2010 – 8th Grade Field Trip
The first time I went to Hazel Creek was on an 8th grade field trip with the girls. We all fell in love with the area and have been back several times since then.
Although we’ve not visited all the areas that were once inhabited on Hazel Creek, the ones we have had the pleasure of walking through are amazing.
I’m alway struck by the knowledge that so many people once lived in the wilderness. The town of Proctor was large enough to have a movie theater yet today if one didn’t know the history they’d be hard press to believe the thriving town ever existed.
My friend Don Casada has bushwacked all over Hazel Creek and discovered many old home sites and architectural relics. Don’s research and documentation spreads far past the general area of Hazel Creek. In fact he has compiled his many years of research into a wonderful website Swain County’s People and Places.
I always look forward to seeing the old chimney in the photo at the top of this post. For one thing it’s situated in a lovely area and I like thinking about all the fires that were built in it. Another reason is the beauty of the stacked rock. Don sums the old chimneys of the mountains up pretty good: “The many chimneys still standing upright – even with the rest of the home either burned, decayed, or hauled away – are likewise a testimony to both craftsmanship and an intent to build something that would last well beyond its builder’s years.”
On my recent trip Don told us the chimney is the remains of the W.A. Franklin home. But better than that, he shared a photo of the home.
W.A. Franklin Home – Photo courtesy of Don Casada
I was so excited to see the photo of the house. I love the shady porch, the curtains at the windows, and the lattice over the crawl space.
As so often happens in western NC, it turns out there is a connection between the old house and Cherokee County where I live.
Don said W.A. moved to Andrews after he had to leave his home for the park to be created. (*See Don’s comment below-W.A. left before the park was created.)
Hearing about W.A. made me think of the Franklins I knew growing up and wonder if they were related. I’m sure somewhere down the line they are.
It also made me think of something else. The connection I feel to the people who once called Hazel Creek home.
I can’t say what it feels like to lose your land, your home, your church for the supposed greater good of society, yet I can say without a doubt the people of Hazel Creek were my people. They lived in the same Appalachian culture that I do where things like independence, self reliance, faith, neighborliness, love of family, humility, humor, music, and love of place are all valued.
Even though I didn’t know any of the people personally they’d be no stranger if I met them today. For we’d soon find out we speak the same rich Appalachian language, we know about gritted bread, and with a few quick questions we’d know who we belonged to and realize we are of the same people.
Last night’s video: Adventure & Stories from Hazel Creek: Old Gravestones, Architectural Relics & Stunning Scenery.
If you are interested in touring Hazel Creek contact Heath Hyatt: Hyatt Creek Outpost (828)342-0008 hyattcreekoutpost@gmail.com.
Tipper
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Tipper, I’m just curious. Is the Hyatt Creek Outpost connected to the Hyatt creek in Waynesville and is Heath a Haywood Hyatt? Doesn’t matter, just wondering….
Louanne-it’s in Bryson City. Heath is from Swain County but is likely related to the Haywood Hyatts 🙂
Tipper and Louanne, I’m just having a chance to read this.
From what I’ve been able to gather, basically all of the WNC Hyatts descend from Edward Gaither “Neddie” Hyatt and his wife Hannah Parker Leatherwood.
Take a look at the findagrave entries for Hannah and Edward:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48848608/hannah_parker_hyatt
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37167217/edward_gaither_hyatt
Note that the entry for Hannah mentions that her grave marker was placed at the Maple Grove Methodist Cemetery by the Hyatt family, led by the efforts of Dr. Aaron and Lawrence Hyatt, who I believe you met. Lawrence grew up on Goldmine Branch and Noland Creek, and I’m sure that even if you’ve not met him, I pointed out his Noland Creek home place and you and the family walked through it.
Of course there’s the Hyatt Creek which crosses under the Great Smoky Mt. Expressway at the west Waynesville (Hazelwood) exit and empties into Richland Creek right at the exchange. That’s the one that Louanne refers to.
