MOUNTAIN REST COMMUNITY CLUB, Oconee County, SC Pioneers Version 2.3, 1-Apr-2003, MR-08.TXT **************************************************************** REPRODUCING NOTICE: ------------------- These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format for profit, or presentation by any other organization, or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Paul M Kankula - nn8nn Seneca, SC, USA Oconee County SC GenWeb Coordinator Oconee County SC GenWeb Homestead http://www.rootsweb.com/~scoconee/oconee.html Oconee County SC GenWeb Tombstone Project http://www.rootsweb.com/~scoconee/cemeteries.html http://www.rootsweb.com/~cemetery/southcarolina/oconee.html **************************************************************** DATAFILE INPUT . : Linda Flynn at ke8fd@@bellsouth.net.com in Apr-2003 DATAFILE LAYOUT : Paul M. Kankula at kankula1@innova.net in Apr-2003 THE BROWNS OF MOUNTAIN REST It was about 1875 when Henry Lawson and Mahala Jane Potts Brown and their seven children of Horse Cove, NC, first moved to this area. He was a carpenter by trade and could make beautiful furniture. In June of 1877, he purchased his first land-18O acres from Evan F. and Harriett Pell and others in the vicinity of the head of Fowlers Lake. Three more children were born after they moved to South Carolina; and only a few days after the birth of the last one in March of 1885, Mr. Brown died. Brown Branch is near the old Wm. Henry Nicholson place near Russell Mountain and got its name because the children of Henry Lawson and Jane Potts Brown went to Mt. Pleasant School in Georgia near the Chattooga River. Mr. Brown cleaned out the spring on this little stream so his children could have drinking water on their way to and from school. The older children married, and some left the area. His widow and the following children lived the rest of their lives in Mountain Rest: Albert M.; Margaret, who married William Robert Hunt; John H.; and Bessie, who married Virgil Ramey. Several descendants still live here. Albert Brown married Rhoda King, also of Mountain Rest, and they had two sons, Jim and Leroy. Albert became postmaster on November 15, 1889, and at first, he dispersed the mail from his home. A little later he built a store across the road from the house with a room in the back for the Post Office. This facility was used until 1956, when the present building was constructed to house the Post Office and a grocery store. When this new building opened, five-year-old Jane Bowers, great-granddaughter of H.L. and Jane Potts Brown, drew names for door prizes. The old store had a porch on the front, and many happy hours were passed there by Albert Brown and friends who happened to drop by. The poem "Let Me Live in a House by the Side of the Road and Be a Friend to Man" is a perfect description of Albert Brown. Had it not been for his concern and generosity during the early 1900s and during the Depression years, many people would have gone hungry in Mountain Rest. To quote Louie Ridley, a long-time neighbor, "Had it not been for Mr. Albert Brown, lots of folks in this area could have starved to death." Brown could mingle with the Clemson president or the "old man from the mountains," the educated or the illiterate. Mothers in the community were always sending one of the children to the store. They would send eggs and butter to swap for sugar, coffee or other groceries. Any change left from the swap could be used by the child for candy to take home. Hopefully, there would be enough for a sucker, piece of candy, or stick of gum for each child at home. Mr. Brown would let the child get out of the store and on the trail home, when he would call them by name and say, "Hey, didn't you forget something?" He would have them come back in to the store and fix another small bag of free candy, compliments of him. Behind the store there was a small fenced area where they kept deer-these were the first live deer that many had ever seen. Albert Brown and his sons were very industrious. They farmed and had two sawmill operations: one at Mountain Rest and the other on the Tugaloo River. Several men from the community were employed by the Browns on the farm and at the sawmills, and this made life a little better for them and their families. In the early years, logs had to be skidded out of the woods by teams of oxen. One of the best ox-drivers was Tom Beck, and he worked for many years for the Browns. He was an interesting person, to say the least. He always