TIMELINE
Western North Carolina - Before European Contact - Native Americans of the mountain and piedmont regions included Cherokee, Catawba and Cheraw
1738-1739
Smallpox epidemic decreases the number of Cherokee in NC by 50%
1754 - 1763
French and Indian War fought between England and France throughout the colonies.
1776 - 1783
War of Independence - Revolutionary War
1791
Buncombe County formed and includes all of Western North Carolina.
Later, Henderson County - 1838, Transylvania County - 1861.
Late 1700s - Land Grants to Revolutionary War Patriots
Settlers claiming land and living in or near the Etowah Valley included:
Early Families & more:
Lambert Clayton - 1791
James Davidson, William Davidson & Benjamin Davidson - 1783
Martin Gash - 1794
Joseph Henry - 1783
Andrew Lyda (Lyday) - 1794
Charles McDowell - 1783
Robert Orr - 1794
1795 - 1920
Speculation Land Company era, Tench Coxe et al. Numerous transactions for the buying & selling of large tracts throughout Western North Carolina, then re-selling to new settlers
1800s early (year unknown)
Orr Cabin on Etowah School Rd - John & Jane Clayton Orr build their homeplace along what is now called Etowah School Rd
1807
Claytonville Post Office established, Penrose area. Sources may differ on this date and location.
1812 - 1815
War of 1812, US & Britain
1815
Beulah Baptist Church established
1830
Burns Creek School established
1833
Joseph Leander Gash was born on the homestead of Alfred and Mary Livingston Gash, off Holly Springs Rd. Later in life, Joseph donated land for the Etowah Train Depot.
1838 - 1839
Cherokee Trail of Tears
1838 December
Henderson County established. No county seat decided until 1841
1839 February
1st Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions (CPQS) convened at home of Hugh Johnson in Horse Shoe.
Robert Thomas, 1st appointed Sheriff by CPQS, term of office: Served 1839 - 1844. Sheriff Thomas supervised the special (vote) referendum in 1841 that determined the location of the county seat.
1840
Joseph Henry, Revolutionary War Patriot and early pioneer settler, buried at Old Beulah Baptist Cemetery
1838 - 1841
River Party v. Road Party - Location of Henderson County seat determined by controversial special election
1845
“Drought of WNC, widespread failure of crops on mountain farms” (highway marker, ncmarkers.com P-46)
1847
City of Hendersonville chartered
1859
Pleasant Grove Baptist Church established
1861
Transylvania County established
1861 May
Civil War begins. NC votes to secede from US.
1865 April
Robert Thomas, former Henderson County sheriff (1839 - 1844) living with his family in Pleasant Grove section of Etowah Valley, murdered by bushwhackers on his farm (area of Thomas-Fletcher Cemetery, Bright Farms Inc, and other properties)
1865 May
Civil War ends
1866
Hopewell School established
1868
Brevard incorporated
1868
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians created December 1868, Cheowa (Robbinsville NC)
1874
Oak Forest School established
1878 - 1880
Joseph Leander Gash returns to Henderson County from living in Adairsville GA with wife Margaret and three children.
1879
Two significant railroad events that shaped WNC and Henderson County
1. passenger and freight train service began from Charleston SC to Hendersonville NC
2. the Swannanoa Tunnel was completed, and by October 1880 train service connected Asheville to Salisbury and all of east NC
1881
“Mountain Lily” launched in Horse Shoe. 1885, runs aground near King’s Bridge after flash flood.
1880s
John W. & Harriette L. Jeudwine home of the Welsh Colony, aka “The Meadows.”
1886
Charleston Earthquake Rattled North Carolina
August 31, 1886, at 9:50 PM, the largest earthquake ever recorded on the east coast of the United States. Registering between 6.6 and 7.3 on the modern Richter scale, the quake cracked chimneys and plaster walls across North Carolina.
1889
Money Post Office established, later renamed Etowah. First postmaster James A. Collins operates a store about two miles north of present site of Etowah. He names the post office “Money.”
1892
Postmasters, brothers Ozark & Hugh Greer, mother Rebecca Brittain Greer.
1894
Etowah Presbyterian Church established on Turnpike Road, near Holly Springs.
