|
More local geography
Last week’s column on Sylva place names aroused enough interest that we thought we’d continue the series this week.
Our first attempt to compile a basic lesson about some of Jackson County’s more unusual names and places was prompted eight or nine years ago because we kept noticing that other area media outlets seemed more than a little geographically challenged. Despite our efforts, those same shortcomings persist, a fact that was brought to our attention recently by Wayne Hooper of Cullowhee, who was county commissioners’ chairman/county manager from 1978 until 1994.
We were once surprised to learn from one area publication that Wayehutta is part of Sylva and to repeatedly see the totally incorrect “Wilmont” in big letters in another. More recently, another newspaper was apparently puzzled when The Herald reported that a consultant had recommended building the new county library in Lovesfield.
However, we came to realize we were being too critical. How were they supposed to know the difference between Moody Bottom and Tannery Flats or distinguish between Addie and Beta unless someone told them?
With that in mind, we decided to list some of the knowledge we’ve acquired through the years to clear up some of the confusing subtleties of selected local locations. And here, in no particular order, are the ones we selected:
Wilmot – a community between Dillsboro and Whittier. There is not now and never has been an “n” in Wilmot.
Lovesfield – Area of N.C. 107 South that falls roughly between Wal-Mart and Evans Road, which intersects with 107 a half-mile or so past Ingles. While it may be derived from Love’s field, the proper usage is one word in all applications. A recent conversation with 80-year-old twins Clyde and Ernest Bumgarner, who grew up in Lovesfield produced the information that local musical legend Samantha Biddix Bumgarner lived out her final years there. The twins remember that she picked her banjo on the porch of her home that once stood where Bryson’s Farm Supply is now.
Ashe Settlement – Correct name for the area that generally lies between N.C. 107 near Jack The Dipper and Webster. It was easier to precisely locate back before the highway moved to the other side of the river. The sign on the road now says “Old Settlement.” We could accept “Old Ashe Settlement,” but we object to the omission of one of our pioneer families.
Tuckaseigee – The river that runs the length of Jackson County.
Tuckasegee – The community between Cullowhee and Cashiers and its post office.
Tuckaseegee – Don’t use it. It’s incorrect in all applications.
Greens Creek, Charleys Creek, Scotts Creek, Barkers Creek, etc. – No apostrophes are found in any of these, though they may once have been meant to be possessives.
Allen Branch, Blanton Branch – These are singular, rather than possessive or plural.
East LaPorte – Spell it this way.
Wayehutta – A community in Cullowhee. Spell it like this and say it as if it were written “Worry hut.” Don’t ask us why.
Panthertown – Large valley, often called the “Yosemite of the East,” which is now owned by the U.S. Forest Service. It’s located in the southern end of the county and has become a popular hiking and camping destination. Some of us (that would include Frosty and me) prefer the original mountain pronunciation of “Paintertown.” Others (who would be wrong) persist in saying it as if this geologically unique area were named for a professional football team based in Charlotte.
For those still puzzling over Moody Bottom, Addie and Beta (pronounced “Beeta”), the communities along the old Asheville Highway (now Skyland Drive), in order heading northeast from Sylva, are: Tannery Flats, Moody Bottom, Maple Springs, Beta, Foster Siding, Lower Addie and Addie.
After last week’s column, one alert reader pointed out that we should have included more history with our description of the Old Sylva School/Mark Watson Park area. We reported that Sylva’s schools were once located there: Sylva Elementary closed in 1973 after Fairview opened and Sylva High closed in 1960 with the opening of Sylva-Webster (now Smoky Mountain) High. Sylva High’s football field was named after Mark Watson, a popular coach at both Sylva and Webster high schools who was a 1945 World War II casualty and is buried in the American Cemetery in Luxembourg. The Mark Watson name fell from general use after the schools closed but was revived during the 1970s by the Jackson County Recreation Department.
However, there was an earlier name for the Mark Watson Park area. Back in the early 1900s it was the Jackson County Fairgrounds, – the location for annual county agricultural fairs – and before that it was known as “Baum Bottom” after early Sylva resident Joseph H. Baum, who’s buried in Keener Cemetery.
Despite our plea for assistance in last week’s paper, we still lack information about Evalina Street, the narrow, steep street just east of The Sylva Herald building. No one yet has come forward with any information about who Evalina was or why the street was named in her honor.
In thinking of former Commissioners’ Chairman Hooper, we also remembered his one-time summation of government agencies’ ongoing effort to complicate and rename simple concepts.
Almost two decades ago, during a commissioners’ meeting discussion with Health Department officials about communicable disease policy, Hooper shook his head and commented on the long word, saying something like “It used to be that something was ‘catching,’ then it was ‘contagious.’ Now it’s ‘communicable,’ and I can’t even spell that.”
With that in mind, we hope interest in local places will prove to be catching, proper use and spelling will be contagious, and that we have successfully communicated some of the quirkier aspects of Jackson County geography.
|
