Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1915-02-04
EAST FLAT ROCK HISTORY.
Miss Florence Jones Prepares Inter.
esting History of Village.

OceAAS nADgOAJ VI tAAA0oOs
Prof. R. A. Reed, principal of the
Flat Rock Graded schools, last fall
offered a prize for the best history of,
Flat Rock. The prize was awarded
to Miss Nellie Slattery.
The paper of Miss Florence Jones,
daughter of j, B. Jones, was of equal
merit but dealt mostly with East Flat
Rock.
The interesting history prepared by
Miss Jones follows, that by Miss Stat
terry having appeared two weeks ago:
East Flat Rock.
In 1875 there were nc houses or
anything here. All the land north of
the depot belonged to the Barreas.
All south of the depot belonged to the
Kings. In 1876 the r. Y. McCadiau
Inman & Co., started the railroad
through here. When they were grad
ing the railroad through, the contrac-
tors built two log houses. One was
used as q commissary and and the one
as a dwelling house. The railroad
| hands camped in tents. In 1878 the
railroad was finished through to Hem
dersonville. It didn't extend any
tfurther than Hendersonville for about
six or3seven years. They didn't run
but one train, each direction a day.
| It was called a samiXed train" because
it was a passenger and freight togeth-
er. Now they run six passenger
trains daily in winter, ten in the sum
mer, and ten or more freight trains
| daily. I;
When any one wanted to ride on
this train they didn't have to go 20.
a depot to get on: all they had to do
was to get out .on the railroad track
and flag the train. It would stop
anywhere along the road for passen-
gers. The section foreman didn't
have lever cars then, but instead they
had to, push ars When they wanted
to go home or anywhere else, they
would flag the train down, and at
tach their car to the res end.
When the railroad track a finished
| through to Hendersonville, a small de-
pot was built. The first agent in this
depot was Mr.. John Brookshire
Gather of Rev. ]. L. B~rookshire). He
lived in the log house that the graders
used for a commissary for a number
Of years. This, house was about 500
yards north of the depot.
About two years before the death of
Mr.. John Brookshire, Kirkwood King
built a small log house near the depot,
in which Mr.. John Brookshire lived
Until his death. In 1889 they built a
larger depot, which is still standing
at the present time q914). Sometime
later the Kings sold a twenty acre
tract of land on the east side of the
railroad, near the station to p. w.
Hart & Co. They bought this land
for the purpose of building a knitting
mill. Mr.. Hart changed his plansi
and instead of building the knitting
mill, sold the land to Mr.. P. H. Walk
FER. MI. Walker put up.a saw-mill.
sawed lumber and built a large DWELL.
ing house, near the depot. This was
tthe first nice dwelling house that was
built in East Flat Rock. Later he
bought 800 acres of the old Barren
tract,. Joining the King tract that he
had bought He, then allotted of his
Hand and sold thirty acres to the Sky
Hand Hosiery Co, (1906), and the rest
he sold, all but just a few acres. This
was the first opening, due to Mr.. p. H.
Walker. In 1909 Mr. Walker gave
tenongh land to- bnilda4fa Methodist
Echurch: This vas the first church
built in East Flat Rock.
In 1910 he gave enough. land below
the M. e. church to build a Baptist
church. Since Mr.. Walker made an
iorenings progress has increased. We
now have a knitting mill and town,
a nice school-building, a lumber plant,
six stores. a nice ,p~ostofice. a restau-
dent, a barber shop, a meat market, a
canning factory, two churches, a
pressing club, three private boarding
houses, a bicycle shop, and a popula-
ton of about six hundred people.
West Flat Rock.
West Flat Rock was once a forest.
But in 1880 there were some settle
ments made. Among the first to set
tie there were Messrs Judge King.
Fred Rutledge, Col. Memminger, and
Allen Tabor. The first hotel was built
on the old Buncombe road, about 1 1-2
miles from where the P. o. now stands
at the present time (1914). Everybody
called it "The Mountain House. In
1860 it was burned down. Later Mr..
Farmer built a hotel which stillstands.
Until 1904 there was only a 1-room-
ed school building, and one teacher.
Since 1904 there is a four roomed
building, three teachers, nine grades.
Later Hart & Co.. built a canning fac
tory north Of the p~ostofice. Eyer
since the Civil war improvements have
been made From the very beginning
till 1878 stage coaches were run. From
then on trains have run through East
Flat Rock which served as well. Now
in West Fiat Rock there's a nice school
building, a postof1ce, three stores,
several buildings and a population of
about 200 DeonHa- ra -la