1894
1st Sears Catalog published
1894
Deed to land for train station, donation from Joseph L. Gash to railroad H&BT&T Co
1895
Money Train Station built, later called Etowah (Old Hwy 64 & Etowah School Road). Railroad service from Hendersonville to Brevard, later Rosman & Toxaway.
1895 July
Train wreck at trestle crossing French Broad, Etowah / Horse Shoe
1896 or 1897
Etowah “colored school” near Joshua Ridge Road. Number of years of operation unknown
1897
Postmaster, Joshua M. Laughter
1898
Money Post Office renamed "Etowah"
1898
Spanish American War
1899
Etowah Mission (Episcopal Church Asheville) met at Oak Forest School until 1906
1900
Postmaster, James A. Laughter
1900
Box Brownie Camera introduced by George Eastman
1903
Railroad service to Lake Toxaway begins
1903 (?)
Rural Free Delivery, RFD, comes to Etowah
1904
Chestnut trees carrying blight enter US at NYC port
1907
Etowah Methodist Episcopal Church, white frame church on present site. Previously, worship was held at Belew’s Chapel (Pine Lake subdivision), circa 1904 (?). Now called Etowah United Methodist Church.
1908
Orr cabin sold to George W. Weese
1908
Margaret Stewart Gash placed classified ad in Montgomery AL paper for boarders. In 1913, Valley View Hotel (the Gash home) was listed as boarding house in tourist publication for WNC.
1909
Shape Note Sings began at the Methodist Church. William Walker, aka “Singin’ Billy,” renowned SC Baptist composer visits sometimes.
1911
Etowah Institute established, operated by Methodist Episcopal Church. Closed (when?)
1913 - 1918
McKinna & Son general store in Etowah - collection of store ledgers. Location?
1914
Postmaster, Pearl G. Gash (1883 - 1971). Post Office located in Gash home, later moved to the train depot.
1914 circa
First telephone in Etowah. McKinna's store ledgers have notes about messages taken by telephone.
1914 - 1918
World War 1
1916 July - August
July, the Great Flood of 1916. August 13, a month later, Lake Toxaway Dam broke.
1917
Etowah Baptist Church organized, met at Oak Forest School.
1920 - 1933
Prohibition years
1923
Moland-Drysdale Corp. began operations, aka Etowah Brickyard
1921 - early 1930s
Carr Lumber Co. operated a rail spur from Etowah to Mills River. Eubank Road near the golf course is on the old railroad grade.
1924
Etowah Post Office moved from Gash home to Train Depot
1926
Etowah Baptist Church built
1928 - 1960
Etowah High School built in 1928 as one room schools consolidated throughout the county
1935
NC passes law to require drivers license
1935
Whiteside's Service Station, Tuff Whiteside (1874 - 1962)
1937
Etowah Grange established and began meeting at Etowah High School (source: Hy-Tower school newsletter 1937)
1939
Ecusta Paper Corp. begins operation in Transylvania County (Pisgah Forest) bringing jobs to the area. Flax fibre used to make cigarette paper and more.
1941 - 1945
World War II
1948
Etowah Train Station becomes a "non-agency station," no agent on duty. Freight trains continue to use the tracks until 2002. Pearl Gash retired as postmaster August 1948. Post office is relocated.
1949
Charlotte's WBTV, the first television station in the Carolinas signed on
1949 November
Olin Industries purchased Ecusta in Transylvania County. Production shifts to include cellophane in 1950s.
1950s - mid
Iron bridge over French Broad River on Etowah School Rd was replaced with bridge in use today. [need NCDOT verification]
1956 - 1958 ?
New Hwy 64 reconfigured through Etowah. Original road renamed Old Hwy 64. Another source states new Hwy 64 was completed in 1954. [Need NCDOT verification]
1956 - 1959
Grange building built on Brickyard Road. Became branch library in 1985. Today, the WCCA.
1950s +
See HISTORY IV
1968
The last "Carolina Special" train service to Hendersonville and beyond
1972 ?
Gash home and property purchased by developer Lloyd Ducote. A large part was developed into the original Ingles Shopping Center. Today's Etowah Shopping Center.
1978
Ingles Grocery opened in its first location, the Etowah Shopping Center
2002
Olin Industries / Ecusta plant closed. Last freight cars on Southern Railway, Hendersonville to Brevard. Tracks no longer in use.