had a funny story or joke to tell. He was part Cherokee Indian and could whittle anything out of hickory wood-essential things, like handles for tools, and ox yokes and bows. After his retirement, a son-in-law was always on the lookout for a suitable hickory tree for Mr. Beck to use for his whittling. It was his favorite pastime, and he always kept a box of tomahawks, arrowheads, peace pipes, and a favorite was a little fat wooden leg. When anyone came to visit, he never let them go home without one of his trinkets. Those who are lucky enough to have any of his work consider it priceless and treasure it as a pleasant memory of a great man, Tom Beck. Mr. Brown was a very good blacksmith and always had more work than he had time to do. He owned horses and road equipment and would regularly work the local roads; he did so until after the CCC camps were established and the men built gravel roads in the community. When a death occurred in the community, it was quite common for the family of the deceased to ask Albert Brown to make the coffin. There was always someone to help. A wagon was used to transport the deceased to the church where burial was in the churchyard cemetery. In the early 1930s, Virgil Ramey would use his T-model truck to haul the deceased to church for the funeral. In the mid-1920s, the first Brown's Lake was built. They used horses and drag pans to build the dam. Only a short time after the lake was built, some young men decided to go swimming one night, and one of them drowned. This tragedy shook the whole community, and it was days before the body was recovered by dragging the lake with a hay rake. In the early 1930s, a Mr. Bennecke from Titusville, Florida, spent his summer vacation in the Mountain Rest area. He liked it so much that he made a deal with Mr. Brown to let him camp the next summer on his property just north of the store on the left of Highway 28. He cleared a small area to build a shelter and would pitch a tent for him and his family. He continued for several years to vacation in Mountain Rest. On the site of the campground, picnics were held by the Browns and their relatives, friends, and neighbors. Also, in election years, political speakings were held there. A Mr. West, who was a candidate for Treasurer of Oconee County, could play the fiddle, and he is still fondly remembered as Fiddler West. The second lake, named Mountain Rest Lake, was built by Leroy Brown in the 1950s next to the old Brown's Lake. Several homes surround the beautiful waters of this lake. In 1963, Leroy Brown built another lake that came up almost to the back door of his home on Highway 28. When the lake filled with water, it was only six short months until Leroy Brown died, in June 1964. This lake was appropriately named Lake Leroy. All his family - widow, Grace; two sons, James and Jack; and daughter, Ann - have lived their entire lives at Mountain Rest.-[MSQ] LAND BRIDGE ROAD In the late 1700s, William and Mary Nancy Land settled near Chagua Creek (received an original land grant). Their home and the Land family cemetery were located on property now owned by Oliver Ridley. The main road from Walhalla to Double Springs passed through their property and since that time has been called Land Bridge Road. In 1905, their great grandson (William) B. Land and wife Alice Orr purchased the Old George Symes place, 100+ acres. The house on this property had been built by two German immigrants in 1857. Four children were born to the Land couple: three sons, Lunie, Lamar, and Lloyd; and one daughter, Lena Mae (Talley). Mr. and Mrs. Jack Germain now own this property and live in the house the immigrants built, which they have remodeled. One of the older houses in Mountain Rest is the home of Joe and Mary Jo Hardy. Her father, Lunie Land, bought this place located on Highway 28 near Jerry's Creek and lived there until his death. His widow, Bessie Land, continued to live there with the Hardys until her death in 1983. Records show the earliest owner of this house was J.C. Miller, and it was built in 1850 or before. Many other families have lived there between the Millers and the Hardys. The house is put together with wooden pegs, hand-planed lumber, hand-hewn sills that are 12x12. The chimneys were made of rock and mud clay, and one is still standing. The house has been remodeled by the Lands and the Hardys.