MOUNTAIN REST COMMUNITY CLUB, Oconee County, SC Dedication, Acknowledgements, Introduction, Mountain Rest Community, Early Days Along the Chattooga & Whetstone Community Version 2.3, 1-Apr-2003, MR-01.TXT **************************************************************** REPRODUCING NOTICE: ------------------- These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format for profit, or presentation by any other organization, or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Paul M Kankula - nn8nn Seneca, SC, USA Oconee County SC GenWeb Coordinator Oconee County SC GenWeb Homestead http://www.rootsweb.com/~scoconee/oconee.html Oconee County SC GenWeb Tombstone Project http://www.rootsweb.com/~scoconee/cemeteries.html http://www.rootsweb.com/~cemetery/southcarolina/oconee.html **************************************************************** DATAFILE INPUT . : Linda Flynn at ke8fd@@bellsouth.net.com in Apr-2003 DATAFILE LAYOUT : Paul M. Kankula at kankula1@innova.net in Apr-2003 DEDICATION Appreciation to the people of Mountain Rest and surrounding area is expressed in many ways throughout this book; and we, with much love and understanding, do dedicate this book to them.--The Mountain Rest Community Club ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The editors wish to thank the following people for their help in writing and compiling this book. Hurley Badders Henrietta C. Brandt Jack Brown Miriam Dawson Denise Duncan Mary Jo Hardy Carolyn Honea Ruth Lemons Benny Queen Vera Robins Edna C. Sams Relton Vissage Mrs. Clyde Webb The editors also wish to thank the following people who contributed pictures used in the book. Carolyn Barnette (Oconee School District) Beulah Beaty Grace Brown Bob Cothran Roy Hardin Billy Hunt Frances McCall Ollie McCall Killough White In appreciation--Words cannot express how grateful I am to Robert Hill, Professor of English at Clemson University, and his wife, the former Jane Bowers, Instructor of English at the University of Georgia. He typed the manuscript and helped to get it all ready for the printer. Jane helped with the editing and was a much needed adviser. Had it not been for them, we could not have finished on time.--[MSQ] INTRODUCTION The aim in this book is to give a general history in both phrase and photograph of a small but most important corner of a beautiful and versatile state. Short drives from almost any point in the state will quickly place you in some of the most beautiful camping, fishing, boating, hiking, or just sight-seeing trips found anywhere in this great country. Being a proud and generous people, much effort has been made to share a way of life known only to those who have lived it. All or most or the information printed herein has been passed down through families and/or friends with strong ties. Here in the heights of picturesque Oconee County, sharing and aiding neighbors and friends is the trait of a people known for good clean fun. Finally, dear reader, please bear in mind that this book is in no way definitive. MOUNTAIN REST Mountain Rest was once precisely what its name implies: a resort town which catered to travelers between Highlands, NC, and Walhalla, SC. Some books written about South Carolina give the population of Mountain Rest as being twenty-six, but since it reaches from Stumphouse to the Chattooga, Whetstone to the Fish Hatchery, a more realistic figure in 1984 would be two thousand. When stage coaches were the way people traveled, the Russell House was a popular inn, and Mountain Rest was a regular stop. Situated in some of South Carolina's most mountainous regions, this Oconee County community is unique in that it touches two other states, Georgia and North Carolina. It's exciting to think that the smoke of the wigwam fires once filled the sky and Indian legends abound. The men came to search for gold and stayed to farm the land. DeSoto and his Spaniards were here in 1540 when an Indian maiden led them into the mountains over the famous Winding Stairs Trail. All those who came found adventure while establishing their homes in the Wilderness. Mountain streams were rushing along their rocky beds with beautiful waterfalls on almost all the major streams. Grist mills were necessary to man's way of life and remind us of the times when every man had to raise his own grain if he wanted bread. It was in the spring of 1776 that William Bartram, a specialist in bird study, blazed a trail through what is now Oconee County that took him through this mountain area and on to the Chattooga River at Earles Ford. (A book on Bartram's journey written by Margaret Mills Seaborn is available at the Oconee County Library.) Benjamin Hawkins was an Indian agent, and it was his task to see that treaties between Indians and white men would be carried out and also to help establish boundary lines between their lands. It was in 1796 that he traveled from Hopewell in what is now lower Oconee County through what is now Mountain Rest community into Georgia via Earles Ford on the Chattooga River. In 1797, he reversed his route from Georgia back to Hopewell. (This journey is explained in detail in a book entitled Benjamin Hawkins Journeys Through Oconee County, by Margaret Mills Seaborn [Columbia, SC: R.L. Bryan, 1973], and is available at Oconee County Library.) There is a beautiful reference book at the Oconee County