me over there
Where the ransomed with Jesus abide.
They are waiting in light, on which falleth no night
In the beautiful land of God
And with them I shall sing praise to Jesus
Our King, who to save us a path of sorrow trod.
We shall speak no farewell by and by when we dwell
Where no parting is ever known
And there be no alloy in our infinite joy
When united we stand before the throne.
Pages from th
The Reverend W. N. Cook married Mary Lizinka Bean in 1898. They
came 1o Webster in 1917 for one year and returned in 1929. Mrs. Cook was
the daughter of E. C. and Emeline Bush Bean.
Mr. and Mrs. W. N. Cook were the parents of nine children. The family is shown with four of them (
right) Mary Ann, Minnie, John, and William Lee.
Summer, 1982, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Page 3
reCooks' Family Scrapbook
left to
Mr. Cook's second wife was Miss Lillian Stillwell, the
daughter of Martha Allman and Richard Siler Stillwell of
Webster.
You Are Co rdially Invited
To The Service•
:11 the
HAMBURG BAPTIST CHURCH
Preachi n-g Ench lsi and 3 rd Sunday Morcing
Sur.day Sobool Each Sundaoy , 10 A.M.
W . N . COOK. PASTOR
Elinor Cleveland West was the Reverend W. N. Cook's third
wife. Miss Nellie was the daughter of W. B. and Estelle Bailey
Cleveland. She was a teacher, banker, and Highlands
postmaster. In 1960 Mrs. Cook was the Macon County
representative to the North Carolina General Assembly.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
LOWELL BAPTIST CHURCH
Sunday School
Men's Bible Class
(Redmen's Hall)
10:00 a. m.
9:45a. m.
Worship Every Sunday 11:00 a. m.
Evening Worship 7:30p.m.
Prayer Meeting Wednesday 7:30 p. m.
W. M. S. Thursday 7:30 p. m.
(Before the Fourth Sunday)
Other Services Announced From The Pulpit
AIM-- Three Hundred in Sunday School
Page 4, HISTORIC WEBSTER, Summer, 1982
Reflections
by Janice Monteith Blanton
Mrs. Pearl Madison
Neatness and pretty
clothes, a beautiful smile,
piano playing, and a prim
walk are among the characteristics
that come to mind
when I think of Mrs. Pearl
Madison, my former neighbor,
teacher, friend, and
supporter.
My first recollection of
Mrs. Madison is that every
time Nell (Ensley Bryson)
and I saw her come out of
her house to walk up the
street to the post office or
store, we made every effort
to fall in behind her, at a
reasonable distance , of
course, to mimic her walk.
We were just kids - preschool
and early elementary
- and we thought she had
the most fascinating walk of
anyone around and that if we
could just learn to walk a little
like her, we'd have it
made. We thought she never
knew why we were shadows
in the distance as she went
up and down Webster's main
street; I wonder now if she
really did.
Aside from Mrs .
Aside from teaching, and
she did an excellent job, she
also played the role of
"social and music chairman"
for both elementary
and high school activities.
Any time the weather was
too bad to go outside, Mrs.
Madison always vivaciously
found " inside fun" for us.
She was a fantastically energetic
pianist and we could
always depend on her to
play lively songs for us to
sing. The nicest thing about
her was that she always
seemed to have as much fun
as we did. With bubbling enthusiasm,
she always sang
along and could be easily
persuaded to "sing another
one." We'd even dance once
in a while ; however, that activity
was apt to be quickly
followed by a visit from one
of the local preachers who
would promptly point out the
error of our ways and
there'd be no dancing for a
few months.
beauties of algebra with us.
But there was just no way
she convince me ; to me,
"pie are round, cornbread
are square."
Over the years, in various
psychology courses, I've
studied "Modeling" - that
is, that young people tend to
model themselves after certain
adults whom they admire.
Obviously, Mrs. Madison,
as did many others of
my Webster acquaintances
about whom I've written,
had a significant positive influence
on my life as I grew
up in Webster. Truly, she, no
doubt, served as a motivator
in my interest in art, music,
pretty clothes and many
other things. She was a good
role model for me and many
other Webster young people.
