Cashiers Historical Society

Written By: Mary Jane McCall | Issue: 2017/10 - October

Established in 1996, the Cashiers Historical Society aims to preserve the heritage of Cashiers Valley through education, stewardship, and advocacy. 

The Zachary-Tolbert House and its furniture form the core of the Society’s 19th Century collection. The house was placed on the National Register in 1998. In 2001, the Society undertook a major restoration and opened the house to the public for the first time. The property serves as a venue for public gatherings and events hosted by the Cashiers Historical Society. This past spring and summer, an additional restoration took place, ensuring sustainability for years to come. The house and Colonel John’s Cabin are open to the public for tours through the end of October on Fridays and Saturdays from 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.

 Thanks to a generous grant from Wade Hampton Golf Club, improved signage for our facility is planned in the near future. We are aiming to make the Cashiers Historical Society much easier to locate along Highway 107 South with larger directional signs. In the spring, a heritage garden, funded by Cedar Creek Racquet Club, will be installed on our grounds. We are currently studying heritage gardens to plan an accurate historical replica of the typical house garden utilized in the 1850s. 

 A large part of our mission is hosting educational events throughout the season for children, locals, visitors and summer residents. At Heritage Apple Day in March, we hosted 200 guests who enjoyed presentations by heritage apple experts, including Horticulturist Trevor Howard. Attendees were encouraged to bring their own scions for grafting new plants, and took home a complimentary heritage apple tree to plant in their gardens. 

Later in the summer, a heritage gardener symposium was hosted by Mary Palmer Dargan, with 150 attendees enjoying presentations, shopping, swapping with vendors, and a catered southern luncheon. 

Our children’s educational programming presents history in a fun, hands-on manner. Groups that visit our historic campus include Summit Charter School, Blue Ridge School, home schoolers, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau. In addition, we offer open children’s programs for all children, several of which occur simultaneously with adult programming, such as our annual Heritage Apple Day.  

On September 28, we hosted Founders Day, an annual day-long event featuring guest speakers, games, dancing, crafts, a nature walk, butter making, spinning, and other historical activities. Third- and fourth-graders from local schools as well as homeschoolers attend each year. This year marked our 14th year hosting the memorable program.  

Two Rambles have been planned for this year, including in-depth looks at High Hampton and Foxfire. Our rambles are essentially an adult field trip, including historic speakers, lunch and tours through the beautiful mountain roads of Western North Carolina. The Foxfire Ramble is October 17 and includes lunch at the Dillard House. It will be a day of history, fall festivities and leaf peeping. Contact Jane Nardy, CHS Historian, at (828) 743-9002 or [email protected] to register. 

Exhibits this past year included “Carts and Horses!” antique toy exhibit, “Cherokee Culture and History,” and “Faces and Places of Cashiers Valley.” These exhibits ran throughout the season and were open to the public. We are planning several new exhibits for the 2018 season, including the inaugural “Phase IV of Faces and Places.” This exhibit will coincide with the release of an elegant coffee table book compiled of all four phases of “Faces and Places.” More information about dates for the reception and release of the book will be
available soon. 

Our programs and events, along with our historic Zachary-Tolbert House tours, serve over 1,000 individuals annually. For additional information about the Cashiers Historical Society and how you can become involved, please visit cashiershistoricalsociety.org, or call (828) 743-7710.