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HISTORY AND COUNCIL
CASHIERS VALLEY COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Cashiers Valley Community Center
In the mid-1950s, the families of the small village of Cashiers, North Carolina, came together to purchase land and construct a community gathering space and sports gymnasium. The work force was all volunteers, and the money for construction was raised through benefit square dances, turkey shoots, fish fries, donations of building materials and pledges. This became the Cashiers Valley Community Center.
Since that time, the ongoing efforts of this founding group have grown to include the original Center and 17 acres of land on which reside the Cashiers-Glenville volunteer fire department, public tennis courts, ball fields, a swimming pool, the Fishes & Loaves Food Pantry, Farmers’ Market, Senior Café, Cashiers Thrift Shop and Hampton School pre-school.
In the past, funds received through the Council’s partnership with the Cashiers Historical Society Inc. during the annual Designer Showhouse have been used for community outreach. Aging at more than 50 years, the Community Center continues to be the nucleus of village life for many residents by hosting meetings and parties, athletic practices, reunions, special events and festivals. Proceeds from the 2010 Showhouse are committed to honor those original families who joined together with a common purpose to ensure that the center continues as a community gathering place.
The Showhouse Chairs thank the CVCC for its dedication of time and manpower to our event. The CVCC volunteers provide transportation for all patrons and oversee the tours of the Showhouse throughout its run.
HISTORY OF THE CASHIERS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Jane Gibson Nardy, historian, Cashiers Historical Society Inc.
On Sunday, November 24, 1996, at 12 p.m. in the historic Hanks House, the newly formed Cashiers Historical Society Inc. held its premiere event—a Champagne brunch. The reservations were limited to 35 people and the cost was $100 per person. A small core group had already met and elected the society’s first officers. Attending were representatives of many of Cashiers’ oldest families, who shared stories of the area’s early days.
Ann McKee Austin discussed future plans for the group—identifying and restoring historically significant buildings in Cashiers, sponsoring lectures and walking tours and supporting educational projects in the local schools. During the year following the formation of the Cashiers Historical Society, Tom and Wendy Dowden purchased the Zachary-Tolbert House and soon donated it to the Society with the stipulation that the old house would be stabilized, followed by carefully managed restoration.
Eager volunteers with expertise in varied historical fields stepped forward and were generous with their time and their funding. The National Register of Historic Places was presented with an application and the Zachary-Tolbert House was added to the prestigious list. The Plain-style furniture found throughout the house—made by the original builder, Mordecai Zachary—was identified as a one-of-a-kind collection and additional acreage was added to the site. School children from around Jackson County gather on the grounds annually for a “Founder’s Day” program.
An annual Designer Showhouse, which has proven to be wildly popular, provides important funding and two seasonal history tours called “Rambles” are offered. A yearly “Village Heritage Award” was established, which encourages the preserving and restoring of our older buildings. To date, a large parking lot and the construction of the “Dowden Pavilion” have been completed. Archeological digs in the vicinity of the house have turned up surprising artifacts from the early years of Mordecai Zachary’s residence in the 1840s and 1850s, as well as rare evidence of the ancient presence of prehistoric man. Each spring, the Society sponsors an academic symposium that runs for several days.
As of 2010, this vibrant historical society boasts more than 400 members, has recently finished the restoration of the detached kitchen dependency and continues to provide tours of the Zachary-Tolbert House and the wonderful walking trails around the property. Fourteen years after that Champagne brunch on a cold November day, the Cashiers Historical Society is alive and well and flourishing in the 21st century.
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