As I was growing up,
Webster was full of excellent
role models after whom we
could pattern our lives. We
were very lucky to have
around us adults who believed
in us and encouraged us
in every possible way. I hope
the present generation of
Webster youngsters are
equally fortunate .
Minister Guided
By Mr. W. N. Cook
By Ernest A. Fitzgerald
Nearly forty years ago I
arrived in the lovely
Webster Community as the
new Methodist minister.
Still in college and i!.l my
teens, I knew so little about
my task. Down the hill from
our parsonage lived a
remarkable man , the
Reverend W. N. Cook. Mr.
Cook was the Baptist
minister but was known and
loved across the mountain
country as one of God's
great souls. I sensed in him
a friend who would guide a
boy preacher on his way. We
spent many hours together.
Somehow we never knew
that we were separated by
denominations. We worked
side by side, and I profited
by this man's great wisdom.
To Mr. Cook I am a debtor.
An Old Testament write
once said, "And a man shall
be as a hiding place from the
wind, a shelter in the
tempest, a covert in the
storm, and as a rock in a
weary land." I once knew a
man like that. His name was
W. N. Cook.
Dr. Fitzgerald is now the
senior minister of West
Market Street United
Methodist Church ,
Greensboro.
Be Thou My Guide
By W. N. Cook
Be Thou my guide, 0 Jesus
mine,
The waves of sin, are
whirling fast.
And threaten to o'er power
me.
Be Thou my guide, til strife
is past.
T'is all that I ask be Thou
my guide,
0 keep in paths, where
Thou hast trod.
And bear me safely, o'er
death 's cold tide
Grant this, 0 Thou,
eternally God.
Madison's interesting gait,
we thought she had to be
about the prettiest lady
around ; she was always
very neat and had lovely
clothes. I don't think I ever
saw her, even in the early
hours of the morning, when
she wasn't dressed like
she'd come out of a mind
box, immaculate from head
to toe. Her hair always looked
as if she'd just come from
the hair dresser, and her
dresses, or skirts, were always
meticulously clean
and pressed. She represented
my and Nell 's idea of a
model whom we'd like to
look like when we grew up.
The Webster school
chorus functioned under the
leadership of Mrs. Madison.
She was both director and
pianist, which, to anyone but
her, would have been an impossible
task. Those in the
chorus never observed any
frustration on her part about
the dual role. With a bright
smile and a gleam in her
eyes, she could encourage us
to do about anything. I know
she was a master of persuasion
because one year she
talked me into singing the
high soprano of the "Lord's
Prayer" in a duet for a baccalaureate
service - all of
you who know me personally
know that my voice is so low
and deep I should have been
singing bass instead!
Cook Served Webster
In later years, when we
were students at Webster
School, Mrs. Madison continued
to play an important
role in our lives. She was the
eighth grade teacher there
as long as I can remember.
When the Sylva-Webster
High School was built she
taught there until she retired.
At school, no doubt,
she influenced many young
girls to take pride in their
dress and appearance, as
she did Nell and me.
There was one thing
though that Mrs. Madison
never did manage to persuade
me to believe. and
that was 71' r ... In the eighth
grade I had my first introduction
to algebra, and
I'm afraid I was a source of
woe to Mrs. Madison. I
argued a lot over the logic
(or lack of logic as I saw it)
of algebra . Mrs. Madison
even asked Mr. Ernest
Penland, our principal, to
come in and discuss the
(Continued from Page 1)
term in Webster but he
would return for two other
tours with the Webster Baptists
and fix himself almost
permanently in the town's
life.
During the years 1916-1921
Mr. Cook became the first
missionary of the
Tuckasegee Baptist
Association. A missionary
for a local association is, in
effect, the director of the
complete activities of the
association. As part of his
work with the churches he
founded The Tuckasegee
Baptist, the association's
newspaper, to keep the far
flung and hard-to-get-to
church's information.
During the same years the
Reverend Cook did not limit
his missionary work to
Jackson county, but he served
Western North Carolina
as a member of the State
Mission Board. The Cooks
also founded the area's first
Baptist Training Union.
