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Local schools once read like alphabet book
The Sylva Herald is fast approaching its 80th anniversary, which means that Jackson County will turn 155 year old this year.
I was reminded of that while looking back through the history series we did to celebrate 2001 – the newspaper’s 75th and Jackson County’s 150th year.
While looking for something suitable to write about this week, it occurred to me that schools have been a big part of all of Jackson County’s history, just as education topics have been important subjects throughout the almost-eight-decade lifespan of this newspaper.
Our county is presently home to a campus of the University of North Carolina, a community college, eight public schools (seven in the county school system and one charter school), and a couple of private schools. But when Jackson was created in 1851 from portions of Macon and Haywood counties, it had only one school, which was located in Qualla community.
During the intervening century and a half, some 95 schools – alphabetically from Addie to Zion Hill – have operated here.
As is the case with the 80 or so post offices that have existed in Jackson County, the names and dates of local schools make for interesting reading.
Turning to “The History of Jackson County,” first published by the Jackson County Historical Association in 1987, and reprinted with 2001’s Sesquicentennial Edition, we find the following information in “Appendix VI, Education.”
The list of superintendents of schools reads like a “Who’s Who” of early Jackson County. Names like Keener, Terrell, Hampton, Allison, Wike, Cathey, Henson, Cope, Buchanan and Cowan still frequent our newspaper pages. Joseph Keener, who took office in 1853 was the first of 39 to hold the title. We don’t find early industrialist C.J. Harris, who funded construction of the Jackson County Courthouse and lent his name to the local hospital, but most other early leaders served a term or two.
Dillsboro founder William Allen Dills was superintendent in 1879, and Western Carolina University founder R.L. Madison held the job from 1919 until 1921. E.R. Hampton, superintendent in 1869, once owned most of the land where Sylva is now located; his daughter Mae gave the town its name when she insisted her father name the post office after his hired hand, a “wayfaring Dane” named William Demetrius Sylva.
Jackson County’s former schools almost span the alphabet – they have names that match up with every letter except “I” and “X.” To close this Cafe school history, we’ll list those names, in storybook order, and let them remind us of earlier times.
A is for Addie and Argura.
B is for Balsam, Balsam Grove, Barkers Creek, Bessie, Beta, Big Ridge, Blue Ridge, Board Castle, Brasstown and Bryson.
C is for Camp Lab, Canada, Cane Creek, Caney Fork, Cashiers, Charleys Creek, Clayton, Colored Consolidated, Cowarts, Cullowhee and Cullowhee Mountain.
D is for Dark Ridge, Deets, Dillsboro, Dix Creek and Double Springs.
E is for East Fork and East LaPorte.
F is for Fairfield and Fairview.
G is for Gay, Glenville, Green Mountain and Greens Creek.
H is for Hamburg and Happy Valley.
J is for Jackson Academy and Johns Creek.
K is for Kilgore.
L is for Liberty and Log Cabin.
M is for McKee Training and Moses Creek.
N is for Norton.
O is for Oak Hill, Olivet and Oscar.
P is for Pilot Cove, Pine Creek, Pisgah Forest and Pleasant Grove.
Q is for Qualla, Qualla High and Quallatown.
R is for River Hill, River View, Rock Bridge and Rocky Hollow.
S is for Sadie Mountain, Savannah, Scotts Creek, Shoal Creek, Smokey Mountain, Smoky Mountain, Soco, Sols Creek, Speedwell, Sylva, Sylva High and Sylva-Webster High.
T is for Tennessee (Tanassee) Gap and Tuckaseigee.
U is for Upper Barkers Creek.
V is for View Point.
W is for Wayehutta, Webster, Webster High, White Rock, Whiteside, Whittier, Willets, Wilmot and Wolf Creek.
Y is for Yellow Mountain.
Z is for Zion Hill.
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