An Ebenezer for Highlands:
“Samuel took a large stone and set it up … He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.’” –1 Samuel 7:12
If you are like me, the first Ebenezer that you ever encountered was the character Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ novel, A Christmas Carol. While true that it was an uncommon given name for males through generations, you may also know that it has its root in the Bible.
In 1 Samuel 4, it is told that Ebenezer is a name of a place where the Israelites camped before defeating the Philistines in battle.
Later, there was a subsequent battle again won by the Israelites that Samuel wished to memorialize as described in the verse above.
At this time, an Ebenezer became a type of altar or memorial. The purpose of Samuel’s alter was to remind the Israelites of what God had done for them. It was a visual reminder of His faithfulness and was erected to provide them hope for the future.
Today, Highlands has its own Ebenezer of sorts. It is inconspicuously located in the parking lot in the rear of the Falls on Main Shopping Center. You may have passed it by many times, without realizing its importance to the history of our small town.
There, in the middle of the back parking lot, is a sturdy stone chimney that is all that remains of the first home constructed in Highlands in 1875 by Town founder, Samuel Kelsey. Kelsey and fellow founder Clinton Carter “C.C.” Hutchinson chose this remote area due to its temperate climate, beautiful vistas and the prospects of creating a commercial hub.
Hutchinson stayed less than one year, but Kelsey brought his wife, Katherine, a daughter and three sons to live in Highlands where he built the two-story home that once stood on the spot. After putting up the initial money to buy the 839 acres that would form most of the town, Hutchinson sold the whole town to Kelsey for $6,000 three years later.
The house Kelsey built had a central hall, parlor, living room and dining room downstairs. In back, there was a wing containing a butler’s pantry, kitchen and back porch. Upstairs there were three large bedrooms with closets. The house was built at a cost of $350 and a barn was built for $100 at the back of the property.
The Kelseys soon had a second daughter, Edith, who was the second child to be born in the new Town of Highlands in 1878.
Kelsey sold the home in 1890 to Professor Thomas Harbison, the headmaster of Highlands Academy, and left to found Linville, North Carolina.
Harbison later sold the home to Miss Minnie Warren who christened it Kanonah Lodge. The home was then eventually owned by Rebecca Harris for whom Harris Lake was later named.
In 1976, while owned by Steve Potts and occupied by a local entertainment and dining group, sparks from a newly installed wood stove drifted up the chimney and ignited, consuming the house in flames.
Despite the best efforts of local firemen, the fire completely destroyed what was the oldest house in Highlands, leaving only the chimney – which remains the oldest chimney in Highlands today. Originally built in 1875 by Hanson McCall, who walked five miles each day to earn his dollar, the stones were laid with such skill that the joints show no mortar, but could survive an intense fire over 100 years from being laid.
The chimney’s importance as an Ebenezer to those who settled Highlands is further evidenced by the fact that a full replica of the chimney now stands in Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park.
In this, the year of the 150th Anniversary of the founding of the Town of Highlands, we should all raise our “Ebenezer” to those who came before us to create what we are now blessed to call home. Like the stone of Samuel, it also symbolizes our hope for the future.
This story, and many more like it, will soon become part of a 17-building walking tour established by the Highlands Historical Society to honor the 150th Anniversary, beginning July 1.
Maps for the tour will be available at the Chamber of Commerce or the Historical Village, located at 524 N. 4th Street. The Historical Village is now open for the 2025 Season – Thursday to Saturday, from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. and on Sundays, from 1:00 to 4:00 P.M.
Favorites Count: 0