THE YANCEY RECORD AND NirTCHELL LEDGER JUNE 24, W7l
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One Os Many SwingingFMforidgM Still Used In Mitchell County
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Peggy's Beauty Salon
j Welcomes You To Bakersville j
And The Rhododendron Festival\
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i Peggy is happy to announce that Mrs. Margaret Hoilman
j has joined the staff of Peggy’s Beauty Salon in Bakersville. You
: are envited to call Margaret at her new location for your beauty
: appointment. 6BB-3202 ||P A Alf)f
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Bakersville Beauty Salon
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The 50 Bed Spruce Pine Community Hospital Is Modern And Well Equipped.
Capable Physicians And Nurses Are In Attendance.
PEEBLES-KIMBRELL
i Spruce Pine, N.C. ,
I
Education Was Always
Important To Bakersville
The people of Bakersville
have always believed in edu
cation. Before the public
school as it is known today
was established, parents were
pooling their resources to hire
a local or itinerant teacher to
teach their children the rudi
ments of learning. During the
period of sparse settlement,the
teacher would go from home
to home to conduct his classes.
Later, as homes were built
closer together, the children
would come to a central home
or to a meeting house for their
lessons.
Beginning in 1884 the coun
ty shared in the funds provided
by the State for public schools.
From that date to the present,
except during the period of the
Civil War, education of a kind
has been provided at public
expense for all children of all
the people.
The development of educa
tion in Bakersville from the
days of the itinerant teacher to
the present is noted briefly:
In the early 1870's W. C.
Bowman was able to secure aid
from the Peabody fund for opi
ating a school which was far
superior to the public school at
that time. To qualify for the
fund, the school had to have
100 pupils at least, must fun
for the greater portion of the
year and must be presided over
by competent teachers. At
least two of these Peabody
schools were conducted at or
near Bakersville.
A few years later, J. C.
Bowman established Bowman
Academy which he conducted
for many years. When the ven
ture resulted in a financial loss,
he transferred the property to
the Southern Baptist Conven -
tion, and the nameofthesohcol
was changed to the Mitchell
Collegiate Institute.
These institutions of leam -
ing served well in their day,
especially by developing a
desire for learning which has k-
sulted in the greatly expanded
facilities which are now avail
able at Bowman High School,
Bakersville.
The change from a church
supported school to a public
school was made in 1923. In
a consolidation movement, the
Southern Baptist Convention
sold the Mitchell Collegiate
Institute to the County Board
of Education, and the purchase
price was added to the sup
port of Mars Hill College.
Wild Animals
Os Yesterday ’
The Toe River Valley was
plagued for a long time by
wild animals —bobcats, pan
thers, bears, foxes, and es
pecially wolves. These de
structive pests greatly increased
during the Civil War, and
cattlemen hired a man, Wei -
bom Waters, an expert hunter,
to kill all the wolves from the
White Top to Roan Mountain.
He would conceal himself
in the wildest part of the moun
tains and howl an imitation of
a wolf. When the wolves
came in answer to his call,
he shot them from his place
of concealment.
Welbom was credited with
exterminating the creatures
along the Tennessee border.
In 1836 a special wolf tax
was imposed each year until
1857, proceeds of this tax be
ing offered as a bounty for
wolf scalps.
Mining Brought
Boundary Feuds
When mining commenced
in Mitchell County it meant
the sudden introduction of a
source of ready cash—some -
thing the section had never en
joyed before.
A visitor in 1885 said, "This
excitement over mica and other
minerals had the usual effect
of starting up business and
creating bad blood."
Heretofore, no one had paid
much attention to property
lines, but there was a rash of
resurveys, boundary lawsuits,
and the buying and selling of
mineral rights.
Credits Given
Much of the historical data
presented in this supple m e nt
was condensed from a 1952
edition of The State magazine,
and to its staff goes all the
credit for researching the facts.
We would also like to give
full credit to the Publication
Committee of the Bakersville
Historical Celebration for the
information on Bakersville
churches and the town itself
which was taken from a 1956
booklet entitled Historical Ce
lebration.