RUSSELL HALFWAY HOUSE SLAVE CEMETERY, Oconee County, SC A.K.A. Mountain Rest, SC Version 2.2, 4-Jun-2002, C273.TXT, C273 **************************************************************** REPRODUCING NOTICE: ------------------- These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format for profit, or presentation by any other organization, or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Paul M Kankula - nn8nn Seneca, SC, USA Oconee County SC GenWeb Coordinator **************************************************************** DATAFILE INPUT . : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Apr-2002 Linda Flynn at (visit above website) in Apr-2002 G.P.S. MAPPING . : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in May-2002 HISTORY WRITE-UP : Mountain Rest Community Club in 1984 IMAGES ......... : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in May-2002 TRANSCRIPTION .. : Mountain Rest Community Club in 1984 CEMETERY LOCATION: ------------------ Locate the intersection of Highways 28 & 107. Drive north on Highway 28 until you get near the North Carolina border. Farm is located on the left side of road. Someone burned down the farmhouse, but a barn can bee seen from the road. Latitude N 34 54.554 x Longitude W 83 10.333 CHURCH/CEMETERY HISTORY: ------------------------ THE RUSSELL HOUSE For many generations, the steady flow of upland tourists had found the Russell House a haven of refuge from the cares of an outside world. Many personages of renown had tarried for a night's lodging, including President Woodrow Wilson. Local sojourners referred to Russell's as the "Halfway House", for the simple reason that ox-cart drivers and horseback riders of that period had considered it to be approximately halfway between the town of Walhalla and the thriving summer resort at Highlands. In the early 1900s, it was more than a day's journey to follow the winding mountain road from Walhalla through a strip of Georgia and across Pine Mountain into the North Carolina tourist attraction at Highlands. Obviously, it was the same situation when the coming of fall brought the tourists back, over the same route, on their return trip homeward, and so it was that Russell's became not only an ideal stop-over, but a necessary one, as well. The early history of Russell's Halfway House is a fascinating one--typical of the simple life and of the hardy pioneers who lived it. Considerable research into the authenticated facts and background of this primitive outpost has yielded another colorful chapter to take its place among the early traditions of Oconee County [Seneca Journal, 1970]. A half Cherokee, Walter Adair retained the property on which the Russell House is located in 1816, when the Cherokee deeded their remaining lands in South Carolina. William Clark purchased the property in the same year (Book N.P. 106). In 1819, Clark sold the property to Solomon Palmer [Palmour, Palmor] (Pendleton Deed Book P). Palmer sold the 640 acres to Ira Nicholson on February 10, 1928 (Pendleton District). Of these years, Mrs. Christine Nicholson Ables, the great-granddaughter of Ira Nicholson wrote, "Ira's son, Baylus, was my grandfather. Baylus had a twin brother named Baley. There was a total of eleven children in the Ira Nicholson family. My father, Lee Nicholson, told me that he, his brother William and his sister Rebecca were born in a log cabin where the big Russell House stands now. The house was constructed on four rock pillars, had a chimney made of mud and rock, and the log walls were plastered with clay. The windows were wooden slats, which opened out and were held together with large hinges. I take great pleasure in visiting the old Russell House because it is the birthplace of my father. I walked down to the large springhouse. The cool mountain water flows down the spring entirely surrounded by rocks. This section was made to keep milk and butter. A big gourd dipper hangs on a peg. The water is so clear and cold. Many travelers stop here to quench their thirst with a sip of this cool water. My mind wanders back to the 1800s to visualize the old meat house, where the apples, kraut, brine pickles, and other food were kept. The old barns and sheds are gone now. The beehives and the slat wooden fence around the garden are also gone. Down a few yards from the old home flows the Chattooga River. On each side of the river, there once was rich bottom land; there the Nicholson clan planted corn and grain to feed their children, slaves, and livestock. They raised all of their food on the farm except sugar and coffee. They went to town twice a year to get supplies in the covered wagon" (Keowee Courier, Reach, 1981). Baylus Nicholson (Ira's son) sold the land in 1867 to William Ganaway (Bill) Russell of Macon County, North Carolina, for $1200 in California gold. "Russell had driven a herd of cattle to Sacramento during the California's gold rush. [Other sources say he drove a team of oxen.] He made a tremendous profit on the cattle, but was unable to return home immediately due to the outbreak of the Civil War. Russell remained in California until the end of the War, operating a butcher shop in mining outposts. At the end of the War, Russell returned home with