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Tuckasegee or Tuckaseigee?
During last Wednesday's visit to the Speedwell General Store, a reader mentioned to me that Sylva Herald writers are inconsistent in the way we spell "Tuckasegee" in news stories.
"Sometimes it's with an 'i,' and sometimes it's not," she said.
The very next day, a different reader asked the same question.
Both are correct in observing that we spell that name two different ways; in our defense, I offer that we're consistently inconsistent, and we do have reasons for the spellings we choose.
Though this issue was addressed in this space more than five years ago, a preponderance of news about the Tuckaseigee River in recent months, including July's proposed trophy trout designation for the river between the Cullowhee Dam and Tuckasegee and September's back-to-back floods courtesy of Hurricanes Frances and Ivan, it seems a good time for a review session.
We first published much of this information in 1999 in the wake of a rash of geographically-challenged reports in other area media outlets. These included routine misspellings of "Wilmot" as well as a story that placed Wayehutta in Sylva. The Sylva Herald newsroom felt an obligation to offer a guide to help sort out a few of the confusing subtleties associated with local locations.
Starting with tricky Tuckasegee, here is the information we have compiled thus far:
Tuckaseigee – The river that runs through most of Jackson County. Its West Fork generally parallels N.C. 107 between Glenville and Tuckasegee (see below). The Tuckaseigee's East Fork flows through Jackson County's Canada community and joins the West Fork near the intersection of N.C. 107 and N.C. 281. Caney Fork, another large tributary, flows into the river's main stem at East LaPorte.
Tuckasegee – The community between Cullowhee and Cashiers and its post office.
Tuckaseegee – Don't use it. It's incorrect in all applications.
Wilmot – A community between Dillsboro and Whittier. There is not now and never has been an "n" in Wilmot.
Lovesfield – Area along N.C. 107 South that falls roughly between Wal-Mart and Smoky Mountain High School. While it may be derived from Love's field, after the prominent early family that owned much of the property there, the proper usage is one word in all applications.
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 swapped sides of the river. The sign on the road says "Old Settlement." We could accept "Old Ashe Settlement," but we object to omitting the name of one of our pioneer families.
Greens Creek, Charleys Creek, Scotts Creek, Barkers Creek, etc. – No apostrophes are found in any of these, though they may once have been possessive.
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 "Wary hut" or "Worry hut." Don't ask us why.
Panthertown – Large valley, now owned by the U.S. Forest Service and officially named the Elspeth and James McClure Clarke Forest, located in the southern end of the county. 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 some Charlotte football team.
College Hill – The hill above the Verizon office including Hampton and Rose streets. The "college" in College Hill refers to Sylva Collegiate Institute, a Baptist boarding school that operated in Sylva from 1899 until 1932.
Addie/Beta – 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.
Old Sylva School/Mark Watson Park – Everyone knows where Mark Watson Park is, but some may not know that Sylva's schools once were 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. The Sylva High 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. He's 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.
Tannery Flats – The residential area along Chipper Curve Road. The Armour Tannery Co. was located close by from 1901 until 1957. The area is also called simply "the Flats."
Upper Flats – The area of Allen Street above Chipper Curve Road.
The Bottom – The area from the Sylva swimming pool west to Josephine Street. It included the Triangle Park, which was located in front of the Sylva Presbyterian Church.
Lloyd Development – The area off of Savannah Drive that includes First, Second and Lloyd avenues and Oakwood Drive. It is named for E.M. "Beef" Lloyd, who owned the land and sold lots for the houses starting in the early 1950s.
Possom Holler – The area around Morris and Spring streets above Massie Furniture Company. It is believed to have been named by Dick Wilson when he lived there in the 1930s. Wilson went on to become Sylva's postmaster.
Courtland Heights – The area above the old Jackson County Courthouse.
Rhodes Cove – The area behind Kel-Save, generally bounded by Sunrise Park and Cherry Street. Also called Rhodes Town, it was named for Professor Rhodes and his wife, Caroline, who lived near a big holly tree and hosted community Christmas parties complete with gifts for the neighborhood children.
Sylva storyteller and author Gary Carden grew up in Rhodes Cove and still lives there. He said a few years ago on the PBS show North Carolina Now that he grew up in a "remote area" near Sylva. Rhodes Cove is considered practically downtown these days, a notion that illustrates just how much Sylva has changed during the last six decades.
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