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Making History Our History: History Majors Go Local
by Carissa Rice
Was Madison County's one and only legal hanging a mistake, leading to the death of an innocent man? What happened to Western North Carolina's tanning industry, once one of world's largest? Is teaching about local history a way to keep high school students in school?
Three Mars Hill College history majors addressed questions like these as they presented their historical projects in the Ramsey Center Monday night, December 9, during the college's second annual Making History Night. The effort was coordinated by Assistant Professor of History Kathy Newfont.
Senior Monica Ray presented her research on the one and only legal hanging in Madison County, the early twentieth century hanging of Peter Smith.
Senior Amanda Richardson described the lost industry of leather tanning in Western North Carolina and its demise after the American Chestnut blight.
Sue Moon, a teacher at Enka High School and candidate for social studies licensure, told what she had learned about the early history of Hominy Valley, the region surrounding the high school, and demonstrated how she used this research to capture the interest of her students.
Monica Ray with map of Madison County in 1904
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Monica Ray began her story of Smith's hanging by reading a poem that was written in the Madison County Sentinel about his execution. This was a man, the poem notes, "who died with ten cents as his whole estate...
"...The hateful crowd, now uncertain, not saying good or bad of him. Afraid at last, when the time came, Peter Smith cried as most men would. When all hope is gone, death the same, with winding sheets or plain pine wood."
Ray noted that 16,000 legal hangings have occurred in America's history. Of those, just one was in Madison County.
Ray then told the story that began on November 12, 1904, when Peter Smith was arrested for the rape of 15-year-old Eva Suttles.
Suttles told authorities that "Peter Smith came to my house and stole me." She said Smith, 63, dragged her through pastures and raped her several times on the night of November 8.
Suttles' supporters claimed to have seen her on the mountainside, frightened and out of breath. At the scene of the crime, blood and tracks were scattered along the ground. Suttles had several visible wounds on her, and the doctor found evidence of sexual activity with her.
Smith was arrested and was given a trial a year and a half later, which only lasted a few days. He pleaded not guilty, but was found guilty on March 11, 1905, and his sentence was to be "hung by the neck until death."
On the following October 2, a crowd of 1,200 to 1,500 people surrounded the gallows, located left of the courthouse in Marshall, to witness Smith's execution. There were even "tickets of admission" to the hanging that day.
Smith, who had become a Christian while imprisoned, maintained his innocence until the end. "I'm not afraid. Guilty men are scared," he said when offered the opportunity for a few last words. "I love you all...Loving God is the best work anyone ever done, and I will be with Him in very few minutes. I know He is with me all the time. I am not guilty of the crime with which I have been charged." The crowd was silent after his final speech that day. He was pronounced dead after four minutes of hanging.
Many elements of the story supported Smith and his innocence, said Ray. There were rumors that Suttles had met a boy on the mountain the night of the alleged rape, but she didn't want her father to find out, so she pointed the finger at Smith. He was an easy target because he had been arrested for another crime three years earlier - the complicated murder and killing of his stepdaughter, Hannah. He said he was innocent and was acquitted.
But when he was arrested for the Suttles rape, the media painted him as a villain. He had no money for a good defense --- in fact, when he died he had only ten cents to his name. Many say Smith was innocent and was convicted because of those who still blamed him for the death of his stepdaughter.
All in all, "it appears as if Madison County's only hanging may have been a mistake, leading to the death of an innocent man," said Ray at the conclusion of her presentation.
"Sadly, Smith's execution, the only one in county history, is not shared within the Madison County heritage," she said. "I encourage all of you here tonight to investigate and preserve your past, both good and bad."
Amanda Richardson with tanning display
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Amanda Richardson presented her findings on the lost industry of tanning in Western North Carolina. Because this region was abundant with natural resources, especially the American Chestnut tree, tanning became a large industry in the mountains in the early 1900s, Richardson explained.
The American Chestnut contained seven to ten percent tannin, a rather large portion. Catawba Tannery, one of eight tanneries in Western North Carolina, was the largest in the world at the time. It employed over a hundred men and produced five hides a day. Eventually, hides were shipped in from South America because they exhausted local resources.
The Hans Ree's Sons Tannery of Asheville had one of the most advanced experimental tan yards of its time. For experimental purposes, scientists actually tanned some human hides there.
Canton's Champion Extract Plant extracted 63,000 pounds of tannin a day, which equaled 500 barrels full. The extract from the plant was shipped all around the world, as far away as France. It was the leading producer of tannin extract in the world.
Then the Chestnut Blight of the 1920's reached Western North Carolina. Richardson found that the Chestnut trees of the area eventually died off, destroying the tanning industry of this region. When the tanning industry fell, it was considered a "national emergency." Because of the blight, "this industry has all but faded to memory," Richardson said.
"As the tanneries began to close, their buildings were replaced with other industries...An industry that had once been the largest in the world was gone and the traces it left behind, erased, by time and progress."
Sue Moon, high school teacher
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Sue Moon researched the history of the Hominy Valley, a region in the Enka-Candler area surrounding Enka High School where she teaches history. Moon's students, second year repeaters, led her to choose this topic for her historical project, as she wanted to know and teach the history of the area in which they live. "I think one of the best ways to instill pride (within the students) is to know yourself, know where you come from, take pride in your community and the people around you," Moon explained.
She began her presentation by taking the audience back to the eighteenth century, when William Moore, the founder of Hominy Valley, left Ireland and migrated to America for the first time. Moore, the captain of the militia during that time, came to Hominy Valley with General Griffith Rutherford, to fight the Cherokees just a few short years after the Proclamation of 1763. On his arrival, Moore looked out over Hominy Creek and Mount Pisgah and was overwhelmed by the beauty of the region, calling it his "Promised Land."
Throughout the late eighteenth century, Moore returned to Hominy Valley several times, building forts to help the militia fend against the Cherokee Indians. He eventually moved his family to McDowell County and later received a grant of 640 acres from Hominy Valley. There, he built a home, still standing today, which he lived in for the rest of his life. Moore's son later began the first school in the Enka area, Sand Hill Academy.
Moon used all of this new research to relate to her students and capture their interests. Some students actually conversed with elders native to the Enka area, including a local Historian, Jack Cole, who is also a direct descendant of William Moore. Moon described how eager her students became with their research projects after learning of the history of Hominy Valley and the region of Enka - learning of their history. The students also learned that Enka High School received its name from a Dutch company. Years ago, this company was referred to by its initials N.K. - which sounds like "Enka" when spoken quickly. These types of historical facts fascinated the students, according to Moon.
"They (the students) are excited about learning and excited about the community. Good things are going to happen," Moon said as she closed. "My students are researching...And they are very proud of that, to know about the region, and then be able to discuss it."
Several other Mars Hill students presented their projects later in the week, and their research lined the walls in the Ramsey Center Monday night. Marc Beasley researched the Asheville Tourists baseball team in the 1960's. Nycole Howard learned about the experience of Henry King, an African-American veteran of World War II. Lacrosse player Kenny Noel presented the history of lacrosse among American Indians. Jawon Stephens told about his findings on the desegregation of his home high school, Laurens High School in South Carolina.
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