Then there’s a Hyatt Creek Exit on the same expressway over here in Swain County, and there’s a bit of a story behind it according to Daddy.
When the four lane was being laid here in the 1970s, Zenas Hyatt, who owned property in the area, went out to talk to the construction crew. One of the state engineers came by and told him they needed to come up with a name for the exchange and asked for a name for the area or the road which runs along the south side of the river from the Patterson Bridge up to Ela. Zenas told him “Why this is Hyatt Creek Road” and so that is now the Hyatt Creek Exit. The problem is that there is no Hyatt Creek there (there’s a little trickle branch, but that’s it), but old Zenas got both an exit and a road named for a nonexistent creek and his Hyatt outfit all in one fell swoop. Appropriately, that exit is exactly where Hyatt Creek Outpost is in the process of setting up a store front.
Back to the WNC Hyatt patriarch, Edward Gaither Hyatt….According to Hiram Wilburn, early historian with the Park Service recorded that Neddie Hyatt pastured cattle on Hyatt Ridge, the divide which separates Raven Fork and Straight Fork. The ridge, Hyatt Bald (which lies on it), and Hyatt Creek (of Straight Fork) all were named for him.
As far as Heath goes, his grandfather, William Theron Hyatt, was born in Haywood. Edward Gaither Hyatt is Heath’s 5th great-grandfather, so he’s the 8th generation of the family to call these mountains home. As you well know, it shows.
What beauty you had to see of this wonderful and lush place. So much was truly lost to the “greater good.” Wish I was able to go on a tour like this, but sadly due to the physical part of this tour it would be virtually impossible for me. It is sad to know how much these wonderful Appalachian people and their families lost. It’s too late to rectify what was done to them and all they lost, but pray that they all went on to something so special and meaningful to replace this loss. Your videos of this place were awesome and made me feel as though I were there. Corie is unbelievable for being able to do this trip at the stage of pregnancy she was in. I am truly surprised her precious baby wasn’t born on the journey. ☺️. Thank you Miss Tipper, you are such a blessing to me.
My dad did a room onto a house including a fireplace and outside chimney for a man that was notorious for not paying people for work they did for him. This was in late Spring/early Summer and final payment was promised “by the end of the month”. Summer passed and Fall came. Then came the phone call. The chimney wouldn’t draw. They had built a fire and smoke filled the house. The warranty needed to be honored. ie the chimney corrected. Dad said the chimney would work as soon as payment was received. Payment was promptly made. Dad went down and broke the pane of glass that he had placed under the top row of bricks. The chimney worked beautifully.
I really enjoyed last night’s video. Such a beautiful place. I also love to see old rock chimneys. I think about the homes that once stood there and the families that gathered around those chimneys. Thank you for taking us along to Hazel Creek and to Don for sharing some wonderful history.
Good morning Tipper. I enjoyed the video from last evening and this read for this morning. It makes me think of the small island community I grew up in on the mid-upper part of the British Columbia coast. The only access was by boat or ‘sea plane.’ It was a thriving community at one time. Now there is only remnants left of what once was, as ‘progress’ moved in and turned it into a tourist hot spot for Resort life, salmon fishing and bear and wild life tours. People from all over the world pay big bucks to go there now. Of the homestead where I lived I am happy to have seen a photo that showed my Dad’s boat shop is still standing, but nothing else is left of any of the others homesteads, other than like you find in your area. It is a sweet yet sad time remembering back to the ‘when’ -and the lives/people that are no longer.
Always is a sobering thought when you see nature reclaim what once was a community. There is a community ( Lost Cove, in Poplar Gorge above the Nolichucky River on the Tennessee-North Carolina border) near us that leaves one guessing about the early inhabitants when you visit it. It’s neat to see the pictures.