Mrs. Cook passed away in
1921. Mr. Cook moved to
Murphy for a year and in
1922 he married Miss Lillian
Stillwell of Webster, the
daughter of Richard S. and
Martha Allman Stillwell.
Together the Cooks moved
east to Lowell. Again Mr.
Cook had found a perfect
partner for his profession
and his life. "Miss Lillian"
managed his home, reared
his children, and assisted his
ministry. In pamphlets and
church notices her picture
appeared beside his as his
equal in the operation of
their churches. Mter three
years in Lowell and four
years in Kings Mountain,
the Cooks returned to
Webster, familiar ground
for Mr. Cook and home to
Mrs. Cook. The Cook would
not leave the mountains
again. From 1929 until 1943
they led the congregation of
the Webster Baptist Church
and ministered to the
physical and spiritual needs
of the village. The Reverend
Cook gave up the Webster
Church after fourteen years,
in 1943, but the Cooks did not
leave Webster. For the next
five years they served churches
across Jackson and
Haywood counties, including
Webster, 1945.
In May of 1948 Mrs. Cook
died and in December Mr.
Cook married Macon county
businesswoman Nellie West.
Mr. Cook closed his Webster
home soon after that and
moved to Mrs. Cook's home
in Franklin. He no longer
held a pulpit but he continued
with his lifelong profession
of the ministry. He
led revivals, taught classes,
performed ceremonies,
always involved in the life of
his church and community.
He passed away in Franklin
in 1958.
/'Y'\. HISTORIC~
WEBSTER
Summer , 1982 Webster, North Carolina 28788
Editor : Joe P. Rhinehart
Contributors : Janice Monteith Blanton, Mildred Cowan,
Ernest A. Fitzgerald, Jenny Hunter, Minnie Cook Nipper ,
Florence S. Rhinehart, Joe W. Rhinehart.
Published quarterly by the Webster Historical Society and
printed by the Her ald Publishing Company, Sylva, North
Carolina
Historic Webster Vol. 1 No. 2
No full textHistoric Webster is a newsletter of the Webster Historical Society, Inc., created at the Society’s founding in 1974. The publication helped to serve the Society's mission of collecting and preserving the history of Webster, North Carolina. Webster, established in 1851, was the original county seat for Jackson County.a newsletter of t~e we6ster ~istorical societr
VOLUME I NUMBER 2 Webster, North Carolina
THE MOUNTAIN VIEW HOTEL IN WEBSTER
1885 Hotel Register 9s 9nteresting 9tem
A remnant of the Webster Hotel in 1885 still
exists in Jim Simpson's home in Webster. Here
the hotel register for the years 1885 and 1886 is
housed.
The Webster Hotel was one of two hotels in the
town at that time. The proprietor was F .A. Luck,
who also owned the Penland House hotel in what is
now Cantono
The Webster Hotel stood in the lot between Courthouse
Square and the Methodist Church. It was later
known as the Mountain View Hotel and the Leatherwood
Hotel, and was run at different times by Virge
Brown, the Leatherwoods and Joe and Lily Rhinehart
until the fire of 1910 destroyed it. '
Jim Simpson obtained the hotel register from Tally
Jones of Atlanta, a nephew of the late Miss Sadie
Luck whose home stands in Sylva.
The first date listed in the register, January 4,
1885, shows that two persons stayed in the hotel.
These guests were O.B. Coward, Webster, and Lee
Hooper, county. A total of 13 registered during January,
1885, hailing from Charleston, N.C • (later
B:yson City), Baltimore, Md., Atlanta, Knoxville,
Rtchmond, Colorado, New York, Asheville, Marion
and Franklin.
These people came by rail and by horse, The
railroad from Asheville to Murphy had been completed
one year earlier, and though the railroad bypassed
Webster, there was horse and buggy transportation
from Sylva to Webster, Court was held in Webster
twice a ye;u-, and most likely the majority of guests
were in town torthis purpose.
