Newspapers / The Cherokee Scout (Murphy, … / Oct. 1, 1964, edition 1 / Page 22
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Cherokee County History Continued From Page One ^ry of him be perpetuated name of the. county rokee Count y. [ Settlers in considerable Dwn bers had moved into what is Lev Cherokee County even be fore the territory was relin quished by the Indians. A post effica was established at the ?MW site of Murphy in 1836 fadi Archibald R. S. Hui*er. fee first white settler as post pister. [Hunter was said to have been k first white man to build to bouse in Cherokee County. Ilbe house stood not far from Me place where Fort Butler H| kter erected on the bluff ^pess the Hiwassee River from I Murphy. ?Not unul January 4, 1839, fens there such a County in Worth Carolina, known as Cher Nfcee County. Before this date bod up to May 23, 1826, the {territory embracing Cherokee (County was owned and occupied (by the Cherokee Indians and ?he United States Government pas concluded, which treaty was ratified at New Echota, Ga., Blay 23, 1836, by the terms of iwhich treaty the Cherokee Ind ians ceded all their possess 1 i?ns East of the Mississippi to the United States. r Upon the removal of the Cher okee Indians under command of F General Winfield Scott, preced ed by General John Wood in 1836-38, the Government of the United States established a fort overlooking the Hiawassee River on the Southwest about a half a mile from the present courthouse which is known as Fort Butler, after B. F. But ler, then Secretary of War. In 1839 a law of North Car olina stated that "Until a court house and jail shall be built in said County, any of the build ings put up by the army at Fort B utler on the four hundred acres of land on which the Town of Murphy is situate, shall be for the use of the courts of the County, until a Courthouse and jail shall be built." There was no hurry on the part of the State of North Car olina to dispose of the Cher okee Indian lands, ?nd it wa; not until the latter part of March, 1842 that an entry tak er's office was openeo at Mur phy. Unlike the Ocoee Dist rict in Tennessee, where occ upants had priority of entry, the Cherokee County lands were entered on a first come, first served basis. Immediately upon the opening of the land office, Drewery Weeks, the entry taker, was beseiged by a riotous crowd eager to enter their lands. So great was the rush that the entry taker filed his office for safety. There was nothing to prevent a settler who had lab ored to improve his property from being dispossed by another who could reach the taker first and claim the land. Adjoining Cherokee County on die west is the Great Cop per Basin at Copper hill, Tenn essee. Cherokee County was once a part of the Old State of Franklin which is now Tennessee. Tradition has it that but for the Sahara-like thirst of die party surveying the westernmost boundary of Cherokee County, the famous Copper Basin and copper mines would have been a part of North Carolina rather than Tenn essee. The survey was to have foll owed the top of the Unicoi Mountain Range, which was the designated dividing line .but die surveyors, getting "In their cups", elected to take the short est route home. As a result of this, the men took the nearest way to dte Georgia line, a dis tance of 15 miles forming the only straight section of bound ary between North Carolina and Tennessee. As the settlers moved west ward from Murphy they estab lished themselves along creek banks from the vicinity of the town to the Tennessee line. By 1343, the population along Persimmon Creek was large enough to make a post ofiice necessary. One was established on September 9, 1843, near the place where the creek empties into the Hiawassee River. Ben jamin Stiles was postmaster of the Persimmon Creek Post Off ice. Still later, and farther west ward, the Turtletown Post Off ice was opened on Shoal Creek, 3 December 23, 1847, by Elias W. Kilpa trick, postmaster. A mail route between Turtletown and Ducktown was inaugurated - in 1853. Several decides later another post office named Turtletown was opened accross the stale line in Tennessee. For a num ber of years there were two post offices by this name, one in Tennessee and one in North Carolina. Later the one in North Carolina was changed in 1912 to that of Oak Park. Another main line of settle ment was along the route be tween Murphy and Ducktown. Across Ar^ellico Gap from Ducktown, between it and Franklin Mountains, was the site of the Wolf' Creek Post Office opened on August 5,1858 with Tyra A. Tatham as post master. Midway between Mur phy and Ducktown was the Hot House Post Office opened on February 23, 1877, with Will iam A. Phillips as postmaster. Cherokee County's roads in the 1840's followed the aim-' less trek of settlers as they took up Indian lands along Per simmon, Shoal, and Hot House Creeks, and down the valley in the direction of the present site of Culberson. Definite direction was given one of the routes, however, when the North Carolina Leg islature of 1848-49 passed an act providing for the construct ion of the Western Turnpike from Salisbury to the Georgia State line by way of Asheville and Murphy. Later on, after John Glad well had opened his rbad down the Ocoee River from Ducktown the North Carolina Legislature of 1854-55 