his fortune in gold sewed into the lining of his clothes. Russell persuaded Nicholson to venture west to likewise seek a fortune in gold. Nicholson sold his property to Russell in 1867 and headed west, only to be stricken with fever en route. The original Nicholson house had been burned by the Union forces during the Civil War. Ganaway Russell built the present house in 1867. He married on of the Nicholson daughters (Jane) in 1870. By 1880, the couple had seven children and was operating a self-sufficient farm. Fifty-two of Russell's six hundred acres were farmed; the rest were in forest. Crops grown by Russell included Indian corn, oats, rye, potatoes, and apples. Russell also had one horse, two mules, four milk cows, eleven beef cows, fifteen sheep, fifteen hogs, and fifty-two fowl. In addition, he kept bees that produced fifty pounds of honey in 1879 (Tenth Census). According to Russell's granddaughter, he only went into Walhalla, the County Seat of Oconee County which was located approximately fourteen miles from the Russell House, twice a year for supplies" [Anderson Independent, 1981]. By 1900, the Russells had fourteen living children (Eleventh Census). The Russell place contained a blacksmith shop, a shoe shop, and a knitting machine. The Russells made soap and molasses and built coffins. Russell served as the community doctor and dentist, pulling teeth and performing minor surgery" [Anderson Independent, 1981]. Jane Nicholson Russell, who assisted her husband and was also proficient in medicine, was often called, day or night, to administer to the sick in the community. She rode horseback sidesaddle and being small in stature, she could not mount her horse from the ground. Her husband built a platform of rock that she could climb up on to get on her horse. Some of their descendants still own and cherish the medical instruments they used. The Russell House served as a stagecoach inn for passengers traveling from Walhalla to Highlands. The Russells built additional rooms as this tourist business attracted widespread attention. During the summer months, the house became so crowded that it was necessary to pitch tents in the yard. The descendants of the Russell family recall as many as eighty people on hand at mealtime (USFS, 1979). "According to tradition, numerous prominent South Carolinians spent the night there" (Keowee Courier, 1935). "The house served as a Post Office from 1910 to 1920. Otto Russell (son of Ganaway) continued to operate the 'Halfway House' during the 1920s" (USFS, 1979). Otto's wife, Mattie, is 75 years old and lives in Mountain Rest next door to her daughter, Louise Alexander [Seneca Journal, 1970]. Kathryn (Kate) Russell Willingham, the last surviving child of Bill and Jane Russell, is in her eighties and has resided in Greenville since she married and left the mountains. Bill Russell had one piece of California gold left when Basil Willingham asked for his daughter Kate's hand in marriage. He gave them his blessings and had a wedding band made from the small piece of gold. The Russell House and two hundred acres of land were purchased by the U.S. Forest Service in 1970 and developed into a visitor information center. The displays depicted the history of the site from Cherokee Indian days through the Russell family period. Forest Service personnel lived on the site to protect it from vandalism and answer questions about the Sumter, Nantahala, and Chattahoochee National Forests. The center was closed in 1972 due to low use by the visiting public. "We've been under pressure to economize; and we feel that based on its use, the high cost of maintaining the home and the vandalism to the barns doesn't make it economical to keep open", said Gene Cocke, a Resource Forester with the U.S. Forest Service [Seneca Journal, 1976]. For the past several years, the Forest Service has contacted historical societies and other civic organizations attempting to find a group who would be willing to adopt the house and restore it. Estimated cost for making the buildings safe for habitation and opening to the public is $100,000-$200,000. To date, no group has expressed serious interest. According to District Ranger Joe Wallace at the Stumphouse Ranger Station, there are some specific requirements that the Forest Service would require before giving a special use permit for the project: (1) the Forest Service would expect the house to be open to the public and continue the tradition of hospitality developed by the Russell family; (2) use of the property would have to be compatible with mountain culture and crafts rather than a tourist trap atmosphere with high development levels; and (3) a schedule of refurbishment projects and planned activities would have to be approved by the Forest Service. "We are open for suggestions and will consider all proposals from groups who desire to preserve this site which is so much a part of the Mountain Rest history", Wallace said.-[JW] TOMBSTONE TRANSCRIPTION NOTES: ------------------------------ a. = age at death b. = date-of-birth d. = date-of-death h. = husband m. = married p. = parents w. = wife Several Russell farm slaves are buried in the Russell Farm woods. Their graves have not currently been located.