The Webster Hotel had a barn for keeping horses,
and served three meals a day, I.n the "remarks"
column of the register, there are numerous entries
marked "horse." Another column.has entries marked
''D," ''S," and ''B," denoting which m~ls, dinner,
supper or breakfast, the guests wanted. For instance,
a Mr, Fowler of New York who registered June 10
1885, requested "B at 5 1/2 sharp." '
The guest list included persons from East LaPort
Cullowhee, Caney Fork, Cashiers Valley, Hamburg:
Sylva, Quallatown, Moses Creek, and many from
Webster.
Many of them were in the county seat on busi':'
ess, and. travel on horseback or wagon made staymg
overnight at a hotel a necessity, When court
was in session, it was common for the jury to stay
overnight in the same hotel, so they would not discuss
the cases with anyone. At the turn of the century
the jury stayed regularly at the Nathan Coward House
next door to the Webster (then Mt. View) Hotel, according
to Jane Coward. Perhaps in 1885the jury stayed
at the Webster Hotel.
l.n some of the latter entries of the register,
notations of charges are listed. At that time it apparently
cost not more than 75¢ to stay overnight.
There are many listings of 25¢ and 75¢, but the
register does not show whether the figures denote
meals or room or both. An Asheville man "and
four" with driver and horse was charged 200,000; to bring you the HISTORIC
WEBSTER newsletter; to plan for the July 4th events; ·
to publish a cookbook. in the spring; to plan house tours
of restored homes m Jackson County; to organize a
th.eatr~ group; open a country store; to involve Young
H1stor.ans all over Jackson County in gathering the
County's history; and to keep you informed through
th~ local news services, Some of the various committees
are long and others short on volunteers
This project is alive and growing. Curious? Inter:
ested? Concerned? Join!
MARCH 1974
'Jirst Qeneral Meeting
Attracts farge Crowd
Ov.:er 300 persons attended the !irst general meeting
of the Webster Historical Society on February 15.
Held at the Webster School, the meeting included the
election of officers, adoption of the by-laws, setting
of the goals for fund-raising, and the approval of
plans for the July 4 celebration.
Preceding the meeting was a membership and
fund raising dr_ive, in which 75 new charter members
joined, donating a total of almost ll3,500 . by July 10 and ll3 500
will be used to pay for the Webster School and the
additional 5 or be placed in "jail" for
not wearing a mustache or turn-of-the-century costume
to the July 4th event.
The society's by-laws, previously approved by the
Board of Directors, were approved and accepted by
the general meeting.
Honorary memberships were voted for Alice
Harrill, editor of the HISTORIC WEBSTER news·
letter and Mack Sarvis, director of a video tape
documentary and a slide -sound narration of Webster
Following the business session, the meeting ad:
journed to old fashioned refreshments and a showing
oi the video tape show on Webster made by students
at Camp Laboratory School. An oral history slide
show of western North Carolina by Bill Weaver was
shown, and bluegrass music was presented by Eric
Olsen and Bill Mcintyre,
Audiovisual Shows
To Be Available
A slide-sound narrative of Webster's history
will soon be available to schools, clubs and organizations
for viewing, Compiled by Mack Sarvis, a grad•
uate student at WCU, the show will feature old and
ne~ slides o~ Webster and Jackson County with nar•
ratiOn by residents who recall its history,
Under. Sarvis' direction, students at Camp Laboratory
High School have made a video tape documen•
~ry of ~ebster, including a tour of homes, and inter•
views With three of the oldest residents • Arthur
Allman, Lily Rhinehart, and Lucy Morgan. ·
Those involved in the high school television production
include Barbie Arney, Dawn Davis Larry
Arney, Manda Litchiord,KathyPeterson, DanF~xworth,
Meg Stuart, Robert Brown, Jeff Wilson D:>n.na Kiser
and stephanie Robinson. '
The video tape program has been shown to classes
at the school, the Camp Lab PTA the Kiwanis Club
and the Historical Society general m'eeting on February
15, .