2021
EcustaRails2Trails, LLC purchased the rail corridor to create the ~19 mile Ecusta Trail between Hendersonville and Brevard
1738-1739
Smallpox epidemic decreases the number of Cherokee in NC by 50%
1754 - 1763
French and Indian War fought between England and France throughout the colonies.
1776 - 1783
War of Independence - Revolutionary War
1791
Buncombe County formed and includes all of Western North Carolina.
Later, Henderson County - 1838, Transylvania County - 1861.
Late 1700s - Land Grants to Revolutionary War Patriots
Settlers claiming land and living in or near the Etowah Valley included:
Early Families & more:
Lambert Clayton - 1791
James Davidson, William Davidson & Benjamin Davidson - 1783
Martin Gash - 1794
Joseph Henry - 1783
Andrew Lyda (Lyday) - 1794
Charles McDowell - 1783
Robert Orr - 1794
1795 - 1920
Speculation Land Company era, Tench Coxe et al. Numerous transactions for the buying & selling of large tracts throughout Western North Carolina, then re-selling to new settlers
1800s early (year unknown)
Orr Cabin on Etowah School Rd - John & Jane Clayton Orr build their homeplace along what is now called Etowah School Rd
1807
Claytonville Post Office established, Penrose area. Sources may differ on this date and location.
1812 - 1815
War of 1812, US & Britain
1815
Beulah Baptist Church established
1830
Burns Creek School established
1833
Joseph Leander Gash was born on the homestead of Alfred and Mary Livingston Gash, off Holly Springs Rd. Later in life, Joseph donated land for the Etowah Train Depot.
1838 - 1839
Cherokee Trail of Tears
1838 December
Henderson County established. No county seat decided until 1841
1839 February
1st Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions (CPQS) convened at home of Hugh Johnson in Horse Shoe.
Robert Thomas, 1st appointed Sheriff by CPQS, term of office: Served 1839 - 1844. Sheriff Thomas supervised the special (vote) referendum in 1841 that determined the location of the county seat.
1840
Joseph Henry, Revolutionary War Patriot and early pioneer settler, buried at Old Beulah Baptist Cemetery
1838 - 1841
River Party v. Road Party - Location of Henderson County seat determined by controversial special election
1845
“Drought of WNC, widespread failure of crops on mountain farms” (highway marker, ncmarkers.com P-46)
1847
City of Hendersonville chartered
1859
Pleasant Grove Baptist Church established
1861
Transylvania County established
1861 May
Civil War begins. NC votes to secede from US.
1865 April
Robert Thomas, former Henderson County sheriff (1839 - 1844) living with his family in Pleasant Grove section of Etowah Valley, murdered by bushwhackers on his farm (area of Thomas-Fletcher Cemetery, Bright Farms Inc, and other properties)
1865 May
Civil War ends
1866
Hopewell School established
1868
Brevard incorporated
1868
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians created December 1868, Cheowa (Robbinsville NC)
1874
Oak Forest School established
1878 - 1880
Joseph Leander Gash returns to Henderson County from living in Adairsville GA with wife Margaret and three children.
1879
Two significant railroad events that shaped WNC and Henderson County
1. passenger and freight train service began from Charleston SC to Hendersonville NC
2. the Swannanoa Tunnel was completed, and by October 1880 train service connected Asheville to Salisbury and all of east NC
1881
“Mountain Lily” launched in Horse Shoe. 1885, runs aground near King’s Bridge after flash flood.
1880s
John W. & Harriette L. Jeudwine home of the Welsh Colony, aka “The Meadows.”
1886
Charleston Earthquake Rattled North Carolina
August 31, 1886, at 9:50 PM, the largest earthquake ever recorded on the east coast of the United States. Registering between 6.6 and 7.3 on the modern Richter scale, the quake cracked chimneys and plaster walls across North Carolina.
1889
Money Post Office established, later renamed Etowah. First postmaster James A. Collins operates a store about two miles north of present site of Etowah. He names the post office “Money.”
1892
Postmasters, brothers Ozark & Hugh Greer, mother Rebecca Brittain Greer.
1894
Etowah Presbyterian Church established on Turnpike Road, near Holly Springs.
1894
1st Sears Catalog published
1894
Deed to land for train station, donation from Joseph L. Gash to railroad H&BT&T Co
1895
Money Train Station built, later called Etowah (Old Hwy 64 & Etowah School Road). Railroad service from Hendersonville to Brevard, later Rosman & Toxaway.
