USA > North Carolina > Western North Carolina; a history, 1730-1913 > Part 22
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HARD ROADS TO BUILD AS WELL AS TO TRAVEL. Powder was scarce and tools were wanting for the construction of (229)
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roads in the early days. Dynamite and blasting powder were then unknown. Ridges offered least resistence to the con- struction of a roadway because the timber on their crests was light and scattered and because, principal consideration, they were generally level enough on top to allow wagon wheels to pass up or down them. But they were frequently too steep even for the overtaxed oxen and horses of that time.1 The level places along creeks and rivers were the next places where roads could be built with least labor; but these were always subject to overflow; and cliffs shutting in on one side always forced the road to cross the stream to get lodgment on the opposite bank. Sometimes there were cliffs on both sides of the stream, and then the road had to run up the nearest "hollow" or cove to the head of the branch flowing in it and across the gap down another branch or brook to the stream from which the road had just parted company. When there was no escape from it, "side-cutting" was resorted to; but as it took a longer road to go by a gentle grade than by a steep climb, the steeper road was invariably built.
"NAVIGATING WAGONS." James M. Edney, in his Sketches of Buncombe Men in Bennett's Chronology of North Carolina, written in 1855, says:
"Col. J. Barnett settled on French Broad seventy years ago, and was the first man to pilot or navigate wagons through Buncombe by putting the two big wheels on the lower side, sometimes pulling, sometimes push- ing, and sometimes carrying the wagon, at a charge of five dollars for work and labor done."2
THE FIRST ROAD BUILDERS. "Most of the work done at the earlier sessions of the county court of Buncombe related to laying out and working roads. These roads or trails, rude and rough, narrow and steep as they were, constituted the only means of communication between the scattered settlers of this new country, and were matters of first importance to its people. They were located by unlettered hunters and farmers, who knew nothing of civil engineering, and were opened by their labor, and could ill afford to spare time from the support and protection of their families. Roving bands of Indians constantly gave annoyance to the white settlers, and frequently where they found the master of the house absent, would frighten the women and children into taking refuge in the woods, and then burn the furniture and destroy the bedding
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which they found in the house. Many were the privations incident to a life in a new country suffered by these early set- lers, and many were the hardships which they underwent at the hands of these predatory savages. We can scarcely wonder that they saw in the red man none of the romantic feature of character which their descendants are so fond of attributing to him. This state of affairs continued even up into the present century.3
THE HARD, UNYIELDING ROCKS. Whenever rock ledges and cliffs were encountered our road-builders usually "took to the woods." That is, they went as far around them as was necessary in order to avoid them. But, in some cases, they had to be removed; and then holes were drilled by driv- ing steel-tipped bars with sledge-hammers as far as practi- cable, which was rarely over two feet in depth. Into these gunpowder costing fifty cents per pound was poured, and a hollow reed or elder tubes filled with powder were thrust, and the earth tamped around these. A line of leaves or straw was laid on the ground a dozen feet or more from the tube, and slowly burnt its way to the powder. It was a slow and inef- fective method, and too expensive to be much used. Another and cheaper way was to build log heaps on top of the ledge of rock and allow them to burn till the rock was well heated, when buckets and barrels of water were quickly poured on the rock after removing the fire, which split the rock and permitted its being quarried.
STAGE-COACH CUSTOMS. In old times there were no reserved seats on stage coaches-first come, first served, being the rule. This resulted, oftentimes, in grumbling and disputes, but as a rule all submitted with good grace, the selfish and pushing getting the choice places then as now. Three pas- sengers on each seat were insisted on in all nine passenger coaches, and woe to that poor wight who had to take the middle of the front seat and ride backwards. Seasickness usually overcame him, but there was no redress, unless some- one volunteered to change seats. In dry and pleasant weather, many preferred a seat with the driver or on the roof behind him. Many pleasant acquaintances were made on stage coach journeys, and sometimes friendships and marriages resulted. Stages were never robbed in these mountains, however, as Murrell and his band usually transacted their affairs further
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west. Heated stones wrapped in rugs and blankets were sometimes taken by ladies during cold weather to keep their feet warm.
OLD TAVERNS. Whenever there was a change of horses, which usually happened at or near a tavern or inn, the pas- sengers would get out and visit the "grocery," either to get warm inside or outside, frequently on both sides. Then, they would walk ahead and be taken up when the coach over- took them. When meals were to be taken there was a rush for the "washing place," usually provided with several buck- ets of cold spring water and tin basins, with roller towels. Then the rush for the dining room and the well-cooked food served there. Most of these meals were prepared on open hearths before glowing beds of coals, in wide fire-places whose stone hearths frequently extended half across the kitchen floor. But riding at night grew very monotonous, and when possible the ladies remained at these taverns over night, resuming their journeys in the morning.
