This report, entitled “Stecoah Community, Fontana Area,” was completed in 1944 by Arnold James Hyde (1914-2010) for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Hyde was employed by the TVA to assist in the acquisition of land and relocation of residents in Graham and Swain County to make way for the Fontana Dam hydroelectric project. This report focuses on the Stecoah community and includes the communities of Japan, Tuskeegee, and Sawyer’s Creek. The report contains descriptions of the topography, history and settlement, roads, businesses, schools, and churches, demographic data, and original photographs. Hyde was born in Graham County, NC, graduated from Robbinsville High School, and then later from Western Carolina Teachers College (Western Carolina University) in 1938. He married Dorothy Roberts, of Buncombe County, NC, in 1943, and they had two daughters.

• Creator
  • Hyde, Arnold James, 1914-2010
• Format
  • Manuscripts (documents)
  • Photographs
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 1944-10-01
• Extent
  • Dimension: 11.5" x 9"
  • Pages: 22
• Subject - Topic
  • Acquisition of property
  • Appalachian Region, Southern -- Economic conditions
  • Appalachian Region, Southern -- Social conditions
  • Dams -- Economic aspects
  • Dams -- Social aspects
  • Farms
  • Fontana Dam (N.C.)
  • Fontana Lake (N.C.)
  • Graham County (N.C.)
  • Mountain life
  • Tennessee Valley Authority
• Location
  • Graham County (N.C.)
  • Stecoah (N.C.)
  • North Carolina, Western
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • Arnold J. Hyde Papers
• Identifier
  • HL_MSS21-03_02
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library

TENNESSEE '.7 ALLEY .AUTilO:;.ITY Reservoir 1:lroperty .1anagement Department Population Readjustment STECOti.II COMPUNITY FONT 1N A AREA Prepared by Arnold J. Hyde This Report For Use Hithin TV' Only l'fot for Distribution Octob€'r 1, 19/44 To: From: Date: Subject: Mr. W. T. Hu..n.t, Principal Population Readjustment Representative Arnold J. eyde, Senior Population Readjustment Worker October 1, 1944 STECOAH COlv ,'11JNITY - FONTAl'JA AREA Submitted herevith is a study made of the Stecoah Community. It was prepared from information in the individual case records of families, who were visited in connection with Population Readjustment program. This study does not contain any information indicating the tenure status of families after removal. It is hoped that this study gives enough history and background of the community and sufficient data to enable one not familjar with the territory to better understand these people and the conditions under which they lived prior to the time of evacuation. Arnold J. Hyde STECO.AH COMMUNI'IY Scope of Studx Stecoah community is located in the northeastern part of Graham County and includes the four distinct neighborhoods of Japan, Tuskeegee, Sawyer's Creek and Stecoah. The community extends from the Swain County line to Poison Branch, is bordered on the north by the Little Tennessee River, and on the south by the Cheoah Mountains. Japan will be the only neighborhood seriously affected by the construction of Fontana Dam. Stecoah, the largest, central tie of the neighborhoods, will not be affected by the loss of families. Of approximately three hundred families living in the community, fifty-four are within the area to be purchased by the Authority. No records are available concerning those families living outside of the proposed taking line. Topography The Stecoah community is practically enclosed by the Cheoah Mountains and Little Tennessee River'. This mountain range is steep and rugged and reaches an evevation of five thousand feet at Cheoah Bald. The streams flow rapidly into the river tbrough deep gorges, but several miles 􀉳rom the mouth of the small creeks the gorges widen and valleys are fo:rmed. These valleys are rather densely nopulated for a mountainous region. The fertile soil and heavy rainfall makes it possible to grow a wide variety of vegetables which is conducjve to subsistent farming. The absence of bench bottom land along the river makes it imoossible -''or nany families to live near the moutl: of the streams, vhich is the reason for the small number of families Hving within the area to be flooded by bac1rwaters from Fontana Dam. History and Settlement Grahan County was founded in 1872 from a part of Cherokee r.oc:nty; however, many white settlers lived among the Indians prior to the Civil War. This rerion was the ancient hone of the Cherokee and is remembered especially as the home of Chief Junaluska, who was given a large boundary of land near Robbinsville, as a reward for saving the life of Andrew Jackson during the campaign against the Creek Indians in Alabama. As stated by Reed aussell in a report on a survey made of