Tipper, this post was outstanding to me! I am a history lover and have traipsed behind my Daddy at the old place where he grew up in the foothills of NE MS. Going through many old pioneer cemeteries of my people and old wagon roads that were used before new straighter roads (now paved) were built through the forest. I so appreciated all the history Don gave on the area and the young man who showed the pictures too of the school. I would have loved to be with ya all on that trip and seen the baptizing in that beautiful section of the creek. I’ve had the privilege to go back along the old creek to where my Mother and Daddy were baptized. The forest is taking back a lot of the old places and today I would not try to traipse along the creek unless it was January – could be snakes around. My husband always said my Mother had me too scared about snakes down south. He had grown up smack dab in the middle of Chicago, lol, so while he knew a lot about world history; my Mother knew more about the cotton mouth, rattle snake, and copper head snakes in the south. Also, that view on the lake was absolutely beautiful! Thanks again for taking us along. May God bless you all!
In 2008, my sister and I were enjoying a leisurely drive along scenic Suck Creek. It’s named that because of the powerful whirlpool where it meets the Tennessee River. Most of the trees were bare or I don’t think we ever would have seen the old stone ruins between the twisty, turns road and the river. We explored and took some pictures of the partial walls that still stood, including an arched doorway. It was hard to tell how many structures there had been but several still had mostly intact chimneys. Since then, my family and I have been back a few times, talking about who must’ve lived there and what each building might have been like. It has taken me years to find info online explaining the area. It was a coal mining community from the 1800s owned by the McNabb Mines of Marion County, Tennessee. The community was called Shakerag. There was a school, commissary, hotel, and worker housing. My next visit there may feel less mysterious since I have learned a bit of the history but I will still look around, trying to imagine the families that lived and worked there along what’s now known as Mullins Cove Road.
Four years ago, our small community was consumed by a wildfire. All that was left were stone fireplaces. It looked and felt like a cemetery. Thank you, Tipper, for all that you do. Your family is a part of my life. Blessings.
The last time I saw my father alive he was on his way to Hazel Creek. It wasn’t his first time to go there, he had been there many times before, but it was his last.
Tipper,
W.A. was William Andrew Franklin, a Swain County native, as was his wife, Martha Calhoun. Martha was a first cousin of Granville Calhoun, whose home in Proctor you’ve been to – and which you walked by on the way to the Proctor Cemetery (past the Franklin home). The Franklins moved to the Proctor area in the early Ritter Lumber days, clearly recognizing that with the influx of folks there would be a good customer base for the stores which Franklin operated. One was just around the bend at the lower end of Shehan Branch.
You may remember me mentioning the earlier schoolhouse was located nearby. Beginning in 1910, Franklin purchased property in the area around the mouth of Shehan Branch and Hazel Creek. In several purchases, he acquired 36.7 acres of land which entirely encompassed the area surrounding the Proctor Cemetery – but not the cemetery itself. It did include the property where the original Proctor School was located, on a flattened out spot on a flattened out knoll above the road and on the other side of the branch which runs by the former Franklin home.
He was a merchant most of his life, from before his days on Hazel Creek, while at Proctor, and then later in the town of Andrews. He had moved to Andrews before his land was taken by TVA. According to his 1965 obituary, he’d been merchant in Andrews for 30 years. Maybe some of your older readers who lived in the Andrews area might remember W.A. and Martha.
I am interested in the Franklin’s. I grew up in Sevier County. My father Charles Franklin has ancestors in North Carolina and Virginia. Do you know if any of these Franklin’s are from Sevier County? I just love Tipper and her family.
Always interesting to read about people and places I never knew existed!
Really enjoyed last night’s video. Such a beautiful area. And Don’s knowledge of the history was just amazing.
I enjoyed your video and blog post.
It gives you a warm feeling that there are people that you feel akin to without ever meeting. You just know that they would have understood you and would have been your friends.
Perhaps in heaven youwill meet them and they will say to you I know you because you thought about me and remembered me.