amended its prev ious act making Asheville the eastern terminus of the West ern Turnpike. The road from Murphy to Ducktown thus be came a state road, and wagon traffic between western North Carolina and lower East ern Tennessee, through the Copper District of Ducktown was for the first time made possible. The Western Turnpike fig ured prominently in the early history of Ducktown. Over this route "cotton rock" for the furnaces at EXicktown was haul ed from Cherokee County, and mail carriers and other traf - ic plied back and forth over its winding course between the mines and Murphy. Although the destination Wes tern Turnpike has long since passed into disuse, the gen eral direction of the road has remained and now forms a link in U. S. Highway No. 64 be tween Ducktown and Murphy. The natural resources in Cherokee County are limestone, marble, talc, mountains .game, fish. The limestone is locat ed at Murphy, marble is loc ated at Marble, talc is locat- g ed at Murphy. Fish is loc ated in most all rivers and creeks and game in most all forests and mountains. North Carolina's most exten sive marble deposits occur al ong with the Nottley and Vall ey rivers in this county. Our courthouse is construct ed of native Regal Blue Mar ble, quarried four miles from its location. In addition to the blue, there is pink, white, and gray marble, iron, copper ,talc, manganese, flagstone, and gar net. Near the town of Marble there are blue and gray marble quarries and plants for cutting and polishing monumental and ornamental stone are in op eration. Associated with the marble deposits is the finest grade of talc to be found in the United States. This product is used extensively in the steel, textile, and cosmetic industries. Pot entially there are almost in exhaustible quantities of brown iron ore, which may prove to be a valuable reserve to the nation. This ore was mined in the county chiefly in the vicinity of Andrews, during the F irst World War. The John C. Campbell Folk School, located on die border between Cherokee and Clay counties was established by Mrs. John C. Campbell and Mrs. Georg Bidstrup in 1925. The curriculum is oased on the Danish Folk School idea and in addition to vocational training, handicrafts, and wood working, the school sponsors cooperative farm enterprises. It also sponsors supervised recreation with weekly folk dan ces for people of the county and surrounding areas. On dis play at the School are wood carvings, in which they speci alize, weaving, and various other handicrafts. Tennessee Valley Authority has built two dams in Cherokee County and two Just ?cross the line. Hlwsssee,An>s1srhls.snd Chstuge(ln day County) dstns sre on the Hi was see River, and Nottely (in Georgia) on Nottely River. Twenty miles west of Mur phy, near Hi was see Dam, is the birthplace of A. J. Tomlin son, the founder of the Church of God. Commemorating this site is the Church of God Ass embly Ground, Fields of the Woods. The Ten Command menu are spread on the moun tain side with the large t ew Testament at the top, die All Nations Cross on the top of the mountain from which is a breath-taking view, and sepul cher, the baptismal pool, and the garden of plants and flow ers iron) the Holy Land. The early settlers of Chero kee County brought into these mountains the stern virtues of honesty, self-respect, and an old fashioned speech, which many yet retain. The best blood of four people and four countries flowed in their veins Scotch, Irish, British, and Dut ch. It was this type of people who, early in the 1800* 3 sett led here and built their count ry into what it now is. Judge Felix A. Alley, des cribing the county, states: "I see in it all a Design too per fect for human comprehension. To me its contemplation sugg ests the untold wealth of the Infinite Universe. It Inspires in my heart ? reverence so profound that it leaves scarce a place for the smallness of earthly hopes and yearnings. Its natural wealth, its rugged - ness and vastness, its match less splendor, and its lavish ness of beauty, sink into my soul and leave my spirit stra ining at its earthly bonds to gaze with longing eyes toward the Infinite Power which or dered its existance." A MYSTERIOUS LETTER IS FOUND Said to Have Bmi Written By Christ and Placed Under Stene After HU Crusifixion Country papers throughqut the United States are printing what is alleged to be a letter written by Christ. In this letter was an injunc tion that it should be published to the world by whoever happened, to find it, together with the statement that misfortune and bad luck would foljow the person having possession of it in event it was not given pub licity. There was likewise a promise that whosoever may "have a copy in his ** her T"*****1"" tflL f'*" and be followed by good fortune. According to the history of .the letter it was written by Jesus Christ himself just aftfer the crucifixion, signed by the angel Gabriel 99 years after the Savior's birth and presum ably deposited by Him under a stone at the foot of his cross. On tbeY stone appeared the legend, "Blessed is he who shall turn me over." No one knows what the inscrip tion meant, or seemed to have suffi cient curosity to investigate until the stone was turned over by a little I chiM and the letter which follows was discovered: < "Whosoever works on the Sabbath will be cursed. I command you to. go to church and keep holy the j Lcrd'fl Cijy, without any manner of j work.' Y?u shall .not* idle 6r sperfd your time'( in , bedecking yourself ' with superfluities of costly apparel ancf vain dressing, for I have order ed It a day of rest, and will have that day kept holy that your sins may be forgiven you. "Yon will not break any com mandments bat will observe and keep them, they being written by my hand and tpoken frt>m my mouth. 