Graham County. " There was no practical reason for settling the county, for at that time it did not offer much in the way of potential development at least to the pioneer; however, there are a few 'conventional reasons 1 for its settlement: The desire for now o.nd cheaper land drew the good pioneer; the desire to depopulate the Indian lands and throw them open to tho 1.:hi tes; and the sa'11e old mania of the hardy Anglo-Saxons to conruer both man and nature. The people who settled this region were of Scotch, Scotch-Irish, and German extraction. They are a hail and hardy people, proud, independent, garrulous, and sometimes timid o 2 ';!ere these people in any other province, where there are more productive resources and topographic conditions were more favorable, they would be nation builders. n Stecoah community was practically isolated from Robbinsville, the county seat of Graham County, before the prefent highway was constructed in 1927. Only after much controversy and ap􀉴lication of political pressure were the citizens of Stecoah Tovmship successful in obtaining year round access. Upon the completion of the Southern Railroad to Judson, the Whiting Mmufacturine; Company purchased a large boundary of timber on Panther Creek, constructed a spur railroad tract, and stripped the territory of its connnercial wood products. Local lablr, to a large extent, was employed and the passing on of the company upon the completion of the job did not disrupt community life o The people have made some progress in the past few years. Feuds are unheard of and murder is seldom committed. A very few continue to follow in the footsteps of their grandparents, who, for convenience sake, participated in the illegal practice of marketing their corn in lic:,uid form. However, there yet exists among the parents a lack of understanding and appreciation for the advantages offered in the field of education. Approximately sixteen percent of the children of school age did not attend school at any time during the 1941-1942 school year. H,my of the others atten.ded very irregularly. study was not made of the entire community, but there are apparently several underlying causes for the indif.ferent attitude toward school and community progress. (1) lack of education on the part of the parents. Over tl•irty per cent of the parents listed as head of the family did not complete the ·ourth grade. One completed . igh school and none attended college. (2) Siclrness, lack of proper diet, and medical attention. (3) Long dirtances many of the children were re uired to ualk over foot paths and bad roads to catch the school bus. (4) "F'inancial conditions of the parents. Hany were not financially able to pupply their children with the necessary clothes and school supplies. (5) Failure of the school officials to include in the curriculum vocational courses, which would attract and interest the p-.cactical minded mountaineers. A majority of the homes are in extremely poor condition, which not onl:, reflects something of the economic condition of the family but reflects in many instances the lac!c of pride as well as initiative in making necessary improvements on the farm. The buildings are mostly box structures, constructed of rough lumber and covered with boards split from native timber. }􀉵ny of the families occupy log cabins, esnecially those in the more remote sectionso Only two dwellincs in the area to be flooded have ever been painted. The open sprinr is the predomina t e s our c e of wat er supply . None of the homes hav e a cc ess to running wat er , Oft en the chi ck ens r o o st in the shade tr ees in th e yard and the pi gs run loo s e around the hou s e . The toil ets ar e pla c ed over open str eams , and fli es br eed unmolest ed ar ound the hous e and barnyard . All of thes e insanitary pr a ctic es point to the r eluctance 3 of the mountaineer to make mod ern impr ovements and d evelop a cooperative comnrunity spirit . Progr es s of Stecoah com.􀝜unity ha s been r etar d ed by its i solation and ina c c es sibility . Up until fift een year s ago , it was almo st impossible to r each Robbinsvill e by automobi l e . Aft er the Sta t e a c c ept ed the maint enanc e o f all highways , a winding gravel road was construct ed fr om Robbinsvill e by way of St ecoah to Judson ther eby giving the cormnunity a c c es s to Highway U. S . #10 . Dt.u􀝝 ing the depr ess ion a r oad wa s built with WPA labor from Tuskeegee int ers ecting the St ecoah-Robbinsvill e r oad at Johnson ' s Gap . Ac c es s r oads , running p er p endi cular to the main highway, down the various str eams , ar e roueh and pra ctically impas sabl e . Foot paths l eading a cr o s s the mounta ins into d eep cov es s erve a s the only a cc ess for many famili es , who upon fj_nding a cold spring , con stru