Library entitled Some Waterfalls, Cascades, and Shoals in Oconee County, South Carolina that was published just this year, 1984, by Sidney H. Ballenger, Walhalla, SC; John E. Danner, Summerton, SC; and Maxie W. Duke, Walhalla, SC. Many of these beautiful falls are in the Mountain Rest area. Farming has always been an important part of the livelihood of the people of Mountain Rest. A few sawmills have always been in operation. In early years, some farmers had apple orchards; but now there are many orchards and from them 150,000 bushels of apples are harvested in a bumper year. The main roads are dotted with apple stands and usually have early sell-outs. There are two large egg-producing farms in the community. Robins Poultry Farm, in the Whetstone community, was founded by the late Robert J. Robins. His family continues to operate the business. Oliver Smith and Sons is the most recent poultry business located near the top of Stumphouse Mountain. In 1983, Gene Westmoreland of the Whetstone community had a successful pick-your-own strawberry patch. Making of ceramics became popular in the mid-1960s, and one shop is still in operation. Mountain Rest-produced apples have taken highest prizes at the State Fair in Columbia, SC. Clemson University supplies counseling for farmers through the Clemson University Extension Service employees. The men from Mountain Rest were not spared when it came time to fight in the wars. Neither were some of them spared when loss of life in the wars occurred. Around 1900, when the cotton mills were beginning to spring up all over the Piedmont section of South Carolina, people from the mountains heard of this, and some wanted to try another way of life. They could no longer scratch a living from the rocky hills, so they hitched up the mule, loaded up the wagons with all their worldly possessions, and headed for the Piedmont valley. They hadn't read much Shakespeare, but they spoke the English of his time and plunked out English ballads on their banjos and guitars. Their voices had a definite twang, but the songs they sang are still favorites of many: "Barbara Allen," "Amazing Grace," "In the Pines," "Life Is Like a Mountain Railroad," and "Bringing in the Sheaves." These hillbillies were proud and independent; they wanted work not charity. The good life they sought turned out to be a land of "hot box" mills where hours were long and wages were low. The whole family went to work together, and old-timers today can remember working in the mills when they were just children. They had to take an orange crate to work to stand on because they weren't tall enough to reach the machines [Taken from States of the Nation: South Carolina, by Sally Edwards, 8th state to join the Union, published in 1968 by Coward-McCann, New York]. When the men returned home from World War II in 1945 and 1946, some did not care to return to farming for their livelihood, so many of them sought work in factories and other public jobs "below the mountain," in Walhalla and neighboring towns. Automobiles were coming off the assembly lines once again, and transportation was no longer a problem. Some continued to live in the mountain community, but others disliked spending time and money driving long distances, so they took their families and moved closer to their work. The population growth of Mountain Rest began in the 1950s when retirees liked the area well enough to make it their permanent home. Growth of the area has mushroomed in the past ten years, and the bad economical conditions of the past few years has not affected this area as much as in other places. There are only a few natives of Mountain Rest left, but the people who came to settle here have helped to enrich the life of the community and make it one of the greatest places to live.-[MSQ] POST OFFICES Whetstone: The first post office in the Mountain Rest area was at Whetstone, established in 1843. The first postmaster there was Samuel Mozley. Others who served were Abel Robins and A.P. Crisp. It was discontinued in 1884. Evan Callas was the first rural mail carrier to Whetstone and drove a white horse and buggy. Tunnel Hill: Records have it that a post office existed at Tunnel Hill from 1853 to 1887. Only one name was listed as postmaster, Edward Honea. Chauga: This post office only existed from May to August 1878, and the postmaster was Andrew J. Pendley. This post office was located at the present home of Joe and Mary Jo (Land) Hardy. Nicholson: This facility only existed from January 1885 to August 1886. Two postmasters listed were Milton W. Nicholson and J.L. Moody. Russell: Jane Nicholson Russell was postmistress for many years. It was discontinued on April 30, 1921, and moved to Mountain Rest. Mountain Rest: This post office was first opened on May 4, 1875, by William A. King, first postmaster. Others who served were William R. White, Nannie E. Shaw, Benjamin F. Douthit, Albert M. Brown, James L. Brown, and Jack L. Brown, who began in August 1952 and is still serving. Some of the Mountain Rest rural carriers have been Courtney King, Leroy Brown (serving for forty-four years), Johnny Bischoff, Bob Schumacher, and Ben Vissage, who is still serving.