Front: Lee (Deb Goode's husband), Deb Goode, Debbie (Johnny Gibb's wife), Susan Rutledge, Keith Henson| Written by Administrator | |
| Tuesday, 26 May 2009 | |
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• The courthouse was thought to be built in the Greek Revival Style, but research by the Carter-Watkins architectural firm has found that the antebellum courthouse is actually early Italianate with some Greek Revival features. True Greek Revival plans were not in the shape of a T, as this courthouse is. They did not have recessed porticos or cupolas. Windows in a true Greek Revival style would have been paired and there would not have been pilasters, both of which are present on this courthouse. • Polk County was one of the first counties, if not the first county in Western North Carolina, to have women seated on a jury. On Tuesday, February 1, 1944 Judge J. Will Pless ordered that the women present be called. According to an article in the Tryon Daily Bulletin, “They gave out of men in trying to get an acceptable jury Tuesday afternoon at the Polk County Superior Court. All available men in the courtroom had been objected to by counsel for the defense, so Judge J. Will Pless ordered that the women present be called. Sheriff W. D. Hines looked over the courtroom. There was a craning of necks and whisperings. Women serving on the jury! This had never happened in Polk County! There was a pause. The names of four women were called. Two of them were rejected. To Mrs. Arthur Thompson, Pea Ridge correspondent for the Polk County News, goes the honor of being the first woman accepted for jury duty in Polk County, and next to her on the same jury was Mrs.Willie Spurlin of Columbus. • The brick for the courthouse was made nearby, probably along the stream that runs behind the Food Lion. Residents from all over the surrounding area came to watch the operation of the kilns. A technique called pencilling was used to make the uneven bricks look straighter. |
Tryon High School Class of 1971
(& bordering years)
4th Annual Reunion
Please spread the word to other classmates. Provide any updates that you can.
To reach the lake house, 865-803-3708 or 865-599-8750
| Written by by Leah Justice | |
| Wednesday, 13 May 2009 | |
| Marty Copenhaver, the niece of Clara Edwards, who owned Oak Hall Hotel in Tryon for its last 30 years of existence, recounted last week the landmark hotel's rich history in Tryon. At a meeting of the Polk County Historical Association, Copenhaver told stories about the hotel where she worked with her aunt much of her life. Oak Hall Hotel, which was located where the Oak Hall Condominiums sit now on Chestnut Street, was built in 1882 by T.T. Ballenger (Tryon’s first mayor) and his father-in-law, John Garrison. The hotel was first known as Tryon City Hotel and was built to house the many people stopping off in Tryon from the nearby railroad. The hotel had several owners, including Delia Williams in 1895, who changed the hotel’s name to Oak Hall. Other owners included Eugene Brownlee, the Hesters, the Richards, Nelson Jackson, Mrs. McCloud and finally, Clara Edwards and Dewey Cooksey, who purchased the hotel in 1948. Edwards later bought Cooksey’s share of the hotel. Clara Edwards Several people, both famous and infamous, lived at the hotel or stayed for many months at a time. Copenhaver talked about General George Marshall’s wife, Katherine, living at the hotel for 10 or 12 years. “Mrs. Marshall was a beautiful woman,” Copenhaver said. “She was just as nice as she was beautiful and talented as well.” General Marshall was with the Army in both World War I and World War II, was named Secretary of State and won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1953. Copenhaver said she never met F. Scott Fitzgerald, but heard Edwards talking about how Fitzgerald frequented Missildine’s Drug Store and would make up poems on napkins and give them to people there. Fitzgerald stayed at Oak Hall Hotel while his wife, Zelda, was in the hospital. Other famous people who stayed at Oak Hall who Copenhaver remembered were actor David Niven, Henry Ford and Frank McCarthy, an aide of General Marshall’s and later a producer with 20th Century Fox and Universal Studios. Copenhaver spoke highly of and remembered many people who worked at the hotel, including Frank “Pick” Brown, Ted King, Nonie Robinson, Tom Foster, Pearly Booker and Mary Graham. “These men and women were very fine and very good at what they did,” said Copenhaver. “So professional at what they did.” Robinson spent a lot of time playing with Copenhaver’s young daughter, Sally. Copenhaver told stories about “Nonie” and Sally taking walks and picking flowers for the dinner tables every day. “Nonie could play dolls better than anybody,” Copenhaver said. Graham probably worked at Oak Hall 45 years or so, Copenhaver said, and was one of the funniest women Copenhaver said she ever met in her life. According to Copenhaver, favorite foods at the Oak Hall Hotel included spoon bread, banana bread, roast beef and, of course, fried chicken. “Everybody went on Sunday to have dinner,” she said. Copenhaver said you could have an enourmous meal at Oak Hall for $6 or $7 then. Oak Hall was also famous for holding all the civic organization luncheons, balls and bridge tournaments. Copenhaver remembers having to sandpaper chairs prior to ladies’ bridge tournaments because women would “throw fits” if their hose got snagged on the chairs. “Clara would say, ‘I don’t want any fits today,’” Copenhaver remembered, laughing. Copenhaver described Edwards, who never married, as the most fun person she’d ever met. She was a teacher and worked at the post office for about 20 years prior to purchasing Oak Hall. Edwards had traveled all 48 states at the time and had friends everywhere, Copenhaver said. Copenhaver said she ran the hotel so well because she already knew everybody when she opened it. Edwards' health began to decline in the 1970s and doctors advised her to get out of the demanding hotel business. Despite Edwards' attempts to sell the building and later to save the structures through historical institutions, the building was torn down. “When she decided to sell, she wanted someone to buy it and continue it,” Copenhaver said. “She was exhausted.” Edwards offered the building to Copenhaver, but Copenhaver said she had too many obligations to run it and didn’t think she could ever run it like Clara did. “I think the fact that Clara was there and all the rest of the people that worked there made it unique,” Copenhaver said. Copenhaver said she can sometimes still hear in her mind the “clickety, clack,” of a huge fan on the second floor. And every time she hears someone say, “Pick up,” she can still see Frank Brown or Ted King going into the kitchen. Edwards continued to live nearby on Melrose Avenue until her death in the early 1990s. Oak Hall was torn down around 1979-1980. |
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Editor’s note: Following are excerpts from a history project completed by the fourth grade class at the Saluda School following the 2001 courthouse renovation. The complete project can be found at http://webpages.charter.net/cscherping/courthouse/