cted a cabin with no thought given to the inconveni enc e of the location • .Approxj_mat ely s ev en mil es o f the St ecoah r oad will b e flooded b etwe en Panther Cr eek and U . s . F..i ghway #19 . The Author ity is r elocating this r oad above lake l evel fr om Japan int er s ecting u . s . highway #19 near Almond . Thi s r oad will giv e all famili es in the St ecoah community a c c es s to Brys on City . The St ecoa h-Robbinsvi l l e r oad will not b e flood ed at any point . Trad e Ar ea A small gr o c ery stor e i s located in ea ch of the r espective n eighborhoods . l􀝞ny of the ami li es do a lar g e part of th eir tra ding in Robbinsvill e and yson City . A r olling stor e operat ed out of Robbins vill e , pas s es ea ch reek thr ough th e entir e community, pi cks up the surplus farm products , and tak es or d er s for suppli es n e ed ed the foll owing week. This arrang ement is especially conv eni ent for tho s e famili es having no mod ern means of transportation . Only one stor e wa s locat ed within the ar ea to b e fl ooded . Thi s stor e ha s b een moved above the 1723 1 contour and will continu e to s erv e the same nei ghborhood vi th a sli ght los s of customers . Schools and Chur ches The community i s s erv ed by a consolidated hi gh and el ementary s chool locat ed in th e villa g e of St ecoah . Th e building wa s cons truct ed of native stone and is mod er n in ev ery r espect . The enr ollment in 1941 was approximat ely t.ir ee hundr ed both high s chool and el ementary pupils . 4 Over eighty p er c ent of the chj ldr en wex e transport ed y bus to and from s chool . The s chool will suffer a lo ss of approximat ely thirty-five students by the r emoval of famili es from the ar ea to be flooded . The county offi cials in the past y ear have begun plans for enlarging the s chool pr ogram. Old buildinfs in the r es ervoir wer e pur chas ed fr om the Authority, and the salvaged mat erial us ed in constructing a wor ks hop and home economi cs building for the high s chool stud ents . full time agr icultural t ea ch er wa s employed . The me.lllber s o f t h e county boe.rd o f education, r ealizing that c er tain impr ovements w er e desirabl e, organiz ed and adopted a pr ogram, which can be succes sfully appli ed to the everyday needs of the peopl e. The Baptist churches s erve the comr.n,mity . Thes e ar e locat ed at St ecoah, Tuskeegee and Panther Cr eek . The Panther Cr eek Chur ch is the only one locat ed below the level of the lake . The other chur ches will b e aff ected by a very slight los s o f membership . Employment and Income The community is strictly d ep endent on agr i cultur e d espit e the fact that the income r ec eived from agri cultural sour c es is small . Practically all families grow v egetables for home u s e. · larg e part of the cash income fr om the farm is d er ived from wood products ; however , the cost and distance involved in g ettine thes e pr oducts to market cuts the profit to a minimum. The average income of the farm family in 1941 was $409 . 43 . part of this was earned fr om public vorks proj ects and various odd j obs during the nonfarm s eason . About thirty p er c ent of the families in 1941 wer e r ec eivine some form of public a s sistance , and s ixty per c ent had in the past been cli ents of Welfare Department . This fact within its elf t ells the story of the economic conditions of the conrrn.uni ty . Ther e ar e no industri es other than thr ee small portabl e sa1,nnills which operat e on part time. Prior to the advent of the Tennes s ee Valley uthority , a vast maj or ity of the :famili es wer e eking out a bar e exist ence on the farm and d epending on W?A, CCC and other forms of publi c a s s istanc e for thBir cas h income . I t i s int er estj ng t o not e that in 191􀆕 , thirty-s even memb er s of the fifty-four famili es wer e employ ed by the !\.uthori ty . Five memb er s wer e worlring for Utah Construction Company , a TV,􀆖 contractor . Only s ev en r emained a s cli ents of the Department o f lfolfar e. Five of these wer e cli ents of OA , and t:!:... eir assistance wa.s dis continued in 19!.4, aft er their pronertJr i::i the r es ervoir wa s purcha s ed by the _uthori ty . Probabl e Eff§gts_on Co􀆗ity The St ccoah Comrmmi ty as a whol e 1.dll not be s er iously affect ed by the cr eation of Fontana Lake. Over 90 D EX c cnt of the le.nd lying below contour is not suitabl e for agr i cultural purpo s es . The flooding of the land would have little, if any, effect on the lumber and pulp wood industry . All 5 a c c es sibl e t imb er ed land has b een cut over . 