The state chronicle., 1893-06-23
ALONG THE BLUE RIDGE.
Rowland Howard Abroad on Horse
back.

Rowland Howard Abroad on Horse
Asheviile Citizen.
It was in the year 1875 that 1
first met S. T. Kesley, the TO under
of the town of Highlands, in Macon
county, N. G. I had established
my settlers agency in New York
and secured special rates over the
Piedmont Air Line and the Penn
sylvania Central from New York to
Atlanta, for prospectors and settlers
coming South. L had gone to
Greenville, S. c., the capital town
of my native county, and called a
public meeting to be held il the
opera house to arouse the people
on the subject of drawing a select
immigration into the Piedmont and
mountain sections of the South.
On the front seat sat stranger
whom I approached before the
meeting was opened. He gave his
name as S. T. Kelsey, and stated that
he had recently come from Kansas
and purchased site for a colony
on the Blue Ridge Highlands. 1
urged him to apeak that night,
which he did, making an interesting
talk on the subject of drawing set
tiers into the South.
Mr.. Kelsey returned to his High
lands purchase, then a wilderness,
and 1 returned to my agency work
in New York. This, remember, was
in 1875. Thus began the work of
founding the town cf Highlands.
Mr. Kelsey worked up his colony
with people mostly from the cas-,
and the northwest, I furnishing
many of them "settlers' tickets,
and otherwise represented his
colony at the North.
On Monday. June 5, 1898,
ascended the Blue Ridge in Macor
county and rode into the city o.
Highlands, which is situated 3,8Os
feet above sea level. l was agreea
bly, surprised to find beautiful farms
in the suburbs, shining green will
rye, clover, grasses and fruit trees
The farm houses and yards have th,
appearance of improved city lots
while near almost every house th,
yard is adorned with stands O
Italian bees.
, The Main street at Highlands il
at least mile in length, with sew
ersl cross streets. The houses ar
elegant, never crowded close to
,, gether, the lots being large en-,
; we'll adorned with meadows an,
,, groves. The site of the town
: comparatively level, half circled b,
!, the wonderful ridge of stone whici
} constitutes the great water divide
Tributaries Of Little Tennessee rive
head within the town, while ius
! south OF the great ridge, only C. fe,
- hundred yards, rise branches of th
: Savannah river and drop far dow
into the famous Horse Cove, a thou
!. sand feet below.
:; Highlands has mills and shop,
q 9oOA ~ oAN WoA nous, uOGelB ana lly
cry stables, churches and school
1t is typical Southern town bull
: owned and operated by exceller
! people from the north, the east, th
- west and the south. Two of th
!, hotels are large and elegantly fitte
> = up for tourists; while the smalle
. ones are equally nice. They a,
y comodate about 400 guests and a,
! usually filed in summer.
- The business men of HIGHLAND
- are deeply interested in the subie,
= OF q railroad between Atlanta an
:. Asheville, the line of which pass,
- through that towr.
: On June 9Th l rode over the d
- vide and descended thousand fe
! along q we'll graded road into Hor
- Cove, looking up from which Il
;s most elevated house of the toV
~ ~ could be seen standing on the ri
OF the great ridge on the diz
heights. From Horse Cove I we