The north woods have such sights; old log cabins mostly collapsed or gone but with incredible rock chimneys still standing. I always think how haunting beautiful they are and the work that went into their building, and felling and hand-cutting trees into log walls. Like Appalachia, most of the northern forests were bought up by logging or mining companies or developers or sold in one are lots. I remember when 100 wooded acres were taxed at $300 a year. No more. I, too, think of those who came before us, their talents, skills, and devotion to families, and how they hunted and fished for food and cleared small spaces for gardens. All this history should never have been lost or bought out. They had it right all along.
I enjoyed the tour. I also enjoy history and knowing that people lived in that area arouses my curiosity as to who they were. I enjoy reading diaries of people who lived in the civil war era. Who they were, where they lived and what they thought about the war-it’s disruption to their lives, death of their loved ones and drastic changes it brought. The area you toured is beautiful and peaceful. There are not many places today you can live and have these qualities of life. Thanks for the tour.
A lovely post, Tipper. You are right, we know who we belong to and that we’re a particular people of independent strength, faith, love and hope. How can I get on a tour of Hazel Creek? I love old homeplaces, old cemeteries and such. When I was about 8 years old, I wanted to be an archeologist. I know, what 8 year old would dream of that? Me, of course!
JC-contact Heath Hyatt for a tour. Here is his information: Hyatt Creek Outpost (828)342-0008 hyattcreekoutpost@gmail.com 🙂
My great grandfather’s home and farm was taken to build Lake Chatuge. Even though it was long before my time, it causes me a lot of sadness. Whenever I look out over the lake I imagine the old wood farm house and all the crops, animals and family raised there. Last time I visited I found some old pieces of pottery in the water and wondered who used them, could it have even been someone in my family?
Same situation in Virginia, where as a teenager I explored dozens of old homesites in the mountains, and poached “merkels” (morels), while living on the fringe of Shenandoah National Park, where each of 7 adjoining counties now has a monument and memorial to the families pushed out of those hills and hollers to make way “for the supposed treater good of society.”
What beautiful sentiments you shared today. That was a great way to start my day. Thanks for all you do!
Good morning from Southern Illinois!I watched the video from your hike and such beautiful country. Corie was such a good trouper. Tipper,you have such a way with words, the post from today is proof. and the reading from the other day “i am from canning jars” just about did me in. really touched my heart. I was wondering have you ever thought about writing a series of childrens books? I think Tipper’s Adventures in Appalacia would be sooo good. something to think about! Hope you and yours have a good day. God bless.
What a wonderful idea for Tipper. Can you imagine the rich tapestry her word would weave!
I just enjoy the posts about history. I like to know how people lived in the past as an understanding how they made it through will help us make it through as well.
I love the picture of the old chimney too. We have a rock chimney that was built by a local man who definitely is an artist when it comes to laying stone. I am sure our chimney, unless it gets torn down, will outlast anything around it. I wonder if someday someone will take its picture and wonder about the folks who lived in that old log house. I really enjoyed your video and all the information about Hazel Creek…so interesting. You teach me something every day.
Whenever I see a home place with nothing left but the chimney left, I think of the people that onced live there. In my area many of the homes were sharecropper homes. These homes might not have been much to others but they were “Home” to the ones that lived there. I am one of the few that know this, the main large Greenville County, SC landfill is named Twin Chimneys landfill. Two chimneys stand under some large water oak trees, all that is left of a farm house owned by Mr. Ed Knight that once stood on the property. I was in this home many times and sit on the porch and ran around under those trees when I was a child. Mr. Knight was my Granddaddy’s best friend, both died the same day in 1971 and are buried in the same church cemetery in back to back graves that have about a foot of space separating the coping around their graves. There was one hour in between their funerals and burial all at the same church and cemetery. One other thing, I have sympathy for the ones that have had their homes taken from them in order to build something for others, many of them not knowing or caring about the ones the once lived there.
It breaks my heart tva took their land!! Where did the people go?
Always a good read. Prayers for Granny and all of your growing family….It is almost June!!!!!