. The sli~e show and the video tape documentary
!"ill be. available for showings to clubs and schools
m April. Those wishing to borrow either of these
programs should write Dr. Marilyn Jody, Drawer
W, Webster, N,C.~
Page 2 lllSTORIC WEBSTER March 1974
R. L. Madison: A Pedagogue Comes To The Highlands
When the subject of the growth of education in
western North Carolina arises, invariably comes with
it the name Robert L. Madison. The founder of what
is now Western Ca;·olina University and a resident
of Webster, Madison probably did more toward educating
the mountain people than did any other one
person in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Robert Lee Madison was born in Lexington, Virginia,
in 1867, and spent his childhood days on the
campuses of Washington and Lee University and Virginia
Military Institution. As a small boy, he was
bounced upon the knee of General Robert E. Lee.
His father, Colonel R. L. Madison, was General Lee's
personal physician and school surgeon for VMI.
· Madison first came to North Carolina at the urging
of his older brother, who had become captivated by
the N.C. mountains and people. Referring to western
North Carolina as the "Land of Promise," Monro
Madison prevailed uoon his younger brother to come
and assume his position at QuallaSchoolwithProfessor
William A, LOng.
So Robert Madison arrived in Quallatown in 1885,
just after completing a three month teaching apprenticeship
in Tennessee. Fifty years later, when he was
writing his biography, "EXPeriences of a Pedagogue
in the Carolina Highlands," he referred to his coming
to Qualla on "temporary assignment" as an excellent
example of one of those "seeming accidents"
producing "determinative effects."
Madison spent two years at Quallatown, teaching
an average of forty students everything from basic
writing and reading skills to algebra, grammar and
Latin.
At that time, most schools were only open for
two or three months a year. Professor Madison
saw that these schools would never be able to attract
and keep teachers. The pay, 20 to $25 for men, was certainly not appealing
to young teachers, most of whom left to go to long ,
Charlotte Young
Speaks of Webster
Miss Charlotte Young, a long time teacher in
western North Carolina, was principal of the Webster
School and tau~ht there for three years beginning in the
fall of 1914. 'There's nothing I'd prefer to talk about
more than Webster," she says. "Of all my long
years of experience as a teacher, my three years
spent there were the happiest teaching years of my
life.,''
"Webster was the most delightful town that I
ever lived in. The people were a little sad and dis•
appointed over the loss of Webster as the county
seat. The railroad had come through, and by some
strange circumstance it was routed over to Sylva
and then it was easy to get Sylva as the county seat.
Well, there stood the courthouse and the people bewa!
led the fact that they were no more the county seat,
which they had been from time immemorial, almost.
"One person who worked_so hard to keep_ Webster
as the county seat was Professor Robert L, Madison.
He came home on vaction from a government job
in Washington be had at the time so he could fight the
movement to make Sylva the county seat. With all
his wonderful characteristics, he was a scholar, a
gentleman and a Christian Q - time would slip up
on him sometimes, and he was so interested in working
for Webster that he overstayed his vacation and lost
his job in Washington. And so there was a short
while there that he was out of a job.
"Anyway, the second year I was there, Baxter
Jones, the other high school teacher, ran for state
legislature and was elected, so when they met in
January, Mr. Jones had to go and we were lucky
enough to get Professor Madison for a little while
as substitute, So I had the marvelously beautiful
eXPerience of teaching with Professor Madison that
spring until Mr. Jones came back. He was a marvelous
teacher, a Christian gentleman and it was a delight
to work with him.
"His wife, Ella Richards Madison, also taught
there, which made six teachers for the entire school.
She taught music and art rather on her own, but we
considered her a member of the faculty. Largely
due to her efforts, Webster High School won second
prize in a contest of all the high schools in western
North Carolina, because the booklets and drawings
that were exhibited had been made beautiful by her
students.
"The real matriarch of the . town was Aunt Hattie
Allison. She and her husband Uncle Andy lived in
the cottage next to the Tomkins home,
"She had her own peculiarities. I first met her
as I was walking along the street and someone said,
term schools out of western North Carolina. The
need for a long term school in the area which would
be supported by more than just public taxes seemed
to Madison to be not only logical but urgent.
Madison's crusade for better schools began in
the spring of 1886 in the Qualla community but progress
was slow and Madison left in early 1888 to go to Sylva.