1895 July
Train wreck at trestle crossing French Broad, Etowah / Horse Shoe
1896 or 1897
Etowah “colored school” near Joshua Ridge Road. Number of years of operation unknown
1897
Postmaster, Joshua M. Laughter
1898
Money Post Office renamed "Etowah"
1898
Spanish American War
1899
Etowah Mission (Episcopal Church Asheville) met at Oak Forest School until 1906
1900
Postmaster, James A. Laughter
1900
Box Brownie Camera introduced by George Eastman
1903
Railroad service to Lake Toxaway begins
1903 (?)
Rural Free Delivery, RFD, comes to Etowah
1904
Chestnut trees carrying blight enter US at NYC port
1907
Etowah Methodist Episcopal Church, white frame church on present site. Previously, worship was held at Belew’s Chapel (Pine Lake subdivision), circa 1904 (?). Now called Etowah United Methodist Church.
1908
Orr cabin sold to George W. Weese
1908
Margaret Stewart Gash placed classified ad in Montgomery AL paper for boarders. In 1913, Valley View Hotel (the Gash home) was listed as boarding house in tourist publication for WNC.
1909
Shape Note Sings began at the Methodist Church. William Walker, aka “Singin’ Billy,” renowned SC Baptist composer visits sometimes.
1911
Etowah Institute established, operated by Methodist Episcopal Church. Closed (when?)
1913 - 1918
McKinna & Son general store in Etowah - collection of store ledgers. Location?
1914
Postmaster, Pearl G. Gash (1883 - 1971). Post Office located in Gash home, later moved to the train depot.
1914 circa
First telephone in Etowah. McKinna's store ledgers have notes about messages taken by telephone.
1914 - 1918
World War 1
1916 July - August
July, the Great Flood of 1916. August 13, a month later, Lake Toxaway Dam broke.
1917
Etowah Baptist Church organized, met at Oak Forest School.
1920 - 1933
Prohibition years
1923
Moland-Drysdale Corp. began operations, aka Etowah Brickyard
1921 - early 1930s
Carr Lumber Co. operated a rail spur from Etowah to Mills River. Eubank Road near the golf course is on the old railroad grade.
1924
Etowah Post Office moved from Gash home to Train Depot
1926
Etowah Baptist Church built
1928 - 1960
Etowah High School built in 1928 as one room schools consolidated throughout the county
1935
NC passes law to require drivers license
1935
Whiteside's Service Station, Tuff Whiteside (1874 - 1962)
1937
Etowah Grange established and began meeting at Etowah High School (source: Hy-Tower school newsletter 1937)
1939
Ecusta Paper Corp. begins operation in Transylvania County (Pisgah Forest) bringing jobs to the area. Flax fibre used to make cigarette paper and more.
1941 - 1945
World War II
1948
Etowah Train Station becomes a "non-agency station," no agent on duty. Freight trains continue to use the tracks until 2002. Pearl Gash retired as postmaster August 1948. Post office is relocated.
1949
Charlotte's WBTV, the first television station in the Carolinas signed on
1949 November
Olin Industries purchased Ecusta in Transylvania County. Production shifts to include cellophane in 1950s.
1950s - mid
Iron bridge over French Broad River on Etowah School Rd was replaced with bridge in use today. [need NCDOT verification]
1956 - 1958 ?
New Hwy 64 reconfigured through Etowah. Original road renamed Old Hwy 64. Another source states new Hwy 64 was completed in 1954. [Need NCDOT verification]
1956 - 1959
Grange building built on Brickyard Road. Became branch library in 1985. Today, the WCCA.
1950s +
See HISTORY IV
1968
The last "Carolina Special" train service to Hendersonville and beyond
1972 ?
Gash home and property purchased by developer Lloyd Ducote. A large part was developed into the original Ingles Shopping Center. Today's Etowah Shopping Center.
1978
Ingles Grocery opened in its first location, the Etowah Shopping Center
2002
Olin Industries / Ecusta plant closed. Last freight cars on Southern Railway, Hendersonville to Brevard. Tracks no longer in use.
2021
EcustaRails2Trails, LLC purchased the rail corridor to create the ~19 mile Ecusta Trail between Hendersonville and Brevard