'Not only go to church yourselves, but allow your man-servant and you? maid servant and observe my ^ords and hear my commandments. "You will finish yosir work every Saturdav afternoon at 6 o'clock, at which trme ?Ke preparation of the Sabbath begins. I advise you to fast five days in the year, beginning on Good Friday and continuing the five days following in remembrence of my death for you. "You shall love one another and cause them that are not baptised to come to the church and receive the i Holy Sacrementj that is to say bap tism, and then the supper of the Lord ami b? made a member there of and in so doing I will give you a ?long life and many- blessings. Your land will be ' replenished and bring forth abundant and 'will comfort you in the greatest temptation and sure ly he that doeth to the contrary . shall be cursed, ! "And he that hath a copy of this I letter written by my own hand and spoken out of jpiy own mouth and | keepeth it withuut publishing it to j others, shall not prosper, but he > that publish it to others shall be blessed by me if their sons be as many a4 the stars of the night, and if tiey believe not this letter and ftiy commandments will have my plague upon you and you will be consumed *ith your chiicren, goods and .chattel and all otlwr worldly goods that I have given you; if you do it will be well for jpu ifi the world which is to come. "Whosoever shall keetf- a copy of this letter and keep it the house, rnthinc shall harm fr h#nv iw?. if any woman be in bcth and. put her trust in me she sha[ be deliver ed of her child. YqO spall hear no more newt of me except through the Holy Scripture until the 4a y of judg ment. All goodness Ml prosperity shall be in the house there a copy of this letter shall be bund." The gtory is that tl* little girl vrno found it passed It to one who became a convert to Ihe Christian faith. He failed to hare the letter published. He kept it a sacred Jtft meato of ?nr Christ gave it down to diffetent gengations OTIS* family fc* more thaa'bne thousand or more years. During this' period the family suffered misfortune?, migrated to different countries a4 finally one of them c*me to Africa bringing thfe letter with hint. They settled in Virginia and then noved further south, *till followed -Jy misfortune, when finally the la*l member, ? young daughter, approached her death bed and called 4 neighbor and then gave the letter, relating its story of more than a <feousan<T years. The Thompson womajfr began the attempt to have it published and it first appeared in 'the {Rome, Georgia Tribune, on October gist, 1891. It then appeared 'in thfc Dalton, Ga., Citizen and Mr. Woitham, now liv ing in Maricm, Ind, clipped it and kept it in his possession for many ye?rs without an effort to have it published. He was followed by mis fortune, which he attributed to no attempt to have the letter published. Mrs. Lucy Crutcbfield, of Trez vant, Tenn., is said to have had a copy and failed to wake an effort ? to have it published for thrw^fcrs and was followed by a varied fct of misfortunes; and 'attributed it to ths neglect in this respect. ? Bx. ? "? I- hear that Jones left everything h^ bacbito an orphan asylum." *"fc &at to? What aid he leave?" "T'Wive children." 30 YEARS OF FAITHFUL SERVICE In 1934 Peyton G. and Edythe Ivie founded the Ivie Funeral Home in Murphy in the Regal Hotel Build ing. At the time of opening the funeral home, Mr. Ivie was encouraged to also open a furniture store by Mr. C. W. Savage, for which Mr. Ivie says he is very grateful. It would have taken him quite some time to get established as a funeral director. In 1938 Peyton and Edythe built the home in which they are now living and also the funeral home in the same building. This is the present location today. Seeing the need for a funeral home in Hayesville, the Ivies open ed the home in Hayesville in 1955. The Clay County Furniture Store was established in 1941 and is still at the present location on the square. In 1946 the Ivie Funeral Homes bought out Forsyth and Watkins in Andrews. Besides the Ivies, Peyton and Edythe, the I vie Funeral Homes in Murphy, Hayesville and And rews now give employment to ten additional persons. Those employed in Murphy are J. B. Hall, assistant manager, Neal Enloe, Thad Ellis, Grady Car ringer, Juanita Hall, and Juan ita Weaver. Earl Crawford, manager. Jack Rogers, and Junior Killian, are all employed in Hayes ville. Hubert Walker is manager of the Funeral Home in Andrews. Ci on^ratu fat ions ^7o ^Jlie C^lierohee Scout On Oil eir 75tli s$nn iveriary Msrpby - Valley River Avenue Phoae 837 - 2116 Hoyesville ? Phone 389 - 2Y13 Andrews - Phone 143 24 HOUR AMBULANCE SERVICE IVIE NERRL
The Cherokee Scout (Murphy, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 1, 1964, edition 1
22
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