FIRST ROADS. Boone's trail across the mountains in 1769 was the first of which there is any record, and that seems to be in dispute (see Chapter "Daniel Boone."). The next one was that followed by James Robertson and the sixteen fam- ilies who left Wake county after Alamance and found their way to the Watauga settlement in Tennessee. They prob- ably followed the Catawba to its head, crossing at the Mckinney gap, and followed Bright's trace over the Yellow and thence down to the Doe and so on to the Watauga at Elizabethton.' McGee says: "When the Watauga set- tlement became Washington county, in 1778, a wagon road was opened across the mountains into the settled parts of North Carolina and in 1779 Washing- ton county was divided into Sullivan, etc. "5 The Act of Cession, 1789, calls for the top of the Yellow moun- tain where "Bright's road crosses the same, thence along the ridge of said mountain between the waters of Doe river and the waters of Rock creek to the place where the road crosses the Iron mountain"; and John Strother, in his diary of the survey of 1799 between North Carolina and Tennessee, men- tions that the surveying party crossed "the road leading from Morganton to Jonesborough on Thursday, June 6, 1799." This road was north of the Toe or Nollechucky river and between
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it and the Bright road over the Yellow; but, as there are now two roads crossing between those points, it is important to ascertain which is the one opened in 1778, as that, undoubtedly, was the first wagon road crossing the mountains. Chancellor John Allison speaks of Andrew Jackson crossing this road from Morganton to Jonesborough, Tenn., in the spring of 1788, as early "as the melting snow and ice made such a trip over the Appalachians possible."" It was "more than one hundred miles, two-thirds of which, at that time, was without a single human habitation along its course." Practically all histories claim that Sevier and his men passed over the Bright Trace over the Yellow; but Col. W. L. Bryan of Boone, N. C., says that Sevier and his men passed through what is now known as the Carver gap, southwest of the Roan, and down Big Rock creek.7 And it does seem more probable that his men would have followed the wagon road, which Historian McGee says had been opened in 1778, from Sycamore Shoals, than a trail which must have taken them considerably further north than a. road nearer the Nollechucky river would have been. But all these dates referring to that road were prior to the passing of the first wagon from North Carolina into Tennessee, mentioned in Wheeler's History of North Carolina as occurring in 1795.8 Indeed, John Strother mentions another "road" at a low gap between the waters of Cove creek (in what is now Watauga county) and Roan creek (in what is now Johnson county, Tenn.); but the road over which the first wagon passed into Tennessee in 1795 was probably the one Bishop Asbury traveled from 1800 to October, 1803, over Paint mountain to Warm Springs; and was not the road on the left side of the river leading down to the mouth of Wolf creek. This road is a mile and a half southwest of Paint Rock. Probably no road at that time followed the river bank there. It is certain, however, that in 1812 Hoodenpile had charge of a road from Warm Springs to Newport, Tenn., and was under contract to keep it in repair from the "top of Hopewell Hill (now Stackhouse) to the Tennessee line."" William Gillett had built it from Old Newport, Tenn., to the North Carolina line.10 It was on the right bank all the way. The Love road leaves the river six miles below the Hot Springs at the Hale Neilson house and joins main road 12 miles from Greenville, Tenn.
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PATH CROSSING THE UNAKER MOUNTAIN.11 John Strother tells us that about the 13th of May, 1799, they came "to the path crossing from Hollow Poplar to the Greasy Cove and met our company." But what kind of a path that was he does not say. It was probably the road through the Indian Grave Gap, near the buffalo trail. For they were close to the Nollechucky river then, and Bishop Asbury's Journal records the fact that on Thursday, November 6, 1800, he crossed Nollechucky at Querton's Ferry, and came to Major Gragg's, 18 miles, arriving at Warm Springs next day. This road crossed the Small and the Great Paint mountains, for he mentions an accident that befell his horse after crossing both. This most probably was the road over which the first wagon passed in 1795 as recorded in Wheeler's history. In November 1802, the good Bishop "grew afraid" of Paint nountain "and with the help of a pine sapling worked my way down the steepest and roughest parts," on his way to Warm Springs where, at William Nelson's, he found that thirty travelers had "dropped in," and where he expounded to them the scripture as found in the "third chapter of Romans as equally applicable to nominal Christians, Indians, Jews and Gen- tiles. "12
WHAT NEW ROAD WAS THIS? In October, 1803, he con- tinued to Paint mountain "passing the gap newly made, which makes the road down Paint creek much better."