-[PN] EARLY DAYS ALONG THE CHATTOOGA In early years, there were many families who lived near the Chattooga River. The principal living for people was farming, raising cattle, sheep, and hogs. And some made moonshine whiskey. The livestock was turned loose on the open range until sometime in the early 1900s. By open range, we mean the gardens and fields were fenced. Homes were built near springs for water; most all families had a springhouse to keep milk, butter, a churn of sauerkraut, pickled beans, and pickles. From the garden, they would can and dry many different fruits and vegetables, also make many kinds of jams and jellies. Some would have a cane patch, to make syrup (sorghum or molasses) in the fall. Others would have wild honey from the trees in the forest. When the hogs were butchered in the fall or early winter, the meat was kept by sugar curing or packing down in a meat box with salt; people would then have meat all year. They also had wild meat such as raccoon, squirrels, wild turkey, and venison. There were also fish from the streams and rivers. It seemed that if one family had something, they were always sharing with others. People also had chickens, ducks, geese, and guineas for eggs and meat. The feathers were saved for pillows and feather beds. A spinning wheel was almost a must, for everybody had sheep. In the spring, the sheep were sheared, and the wool used to make clothing and household items. Back in the good old days, as some call it, people cooked on an open fireplace, then later the wood burning cookstove. They heated their houses by wood fireplaces, sometimes more than one. They also did their washing outside where a washplace was set up near the water, or sometimes caught rainwater in barrels in the drip of the house. The soap used was homemade lye soap, and everybody had a battling block and board (or stick). Anytime a family had sickness, or any other problem, the neighbors would lend a helping hand in plowing, planting, or harvesting of crops. In the fall the tops of the corn were cut, and fodder, which is the lower blades, was pulled and dried. It was saved to feed the animals in the winter, along with the corn. The ladies would have a quilting bee that would draw a large crowd and was usually followed by a dance, or some other kind of nighttime party. The winter of 1917 and 1918 the Chattooga River froze over thick enough for people and a horse belonging to Roy Jolly to walk across. The Civil War was hard on many families because it left homes with only women and children. They had to care for the crops, do the harvesting, cut wood (most times dragging it out of the woods), and care for the livestock. The war took its toll because many men lost their lives. Sometime in the early 1900s, many families began to move to the cities where the factories were. As the years went by, many would return to the river for as long as two weeks at a time for vacations, just to camp, fish, relax, and enjoy the mountain air and cool water. In the early 1900s, different lumber companies bought timber, and used horses and oxen to get the logs to the river. A series of dams located on the upper portions of several streams was built to hold back water. Gates were opened to free the water and "splash off" the logs, washing them downstream to sawmills located at Madison, South Carolina. The splash-off was done at the same time each week. The local people knew to get their bateaus (small boats) out of the river on the days the splash-off was in operation. Some men who worked with the log floating were Joe Craver, John Lock, Harry Whitehead, Mack Wilson, Virge Ramey, Julian Ramey, William Henry Nicholson, and some Davis men. Sometime in the early 1930s the local people, at their expense, built a swinging foot bridge across the river at Long Bottom Ford. This was large cables across the river, with wire on the sides, and a plank floor about four feet wide. The foot bridge washed away in 1940 and was rebuilt by Rabun County, Georgia, about a year later. It was used until sometime in the late 1950s. Until the swinging bridge was built, the only way to get across the river was to ford it or use a boat. The Fowler brothers (Sam and Juan) built a low water bridge at Long Bottom Ford in the early 1950s. It was used for about twenty years. Just below the Long Bottom Ford, there is a cemetery known as the Snider Graveyard. Some of the headstones date back to the early 1800s. There are many graves that are only marked by field stone, and no one knows for sure how old they are.-- [PN] WHETSTONE: THEN AND NOW Very old maps (1820-revised 1825) show Pulaski Road through this upper section of Oconee and a good size town, Pulaski, on the river where barges were no longer able to navigate. Whetstone was a larger community because of roads and Earles Ford on the Chattooga. Galt's Store near the ford is shown on these old maps, and at the Tom Bleckley place there was a log building called the "Store House." Each family usually had two or three musicians, and ail could sing and dance. Meals were good, and most of the time plentiful, everything made from scratch with all good ingredients. The main meal was usually at noon with leftovers and a hot cake of cornbread at night or milk with bread crumbled in-sometimes milk and mush. A bedtime snack was an apple or on cold winter nights a potato baked in the embers and ashes. There was always enough if anyone came along at mealtime, and they usually accepted an invitation to eat. Cemeteries and old graveyards are