In Sylva, Madison worked as a teacher in the
village school and as editor of the county paper, the
TUCKASEIGEE DEMOCRAT. Hedividedhisdaybetween
classroom and newspaper duties. All nights except
Friday were spent in school work. Friday nights
were given to the literary society at the public hall.
At the beginning of the fall of 1888, Madison had
subscribed to several leading educational journals,
and before the fall term was over he had organized
a group of practice teachers. "As far as I know this
was the first attempt ever made to do practice teaching
in this country," he wrote. It was on a small
scale and participation was voluntary.
Madison stayed at Sylva, with but one intention -
that of starting a public school. Here he became
impressed with the need for a permanent institution
in this mountainous section, an institution which would
not only give · the young people a better foundation
for their future vocations, but would also answer the
acute need for preparing teachers for county and
village schools.
The N.C. General Assembly of 1889 had abolished
the then existing eight normal schools and had provided
instead for teacher's institutes to be held annually
in each county. The teacher's institute in Webster
in 1889 led to the turning point in Professor Madison's
lifeo
Under the direction of Coleman Cowan of Webster,
thirty teachers considered practical matters of
methods, organization and discipline. While attending
the institute, Madison won the close friendship and
admiration of Professor Edward P, Moses, superintendent
of the Raleigh schools. At the close of the
workshop Madison was invited to teach with him as
an assistant in Raleigh.
Madison wished to remain in the mountains and
start a permanent school in Webster or Cullowhee,
but since there were no immediate openings at the
time, he decided to go to Raleigh.
He was writing his acceptance letter, to be put
on the east bound train in a matter of minutes, when
Lewis J. Smith of Cullowhee entered his office and
asked him to come to Cullowhee, meet the people
and decide on opening a school there.
At Cullowhee, arrangements were made at once
for him to begin teaching the following week.
"Accordingly, in an unfinished, unpainted frame
building, unfurnished except for some rude benches
and a blackboard, I began what is now Western Carolina
Teacher's College, with eighteen students," he
wrote in 1938. In October, 1889, his sister was called
to instruct the primary children. By the end of the
first term the enrollment had risen to one hundred
students.
In July, 1890, in response to Madison's call,
teachers of western North Carolina met in Waynesville
and formed the Western North Carolina Teacher's
Association.
The 1890-1891 school term opened with a staff
of tl\ree - Madison as priiiC!pai, Miss Ella v. Richards
as instructor in music and art, and Miss May Bell
Cooper as primary teacher. Miss Richards, of Galveston,
Texas, and Madison were married in November,
1891.
In 1891 the state chartered the school as Cullowhee
High School and in 1893 the bill was amended.
Thus the normal department was put under state care.
After Cullowhee became state supported, it prospered
as had not been possible with only local support.
It advanced from a high school to a junior college,
to a four-year teacher's college, to Western Carolina
College, and now is a university - all because
of the initial efforts of Robert L. Madison.
THE WEBSTER SCHOOL AROUND 1905
'I want to meet you Miss Young,' And after I spoke
to her she said, 'You'll have to excuse me, Miss
Young, I can't come out to the sidewalk because
I'm afraid of worms. • At a certain season of the year,
caterpillars were all around the place searching for
a place to weave a cocoon, and she was allergic to
these 'worms.' That made her more interesting to
me.
"She. was one of the best backers I ever had for
school, Whatever Aunt Hattie said, went for all her
nieces and nephews and great nieces and great nephews
and all the other young people in town. Aunt Hattie's
word was a bond, and it was a command though she
said it so gently. She backed me up and advertised me
to the schoolchildren. And discipline was no problem
whatever in that school.
''I never used corporal punishment but one time
and that was just a pretense. One little boy said,
'Miss Young I'd like to get off this Friday afternoon,
You know I live with my grandfather and he wants me
to come pul: fodder.' I wonder if anyone who reads
this will ren.ember pulling fodder, Old schools used
to stop while they pulled fodder, that is, pulled the
leaves off the corn stalks before the frost to feed
to the cattle and horses in the winter. I said, 'I'll
tell you, Kimsey, one thing, are you telling me the
truth?'
