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Highlands First Mayor
Written By: Donna Rhodes | Issue: 2020/03 - March
In the late 1870s Highlands was still struggling to get a solid footing on
the Plateau.
But in 1878 a powerhouse came roaring up the mountain from Horse Cove in the guise of Stanhope W. Hill and wife, Celia Edwards Hill. Stanhope lived in Horse Cove over 30 years before heading for Highlands.
While a resident of the Cove, he’d judiciously managed his affairs, financial and otherwise, while serving as Horse Cove’s first Magistrate and Postmaster. As a result, he became one of the most successful land owners in the region.
In Highlands, his son Frank built him a white Victorian frame home on the southeast corner of Sixth and Main which today is known as the Staub Cottage. His former slave, Dan, accompanied him and lived in a cabin in the back of the cottage. Dan was buried in the family plot at the Little Church in the Wildwood in Horse Cove.
The Hill House served as a boarding house to many newbies looking to settle in the region. Dr. Richard Martorell, the cottage’s present owner, says one of the building’s windows bears the etching, “The first piece of glass brought to Highlands, 1883.”
The year 1883 was very important for the Hills and Highlands, for in it Stanhope helped stabilize the town’s early growth by serving as its first mayor.
To learn more about Highlands history, its colorful characters, and its mountainside ups and downs, read Ran Shaffner’s Heart of the Blue Ridge. For additional info, go to highlandshistory.com or email [email protected].
by Donna Rhodes,
Photo courtesy of Highlands Historical Society