1􀃱 ny tracts lying along the bank of the r iv er could not be r ea ch ed with mod er n ma chinery, ther efor e , have not b e en rava g ed by the lar g e lumber compani es . The lake, when fill ed , will provi d e a means o f trans portation whic h will mak e pos sibl e the d evelopm ent of the r esour c es in this ar ea . The community will ruffer a n et los s of thirty famili es . S everal families living in the Panther Cr eek s ection have r eloca t ed or plan to r elocat e above the lake, ei:;pecially wh er e flowag e eas em ents uer e pur cha s ed by the Author ity . Thef e famili es will los e th e u s e of a very small a cr eage of lane formerly u s ed for agricultural purpo s es . The Stecoah high and elementary s chools will suffer a n et loss of thirty-five students . This will mean a loss of one faculty memb er , as th e number of t ea ch ers allott ed by the stat e i s ba s ed upon thirty-fi v e students to the t ea cher . No s chool bus routes rill b e elimina t ed , but th e Panther Cr e ek rout e will b e shorten ed by the di stanc e of apnr oximat ely four mil es . Panther Cr eek Baptist Chur ch i s the only r el igious institution in th e community dfr ectly a ffect ed . The chur ch of:'i cials plan to construct a n ew chur ch building above the lake . The Authori ty is to construct an a c c es s r oad to the Panther Cr eek Cemet ery above pool ther efor e eliminating its r e.'!loval . The ma il syst e.11 will have to be r eor gani z ed . Japan, as a po stoffi ce, will l o s e its i d entity . Either an RFD route will be established or the mail r outed to St ecoah by way of Robbinsvil l e . This change uill b e caus ed by the dis continuanc e of the Judson Post offi c e , the pr es ent c ent er for the distr ibuti on of mail in this ar ea . The changes brought about by the program of the uthority hav e off er ed n ew opportuniti es to dissatis fi ed famili es , who r eali z e the futility of the struggle with poverty in their pr es ent envir onment . The individua l not only will b e fr eed fr om r estr i cted cir cumstances , but the community as a whol e will profit by the advantages a ffor d ed by the cr eation of Fontana lak e . ' Iith pr oper lead er ship and guidanc e , Graham County wit􀃲- its i d ea l climat e , s c enic attr a ctions , and opport1miti es 􀃳or t e sportsmen s hould b ecome one of the l eo dinf tour i st r esorts of the Smoky Mountain r egion . STATISTICAL TABLES CONCERNING RESIRVOIB FAT 'ILIF.S IN THE STECOAH COMMUNITY 6 7 T RI.E I Res ervoir Families According to T enur e,_ Fa:::'m Status , and Res iden c e Otmer Famili es T ena nt Famil_i e􀃼 Farm Non-Farm Farm Non-Farm Original Famili es 13 14 7 18 Transi ent Famili es 0 0 0 2 Total Famili es 13 14 7 20 T BLE II Numb er of Memb er s in Family Siz e of Family 1 member 2 members 3 memb er s 4 memb er s 5 mem ers 6 memb er s 7 me..mbers 8 memb er s 9 members 10 me..mbers 11 memb er s 1 2 men1bers Original 3 8 8 14 7 /,.- 1 3 1 0 1 2 Tota l Families 52 2 54 TABLE I I I 1:Umb er of Years in Communi tv 1£ar s in Community Not in r esiden c e in 1941 Les s t han 1 year 1 to 5 y ear s 6 to 10 year s 11 to 20 y ears 21 to 30 years 31 to 40 y ears Life Total Families T ABLE IV Number of Y ears at Pr es ent Site Y ear s at Pr es ent Site Not in Resi d enc e in 1941 Les s than 1 y ear 1 to 5 y ear s 6 to 10 y ears 11 to 20 y ears 2 1 to 30 y ears 31 to 40 y ear s Life Total Famili es Original 0 0 7 2 2 8 2 3 1 52 Original 0 9 2 0 5 6 7 3 2 52 8 °' TABLE VII 'l' enur e and Income of Famili es - 19􀁒1 Total of Income Numb er of T enur e Famili es Farm Owner Farmer 13 􀁔<,;' 3 , 250. 00 OVN 14 1, 015 . 00 Ti.lF.. 7 1,633 .30 TT,,JN 2 0 750 . 00 Total 54 6 , 6L,8 . 30 Total income from all famil i es in 194_1 - ti􀃽 , 096 . 30 16 Famili es r eceived public assistanc e . From Non-Farm *􀁓 1 35 14 ,757 800 2 2 , 346 38 , 038 WPA, CCC & NYA (:133 0 9 3 6 760 384 3410 Av erage Income From Farm All Sourc es t2 5 0 . oo t362 . 69 72 . 5 0 1,193 . 44 233 . 33 456 . 18 37. 50 1 , 174 . 00 123 . 11 890 . 67 ) TABLE V Record of School Childr en No. of Childr en Of School P-e 70 Tn School 58 Of School age - not attending s chool 12 TABLE VI Highest Gra d e Reached by Head of Family Grade Reached No education First Grade S econd Grad e Third Grade Fou.rth Grad e Fifth Grade Si:i,,rth Grade S eventh Grade Eighth Grade Ninth Grade Tenth Grade Eleventh Grade Twelfth Grade C ollege TOTAL 3 0 3 L... 7 4 10 17 3 1 1 1 0 0 54 10 • Typical Farm on Panther Cr eek Farm Home - Typical Scene on Washday New Location of Reservoir Family Hom e of Cherokee Indian Log Cabin Occu9i ed by Reservoir Family One of the Better Home in Reservoir One of the po orer homes Occupied by Family of Eight Home of Mer chant on .Panther Creek Stor e Building - S erves Japan Neighborhood ,. .. Farm Near the :routh of Fanther Cr eek 4-H Club Boy and Calf ;ra pan Po stoffice PRONG FASTENER BINDER USE 􀀐 PRONG FASTENER TO DUPLICATE REFER TO NUMBER 447- 1 3 MADE I N U.S.A. GiEKIJlliE PRESSBOARD