THE HOODENPYLE ROAD. In December 1812, Bishop Asbury asks "Why should we climb over the desperate Spring and Paint mountains when there is such a fine new road? We came on Tuesday a straight course to Barrett's (Barnett's) dining in the woods on our way." This must have been the Hoodenpyle road from Warm Springs to Newport, Tenn., which he was under contract to keep in order from Hopewell Hill to the Tennessee line. This road follows Paint creek one mile and then crosses the mountains.13 He moved to Huntsville Landing on the Tennessee river in the territory of Mississippi, where John Welch of Haywood, agreed to deliver to him on or before the first of May, 1813, 2,667 gallons of "good proof whiskey"; and on or before 14 of August, 1814, 1,500 gallons of the same gloom-dispelling elixir, for value received. No wonder Philip Hoodenpile could play the fiddle with his left hand!14
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SWANNANOA GAP TRAIL. This, doubtless, was the first road into Buncombe from the east, and led from Old Fort in McDowell county to the head of the Swannanoa river and Bee Tree creek where the first settlers stopped about 1782. How long after this it was before a wagon road was built through this gap does not appear; but it is recorded that the Bairds brought their first wagon through Saluda gap, some miles to the southwest, in 1793. Even that, however, at that date was probably only a very poor wagon road. But a wagon road was finally built through the gap Rutherford and his men had passed through in 1776 to subdue the Cher- okees.
THE OLD SWANNANOA GAP ROAD.15 "The old road through this gap did not cross, as it has often been stated to have done, at the place where the Long or Swannanoa Tunnel is. In later years the stage road did cross at that place. But the old road crossed a half a mile further south. To travel it one would not, as in the case of the later road, leave Old Fort and pass up Mill Creek three miles to where Henry station, so long the head of the railroad, stood. He would leave Old Fort and go across the creek directly west for about a mile before going into the mountains. Then he would turn to the right, ascend the mountain, cross it at about one- half mile south of Swannanoa tunnel, and thence pass down the mountain until the road joined the later road above Black Mountain station."
BUNCOMBE COUNTY ROADS. In his very admirable work, "Asheville's Centenary" (1898), Dr. F. A. Sondley gives a fine account of the building of the first roads in Buncombe county. The first of these ran from the Swannanoa river to Davidson river, in what is now Transylvania county, crossing the French Broad below the mouth of Avery's creek, passing Mills river and going up Boydsteens (now improperly pro- nounced Boilston) creek; the second ran from "the wagon ford on Rims (now called Reems) creek to join the road from Tur- key cove, Catawba, to Robert Henton's on Cane river, after passing through Asheville. In July, 1793, the court ordered a road to be laid off from Buncombe court house to the Bull mountain road near Robert Love's. In 1795 a road was ordered to run from the court house to Jonathan McPeter's on Hom- iny creek; and at a later period two other roads ran out north
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from Asheville to Beaver Dam and Glenn creek. Then fol- lowed the Warm Springs road, crossing Reems creek at the old Wagoner ford and through the rear of the old Alexander farm, crossing Flat creek" and ran on to the farm of Bedent Smith near the Madison county line, where it turned west and ran to the mouth of Ivy, thence to Marshall "and about one-half mile below that town turned to the east and ran with the old Hopewell turnpike, built by Philip Hoodenpyle, later known as the Jewel Hill road, to Warm Springs."
On July 8, 1795, Governor Blount of the territory south of the Ohio river, now called Tennessee, suggested to the council of that territory the opening of a road from Buncombe court house to Tennessee; and Sevier and Taylor were appointed to act with Wear, Cocke, Doherty and Taylor to consider the matter, which resulted in the opening of a road from North Carolina to Tennessee, via Warm Springs, following the right bank of the French Broad to Warm Springs. In 1793 the Bairds "had carried up their four-wheel wagon across the Saluda gap, a road through which had been opened by Col. Earle for South Carolina for $4,000, and is probably the old road from Columbia, which passed through Newberry and Greenville districts," and yet known in upper South Caro- lina as the old State or Buncombe road. "There was already a road or trail coming from the direction of South Carolina to Asheville," crossing the Swannanoa at the Gum Spring, and known as the "road from Augusta in Georgia to Knox- ville." (Record Book 62, p. 361.)