large, and many families had private burial grounds. It is thought that men working on the Blue Ridge Railroad were buried on top of the hill near the bridge over Whetstone Creek. Work on the railroad reached the river, and for many years piles of rock told the story of an unfinished dream. Then Dr. Julius Earle had another dream of a home built from these beautiful stones. This dream was realized, and the Earle family have a most unusual, durable, and lovely home near Walhalla. There is much history in the walls. Two old houses on Whetstone were built by a contractor from Anderson with slaves in 1835. They came into virgin forest, cut the logs, sawed the timber, dressed it by hand, and made brick from local clay. Rooms were large with high ceilings and a chimney at each end of the house with fireplaces both up and downstairs. Wooden pegs were used in the construction as well as square nails made by the blacksmith. In 1842, Abel Robins bought one of the houses at Public Auction at Old Pickens Courthouse, and it was occupied by him and his descendants for many years. It was sold and used as a rental house for a period of time, and at present Charles Moxley is restoring it with modern conveniences with plans of making it his home. In 1880, Samuel Conley who was living in North Carolina bought the other house from the Breazeales and moved his family there. Many years later, his daughter Lassie Conley Henry lived in Georgia during the winter and spent her summers at home on Whetstone with her sister, Mary Conley. Sometime before 1920, they remodeled and enlarged the house and opened "Conley Lodge," having vacation guests for weeks or all summer. Many folks enjoyed the good country air and delicious cooking, along with a large porch to rock and relax on. Times changed, and this has been a private home again for many years and is now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Mack Henry. He is the youngest son of Will and Lassie Henry. He has bricked the house, and it is now one of the loveliest homes on Whetstone. To help with feeding the animals, Bry Mongold and Tim Ramey took a giant step into the future by using a good piece of bottomland to seed for a meadow. This was cut with an old-fashioned horse-drawn mower, and put into windrows by a rake. The final job was to haul and pitch into the barn loft or stack. Sometimes stacks were made in the feedlot fenced in, to be opened one at a time for the cattle to eat or forked out in a rack when needed. Mainly horses and mules were used for plowing crops, pulling wagons and sleds, but some used oxen. Sheep were a necessity as they furnished wool to make thread for stockings and socks, cloth for clothing. The wool was sheared from the sheep in the spring, washed, carded with coarse cards, and made into bats, to get out trash the sheep had gathered during the winter, such as cockleburs, Spanish needles, etc. The second carding was finer cards and small rolls were made to be spun into thread, which was doubled and twisted to made it strong. Sometimes wool was dyed and others dyed thread, or cloth. Walnuts made a beautiful brown; poke berries, a red. Sometimes packages of dye were bought. When wool was dyed, white wool could be added in to tone down or soften a color. Cotton was not raised in the hills but bought in bulk at the gin and carded into bats for quilts. They had to be placed very carefully to be quilted through and not have thin places. The better parts of wool garments were also made into a quilt and wool bats used-these were tacked and used by men when peddling. Many of the mountain men took produce to the nearby towns and sold door-to-door, beginning with early apples, potatoes and beans, and lasting until winter apples, cabbage, Irish potatoes, and dried apples. These men had regular campgrounds and spent time resting, frying potatoes or cabbage over the campfire and swapping stories. They slept in the wagon and had a grub box. They were away from home four days or longer. Today Whetstone Valley is like a huge green carpet put down by Mother Nature, with streams, fences, houses, and gardens marking the habitat of the residents. The only industry is Robins Poultry Farm (est. 1971) with about 30,000 White Leghorn non-union workers (hens). Cattle are abundant, dotting all the pastures with Thorough Breeds and mixtures from A to Z. The family milch cow is rare today. In May 1973, a tornado crossed the area taking 370 feet from the center of the 540-foot chicken house, damaging much timber, etc. No human lives were lost. This was a great shock, as we did not know such things happened here in the hills. Fifty years ago, Whetstone offered little in employment; therefore, young men and women scattered far and wide during their working years. Retirement has brought many back to the Hills of Home. Henry and Jimmy Robins have homes on land bought by Abel Robins in 1842. Ray Barker worked in Columbia, married, and has five boys-two sets of twins. He built a new house on land granted to his grandfather, Josiah Barker, 19th of December 1816. Ray's father, Garvin L. Barker, was a Confederate soldier. Whetstone today has a strawberry field recently put in by Gene Westmoreland on the original Virge Ramey homeplace. Transportation now makes it so that people work in Anderson, Greenville, Highlands, or Cashiers, and stay at home.-[VR]