-[MJH] RICH MOUNTAIN The story of Rich Mountain School and neighborhood dates back to the early 1860s. The George Wadkins family lived at the foot of Rich Mountain; the Jerry Moore family lived near Chauga River; and a few other families lived for short spans as sawmill workers. Elisha Collins, who moved here from Hickory, NC married Jerry Moore's daughter, Louvena, first settled on Well Mountain, but later bought land near Rich Mountain where he lived until shortly before his death in 1940 at age 103. All the children of Elisha and Louvena moved into nearby areas-Belmont Community and Westminster area-except one son, John Engram, who lived on top of Rich Mountain. John married Josephine Wadkins, daughter of George and Lena Bowers Wadkins, and brought up their family here. Later, after Elisha's wife and Lena's husband had both died, they were married. The Collins cemetery is the location of the first church and school; a log building was used for both purposes. In the early 1900s, a new church was built a short distance away. This building served both purposes until 1944, when the school was discontinued. A daughter of Jerry and Nancy Moore, Hazella, known as "Sugg", was burned to death on New Year's Day 1926 in a log house just across the road from the cemetery, where a number of these families are buried. Three sons of John and Josie Collins remained in the community, along with Phil and Carrie Davidson. These sons were Henry, Louis, and John. During the last years of the school, the pupils were children of Henry and Louis. The last three years of the school, pupils and teacher were all Collinses since John's wife Edna was the teacher. As these families moved away, the members of the church all met for dinner, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Davidson in 1945 and dissolved Mt. Zion Church, granting their members church letters to be transferred to other places. The last three preachers remembered were Revs. Clifton Cobb, Clem Wilbanks, and Will Collins, a son of Elisha. Some teachers over the years were: 1870-1900-Adnarm Sullivan, John Reynolds, Oliver Abbott. Later teachers were: Carrie Lee, Sue Sligh, Mandy Cobb (from the Whetstone community), Mary Nesmith, Kenneth Louche, Miss Getsinger Carrie Lyles McKee, Eugene Brock, DeWitt Littleton, Annie Southern, Madeline Dilworth Price, Edna Smith Holcombe, Mary Jones Rochester, Samile Pickens, Elam Carter Suttles, Dora B. Thrift, and the last, Edna Sorrells Collins. The last child to be born in the community was Hughie DeWitt Collins, son of John and Edna. They moved from Rich Mountain to Mountain Rest in Feb. 1946, ending the Rich Mountain community of people. -[ECS] MOODY SPRING Moody Spring, located on Highway 107 in the Sumter National Forest, took its name from a family named Moody, who once lived in that area. Many passers-by incorrectly think the name is a reflection on the spring's reliability. Among those who have stopped for a refreshing drink from this cold mountain spring is Wade Hampton, who was Governor of South Carolina in 1876-77. He often traveled this route to his place in Cashiers, NC.-[PN] NEGRO AB SPRING About a mile from the intersection of Highways 28 and 107, on Highway 28 West, there is a spring on the right side of the road that has been a popular place for travelers to get water, and it has always been called the Negro Ab Spring, because a Negro named Ab Simpson lived there. He and his family lived there about the late 1920s and '30s, and they were will thought of in the community. Another Negro man of the Mountain Rest Community was Jim Singleton. He had Extra Big Feet, as the saying goes; his feet were supposed to have been nineteen inches long. He very seldom wore shoes.-[PN] MRS. NELLIE FRANCES (PHILLIPS) SNIDER Aunt Nell was born on October 15, 1867, within a stone's throw of the crystal-clear Chattooga River. Education was hard to come by. She remembered walking five miles to school, whatever the weather happened to be. She only remembers getting through the Blue Back Speller. She liked to tell of her widespread reputation as a rail-splitter, and few men of her day could wield an axe or split a log with greater skill. All her life she farmed and worked alongside the menfolk. She remembered walking eight miles to be married to Edd Snider and wearing a blue silk dress. She recalled that as being one of the biggest days of her life. Mrs. Snider reared seven children of her own. Mrs. Snider's father was Evan Phillips, who, as a Confederate soldier, fought at Sullivan's Island. Aunt Nell passed away on February 23, 1968, at the age of 100.-[PN]