THE NEW STOCK ROAD. This road passes through Weaver- ville, Jupiter, Jewel Hill and through Shelton Laurel in Madi- son into Tennessee, and was built when Dr. Wm. Askew, who was born in 1832, was a boy, in order to escape the delays of waiting for the French Broad river to subside in times of freshets, and in winter, of avoiding the ice which drifted into the road from the river and sometimes made it impassable. But Bishop Asbury records the fact that on Tuesday, October 25, 1803, in coming from Mr. Nelson's at Warm Springs to Killian's on Beaver Dam, "the road is greatly mended by changing the direction and throwing a bridge over Ivy." This is probably part of the road that runs up Ivy creek from French Broad and crosses Ivy about a mile up stream, and then comes on by Jupiter to Asheville. If so, the New Stock
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must have started from that bridge across Ivy and run by Jewel Hill to the Tennessee line.
THE BUNCOMBE TURNPIKE.16 "In 1824 Asheville received her greatest impetus. In that year the legislature of North Carolina incorporated the now famous but abandoned Bun- combe Turnpike road, directing James Patton, Samuel Chunn and George Swain to receive subscriptions "for the purpose of laying out and making a turnpike road from the Saluda Gap, in the county of Buncombe, by way of Smith's, Maryville, Asheville and the Warm Springs, to the Tennessee line." (2 Rev. Stat. 'of N. C., 418). This great thorough- fare was completed in 1828, and brought a stream of travel through Western North Carolina. All the attacks upon the legality of the act establishing it were overruled by the Supreme court of the State, and Western North Carolina entered through it upon a career of marvelous prosperity, which continued for many years.
ASHEVILLE AND GREENVILLE PLANK ROAD.16 "In 1851 the legislature of the State of North Carolina incorporated the Asheville & Greenville Plank Road Company, with authority to that company to occupy and use this turnpike road upon certain prescribed terms. A plank road was ocn- structed over the southern portion of it, or the greater part of it south of Asheville, and contributed yet more to Ashe- villes's prosperity. By the conclusion of the late war, how- ever, this plank road had gone down, and in 1866 the charter of the plank road company was repealed, while the old Bun- combe turnpike was suffered to fall into neglect."
ASHEVILLE GETS A START.16 From the time of the build- ing of the Buncombe Turnpike road, Asheville began to be a health resort and summering place for the South Carolinians, who have ever since patronized it as such.
THE WATCHESE ROAD. In 1813 a company was organized to lay out a free public road from the Tennessee river to the head of navigation on the Tugaloo branch of the Savannah river. It was completed in 1813, and became the great high- way from the coast to the Tennessee settlements.17
FIRST ROADS OVER THE "SMOKIES." John Strother men- tions but two roads as crossing the mountains between Vir- ginia and the Pigeon river, that at "a low gap between the waters of Cove creek-in what is now Watauga county-
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and Roans creek-in what is now Johnson county, Tenn .- and that of "the road leading from Morganton to Jones- borough," Tenn., between the Yellow and the Roan.18
FIRST ROADS OVER THE UNAKAS. Of the survey in 1821, from the end of the 1799 survey on Big Pigeon to the Georgia line is 116 miles; and yet, as late as 1821 there were but two roads crossing from North Carolina into Tennessee. They were "the Cataloochee track" where the 1799 survey ended and "the wagon road" at the 101st mile post on the Hiwassee river.19
LITTLE TENNESSEE RIVER ROAD. Just when the wagon road from Tallassee ford up the Little Tennessee river was first constructed cannot be definitely ascertained. Some sort of a road, probably an Indian trail, may have existed for years before the coming of the whites into that section; but it is not probable, as a road near the river bank is simply impossible, while on the left side of the Little Tennessee is what is now known as the Belding Trail. But this name has only recently been bestowed on an ancient Indian trail which followed the Cheoah river to what is now Johnson post office and then cut across the ridges to Bear creek, passing Dave Orr's house, to Slick Rock creek, and thence down to Tallassee ford and the Hardin farm.