'Yes 1IDo1
I said, 'One thing's sure, I promise you a little
switching if you're telling me a story, and I'll find
out.'
'No m'am, Miss Young, it's so; he wants me/
"Well, sure enough I found out from his grandpa,
who said, 'No , he ran away. I never told him.'
Well, he came back Monday, and he looked at me, I
looked at him, and when I got a chance of quiet time,
I said, 'Kinsey, do you remember what I told you,
that I promised you a whipping?' I said, 'I haven't
had to whip anyone here; I haven'thadto punish anyone,
but I am going to have to do it because you told me
a story..' He said, 'Yes'rn, I told you a story/
"I got a little switch about 2 feet long, and went
through the motion of touching his coat with it a little
bit but that was the only corporal punishment or
really severe punishment.
"I didn't have to discipline those people. They
did what I said. And I said it kindly and friendly,
If there ever was a school that gave the teacher heaven
on earth it was there, Webster High School.
"As the old mountain saying goes: them was
the days. Now I don't bemoan the good old days that
have passed, but I do believe in honoring what was
good then, and I would put up Webster School and
(TURN TO PAGE FOUR)
A Jack of All Trades
Amos Jack Hoyle, blacksmith, logger, board splitter
and yarn-spinner grew up on Blanton Branch, in the
Ochre Hill section of Jackson County, Going strong
since 1892, Mr. Hoyle is one of the most entertaining
story-tellers around. At the Webster Historical Society
meeting on February 15, Mr. Hoyle was asked to tell
his story about the Missouri cabbages. To the delight
of those attending, Mr. Hoyle .told the following tall
tale:
"A drummer from Missouri came through the
Willets section once and stopped his team under the
shade of a tree and saw John Sanford hoeing his cabbages.
The drummer told him it didn't look like his
cabbages would make anything--that back in Missouri
they grew cabbages so big you could drive a
team under a leaf to get out of a storm. Uncle John
Sanford told him it was just a hobby--that he spent
most of his life in a foundry. He got the drummer's
mind off the cabbages and told him that in the foundry
they poured a pot that when they put the handles on
it you couldn't hear them hammer from one side
to the other. The drummer said, 'What on earth did
they build a pot that big for?' John Sanford told him
it was to cook those Missouri cabbages in."
"They had a trial at morning recess, to try to
find out who did it, you see. There was two grown
women there-there's one of them living yet, Bill
Sutton's mother, Ethyl Snyder at that time-and Etta
Robinson. They was grown women and they said it
lay between . me and Ransom Blanton, They was
telling the truth, but how they knowed it I don't know.
"But they had no evidence you know. Uncle Ben
said it couldn't have possibly been. He said he whupped
us out of the creek right off from the school house
and brought us to school. But he said if he found out
who done it, he'd lick them if it was the last day of
school.
"And they had a little entertainment the last night
of the school and I hollered and told him. I got in
the door where I could run, you know, and I told
him who done it. I knew he wouldn't be back the
next year. And then I went home and my daddy
beat the dickens out of me!" It was Mr. Hoyle's
tales of Jackson County--its countryside and its people-
and the building of their log cabin that led Betty
and Marilyn to start thinking about ways to preserve
the history they had learned, especially the skills
that had helped to build Jackson County. And now
that the project Is underway, one dream is already
coming true. Mr. Hoyle is teaching his skills to
another member of- the younger-generation~ Gene
Thornburg is apprenticing in blacksmithing and will
soon start helping Mr. Hoyle split boards with the
froe he had made, the mall Mr. Hoyle gave him, and
the anvil his Daddy, Lacy, got for him down the
country. The board-break and blacksmith shop will
be set up on the school grounds at Webster.
HISTORIC WEBSTER March 1974 Page 3
JACK HOYLE WITH BOARD BOLT AND FROE
Mr. Hoyle and his stories and jokes have been an
important part of the lives of two newcomers to Jackson
County--Betty Price and Mar ilyn Jody, When these
two "good old girls," as Mr. Hoyle fondly calls them,
decided to move the 130-year old Bill Tom Deitz
log cabin from up East Fork to a hillside up
- …
