A BRIEF HISTORY OF MA( ON ( OUNTY, N. 0. 



I'Airr 1. 



1 propose to write a brief history 

 of Macon County so far as I have j 

 been able to gather the facts. There 

 has heretofoi'e been, and still exists 

 an unaccountable iudiMerence in par- 

 ticular communities in regard to 

 their local history — the preservation 

 of all the notable events — the histor- 

 ic facts showing their rise and prog- 

 ress. This is especially true of this 

 great plateau of country lying west 

 of the Blue Ridge in North Carolina. 

 This neglect on the part of the early 

 settlers to keep a true historic record 

 of the early settlement, progress, I 

 development and succeeding chan- 

 ges of population and civilization, is j 

 a culpable injustice to the posterity j 

 of the strong, resolute men who, on | 

 the retirement of the savages, took i 

 possession of the country and sub- j 

 jected its lands to the arts of agricul- 

 ture and civilization. It is both 

 interesting and instructive to know 

 something of the men who first built 

 habitations in the wild forests of Ala- 

 con County and introduced Christian 

 civilization and customs wheie only 

 savage life and customs hu'l prevail- 

 ed from away back beyond the his- 

 toric era. These sturdy pioneers 



Hocked into this valley in 1820 only 

 seventy years ago, and yet I havi- 

 found it very difficult to get together 

 the leading facts of history for so 

 short a period. There ought to bo 

 in some county department a lOiri- 

 plete and official report of the com 

 missioners having the matter in hiuid 

 of the survey of the lands of the 

 county then ordered, the location 

 and survey of the county site (the 

 town of Franklin), and a report oi 

 the surveyor-in-chief giving a com- 

 plete dingratn of the lands surveyed. 

 The coramissionei's reported to the 

 State authorities and there are somi- 

 files in the Secretary's office, Xo 

 such record can be found in the 

 Register's office of Macon County. 

 Such record would, iiowever, make 

 an instructive and attractive- feature 

 in our county records and would in- 

 terest the student of history and the 

 lovers of antiquarian lore. A proud 

 spirited Board of Commissioners 

 ought to take steps to supply this 

 deficiency in our county records. 



At'tfr what seemed at one tinte, 

 would prore to be a fruitless search, 

 I found the record of the organiza- 

 tion of the county, which took place 