GEN. WINFIELD SCOTT'S MILITARY ROAD. It is probable, however, that Gen. Winfield Scott had a military road con- structed from Calhoun, his headquarters in Tennessee, up to the junction of the Little Tennessee with the Tuckaseegee at what is now Bushnell; for we know that it was down this road that most of the Cherokees were driven during the Removal of 1838. But it was impossible for this road to follow the river bank beyond the Paine branch, where it left the river and by following that branch, crossed the ridge and returned to the river again, reaching it at what is now called Fairfax. For it was at the mouth of the Paine branch that Old Charley, the Cherokee, and his family made their break for liberty, and succeeded in escaping in 1838. Beyond Rocky Point, however, it is impossible even for modern en- gineers, except at a prohibitive cost, to build a road near the river bank, and the consequence has been that the road runs over a series of ridges, which spread off from the end of the Great Smoky range like so many figures, down to the Little
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Tennessee. Gen. Wool's soldiers built the road from Val- leytown to Robbinsville in 1836-7.20
CRUSOE JACK AND JUDGE FAX. There is a tradition that, when the treaty of Tellico in 1789 was made, Crusoe Jack, a mulatto, got a grant to the magnificent Harden farm and that John Harden traded him out of it. Harden worked about fifty slaves on this farm, among whom was Fax, a mu- latto, who bought his freedom from John Harden, whose de- scendants still own this farm, and settled at Fairfax, where Daniel Lester afterwards lived for many years, and where Jeremiah Jenkins afterwards lived and died. Fax was called Judge Fax and kept a public house where he supplied wagoners and other travelers with such accommodations as he could.
OLD WILKESBOROUGH ROADS. The prinicipal road from Wilkesboro passed through Deep gap and went by Boone. The Phillips gap road was made just before the Civil War and after Arthur D. Cole settled on Gap creek and began his extensive business there it was much used. All freight came from Wilkesboro. The turnpike from Patterson over Blowing Rock gap passed down the Watauga river and Shull's Mills to Valle Crucis, Ward's store, Beech, and Watauga Falls to Cardens' bluff in Tennessee, after which it left the Watauga river and crossed the ridge to Hampton and Doe river, going on to Jonesboro. It was surveyed about 1848 by Col. William Lenoir and built soon afterwards. David J. Farthing and Anderson Cable remember seeing the grading while it was being built, and Alfred Moretz of Deep Gap was present when sections of the road were bid off by residents, the bid- ding being near the mouth of Beech creek.
THE WESTERN TURNPIKE. In 1848-9 the legislature passed an act to provide for a turnpike road from Salisbury to the line of the State of Georgia. The lands of the Cherokees were later pledged for the building of this "Western Turnpike," as it was officially called, and in 1852-3 another act was passed "to bring into market the lands" so pledged, and this act was later (Ch. 22, Laws 1854-5) supplemented by an act which gave the road the proceeds of the sales of the Cherokee lands in Cherokee, Macon, Jackson and Haywood counties. At the latter session another act was passed making Asheville the eastern terminus and the Tennessee line, near Ducktown, the western terminus of this road, and providing that it should
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also extend to the Georgia line; but that the latter road should be only a branch of the main road. It also provided that in case the bridge across the French Broad river-presumably Smith's bridge at Asheville-could not be obtained on satis- factory terms, the route of the turnpike might be changed and a new bridge constructed. As this was not done, it is probable that satisfactory terms were made for the use of Smith's bridge, as it had been sold to Buncombe county about 1853. When this road reached the Tuckaseegee river "the influence of Franklin and Macon. county was the prin- cipal force which took it across the Cowee and Nantahala mountains21. The survey was made by an engineer by the name of Fox in 1849. It was completed over the Valley river mountains and Murphy in 1856. The late Nimrod S. Jarrett was chief of construction. Chapter 51, Laws of 1854-5 defined the duties of and powers of turnpike and plankroad compa- nies, and acts incorporating the latter throughout the State passed at that session extend from page 178 to page 216, showing their popularity.
SMITH'S BRIDGE. Long before a bridge had been built across the French Broad at Asheville Edmund Sams, who had come from the Watauga settlement and settled on the west side of the French Broad at what was later known as the Gaston place about a mile above the mouth of the Swanna- noa operated a ferry there. He had been an Indian fighter, and later a soldier of the Revolution. He was also for years a trustee of the Newton Academy, and died on the farm of his father-in-law, Thomas Foster, near Biltmore. John Jar- rett afterwards lived at the western terminus of the present bridge, keeping the ferry and charging toll. Subsequently he sold it to James M. Smith, who built a toll bridge there, which he maintained till about 1853, when he died after having sold the bridge to Buncombe county. After this It became a free bridge. In 1881 it was removed to make way for the pres- ent iron structure, but its old foundations are yet plainly to be seen.22 That old bridge was a single track affair without handrails for a long time before the Civil War, and nothing but log stringers on each side of the roadway. Col. J. C. Smathers of Turnpike remembers when, if a team began to back, there was nothing to prevent a vehicle going over into the river. Chapter 313, Laws, 1883, made it unlawful to
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