Etowah NC Heritage
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      • Thomas-Fletcher Cemetery
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  • HIST. III
    • Sheriff Robert Thomas
    • Civil War Union Monument
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    • Mountain Lily - 1881
    • Welsh Colony 1880s
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    • Shape Note Traditions
  • HIST. IV
    • Community Fairs 1938-1941, 1950s
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    • Calx Mfg. Company - 1919
    • Camp Peep-Out - 1935
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      • Grange - 25th Anniversary 1937-1962
      • Grange Quilt - 1953
  • HIST. V
    • 1952 - Hatheway Floral Company
    • 1954 - Etowah Lions Club, Park & More
    • 1960s - Growing & Changing
    • 1964 - Etowah / Horse Shoe Volunteer Fire
    • 1966 - Water & Sewer System, Tower
    • 1966 - Etowah Riding Club
    • 1982 - A Library Comes to Etowah
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    • Lois Adcock Bayne
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    • Opal Dalton Parkinson
    • Jeannie Huggins Revis
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    • Marylin Annette Jones Thomas
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 WELSH COLONY 1880s -  nearby Bowman's Bluff, Big Willow

Picture
Bowman's Bluff - 1918 Kershaw map of Henderson County
In the late 1870s or early 1880s, sixteen families settled in the neighboring community of Bowman's Bluff in Big Willow.  The families originated from Wales, Derbyshire, and Southern England, and were of the landed gentry class.  Today they are known as "The Welsh Colony" of Bowman's Bluff in the Big Willow area of the Etowah Valley.

Morgan J. Evans, George H. Holmes,
John W. Juedwine (Joudeweine), Chenoweth, Rev. Joseph Wainwright
Thomas, Stone, Twyford, Cowan, Bentson, Scott, Addenbrock
 Eade, Finwick, Valentine, (missing one name)


Two of the original family homes are still standing.
 - Bryn Avon (National Register of Historic Places)
 - Holmes home (remodeled), aka French Willow Farm.
The Jeudwine home, no longer standing, is pictured below.

Picture
​Read more, download the two page pdf.
old_timers_by_patsy_obrien_1919_welsh_colony.pdf
File Size: 193 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

"Old Timers"
This two page article about the Welsh Colony settlers, written by Patsy O'Brien, appeared in the French Broad Hustler.
March 13, 1919



Picture
The 1880's Jeudwine home of Welsh Colony settlers in Big Willow, Bowman's Bluff,  John W. and Harriette L. Jeudwine.
In the 1900 Census, John Jeudwine listed his occupation as "Teacher of Music."
Later 1915, the home of Isaac & Virginia Shell McCall from Hickory NC.
A postcard image​ of
"The Meadows"
​

from the Collection of North Carolina Postcards,

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.


Picture
The Jeudwine home of the Welsh Colony, later known as "The Meadows"

" An Elizabethan Colony in North Carolina "  by Theodore L. FitzSimons
The article below was originally published in October 1916, in a magazine titled,
"The International Studio - An Illustrated Magazine of Fine and Applied Art."
The New York publication was active from 1897 - 1931.
Theodore was an uncle to Frank L. FitzSimons Sr., author of "From the Banks of the Oklawaha."

Terry Ruscin's 2013 book, "Hidden History of Henderson County - North Carolina,"
​contains a well researched chapter entitled: "The Welsh Colony and Bryn Avon."
     Additional References to the Welsh Colony may be found in these sources:
"A Legacy of Achievement," by Tom Orr, Times-News article , 2012
"The Ravenscroft School in Asheville," book by Dale Wayne Slusser, 2013
for Bowman's Bluff:  FitzSimons, Index to all three volumes

Picture
Picture

Picture
General Location of the Welsh Colony in Big Willow, Henderson County GIS
  • Home
  • SPECIAL
    • Virtual Tour of Selected Historic Places
    • History Displays in Etowah & Library Notebooks
    • Etowah Heritage Day 2019 - 130 Years
    • Etowah Treasures Exhibit, Sept/Oct 2019
  • PEOPLE & PLACES
    • Maps
    • Memorabilia
    • Places, Early Homes, Other
    • French Broad River & Valley Views
    • People - early times
    • People - later times
    • People - Gash Family descendants
    • Veterans
  • HIST. I
    • Timeline
    • Formation of Henderson County, est 1838
    • Etowah History Notes - Research To Date
    • 1889 Money, then Etowah
    • Etowah - Creek/Muskogee Translation
    • How Etowah Got Its Name
    • Postmasters 1889 - 1968
    • Etowah Train Depot - 1895 >
      • Trains of Etowah
    • The Railroad - Hendersonville to Toxaway
  • HIST. II
    • 1900 U.S. Census
    • Farms of Early Etowah
    • Historic Etowah High School 1928 - 1960 >
      • 1st Annual 1938 -The Chief
      • Little Chief - Gleanings from
      • Students & Faculty EHS
      • EHS Memorabilia
      • Etowah High School - Memorial Plaque 2014 - HCEHI
    • Historic Schools 1800s - 1928 >
      • Etowah Institute 1911
    • Schools of Nearby Communities
    • Historic Churches
    • Historic Cemeteries >
      • Thomas-Fletcher Cemetery
      • Adopt-A-Cemetery: Thomas-Fletcher
  • HIST. III
    • Sheriff Robert Thomas
    • Civil War Union Monument
    • Orr Cabin Homeplace - early 1800s
    • Mountain Lily - 1881
    • Welsh Colony 1880s
    • Grist Mills
    • Shape Note Traditions
  • HIST. IV
    • Community Fairs 1938-1941, 1950s
    • Stores of Early Etowah
    • McKinna General Store
    • More Business Ads 1938 - 1960+
    • "Etowah Brick" Moland-Drysdale Corp. - 1923
    • Calx Mfg. Company - 1919
    • Camp Peep-Out - 1935
    • Etowah Grange #984 - 1937 >
      • Grange - 25th Anniversary 1937-1962
      • Grange Quilt - 1953
  • HIST. V
    • 1952 - Hatheway Floral Company
    • 1954 - Etowah Lions Club, Park & More
    • 1960s - Growing & Changing
    • 1964 - Etowah / Horse Shoe Volunteer Fire
    • 1966 - Water & Sewer System, Tower
    • 1966 - Etowah Riding Club
    • 1982 - A Library Comes to Etowah
  • Stories
    • Eade Anderson, Reverend
    • Lois Adcock Bayne
    • Emma Louise Curtis Bradley
    • Richard Brown
    • Patricia Bell Cantrell
    • Jerri Whiteside Lambeth
    • Wanda Sumner Love
    • David S. Mallett
    • Opal Dalton Parkinson
    • Jeannie Huggins Revis
    • Glenda Maxwell Simpson
    • Marylin Annette Jones Thomas
    • "The Follies" & "Matilda's Folly"
  • About