(828) 526-0173 | [email protected] | Copyright 2024 – All Rights Reserved.
Botanical Explorers & Early Settlers
Written By: Donna Rhodes | Issue: 2016/04 - April | Photograph By: Peter Ray
This is the second in a series of three articles saluting the Botanical History of the Highlands Plateau, based upon research of the Laurel Garden Club’s Land Stewards and Ran Shaffner. The pamphlet and video accompanying the research were winners of the N. C. Society of Historians’ Paul Green Multimedia Award in 2015.
In the 18th century, botanical explorers introduced the Western world to the Highlands Plateau through books, illustrations, and articles about its diverse plant life, ancient forests, and appealing climate. In 1875, Macon County native Silas McDowell enticed Samuel Kelsey and C.C. Hutchinson to visit. The pair were so taken with it they founded the town of Highlands and set about promoting it as a gardener’s paradise.
People from up and down the Atlantic seaboard hitched their wagons to Highlands’ star. Many brought considerable horticultural expertise. Others picked up growing skills along the way. All were interested in preserving the natural beauty of the area, so much so that Thomas Harbison, Mary Chapin Smith, and the Boynton brothers established societies for the study of botany and horticulture.
A growing Highlands attracted a few who sought to profit from the consumption of its land and forests. In 1905 the Highlands Improvement Society was formed. Within four years it purchased the summit of Satulah Mountain, providing permanent public access. Today’s Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust grew out of H.I.S. and is North Carolina’s oldest land trust, conserving 2,500 acres to date.
The American Chestnut Blight in the late 1920s and the leveling of an ancient forest for a golf course prompted Atlanta native Clark Foreman to propose a natural history Museum to educate the public about the importance of preserving the land, its beauty, and resources. In 1930 botanist William Coker and zoologist Edward Reinke joined Foreman in establishing a Biological Laboratory, today’s Biological Station.
Next month: The Botanical Garden and The Land Stewards.
Learn more botanical history at the Highlands Historical Society’s Museum. Or go to highlandshistory.com or email [email protected]. Visit the Museum by appointment. Reopening weekends this month.
