2016 INDEX

Monday, August 26, 2019


August 26, 2019 – Local History – The Ledbetter House with its connection to the current location of The Pie Safe.

Below is a required researched paper for a Rutherford County History class that I attended several years ago at ICC.

The instructor was Robin Lattimore, local historian with many published books under his belt.  He is a fabulous lecturer and all round great guy.

Each student in the class was given the task of picking a historical biulding in the county to research, prepare a paper, and talk for the class.

I chose The Ledbetter House as it is the closest historical sight to where I live.  Anyone who travels on US Business 74 from Spindale East to Forest City can’t help but admire it.

Below is the full transcript – a little bit of local Southern history. Please note it was written in 2008 - current owner is not updated.


James Dexter Ledbetter House
Colonial Revival Style


Added to the National Historical Register in 1982
#82003511

Location:
1436 W. Main Street, Forest City, North Carolina, 28043
Rutherford County

Historic Significance:
Person, Architecture/Engineering
Architect, builder, or engineer:
Baynard, James Andrew, Ledbetter, James Dexter
Architectural Style:
Other, Classical Revival, Colonial Revival
Historic Person:
Ledbetter, James Dexter
Significant Year:
1914
Area of Significance:
Architecture, Commerce
Period of Significance:
1900-1924
Owner:
Private
Historic Function:
Domestic
Historic Sub-function:
Single Dwelling
Current Function:
Domestic
Current Sub-function:
Camp, Single Dwelling


Source: “National Register of Historic Places”, North Carolina, Rutherford County, 19 Sept 2008 <http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com /NC/Rutherford/State.html.

“James Andrew “Andy” Baynard, a well-known local builder, constructed this Colonial Revival style house for James D. Ledbetter in 1914.  The fine interior woodwork in the two-and-a-half story, central-hall plan frame house is representative of the excellent craftsmanship for which Mr. Baynard was known.” (Merkel, Kimberly, 56)

“The house features an elaborate portico, stained glass, and other embellishments, and is one of the finest early twentieth century homes in the county.” (Merkel, Kimberly, 56)

LEDBETTER HOUSE – PRIOR SITE OF THE RED TAVERN INN


“ . . . The Red Tavern, which stood directly in front of the present residence of Mrs. J. D. Ledbetter, took its name from the huge, sprawling building, which at some time during its existence had been painted a deep red.  Just when the building was erected or when it was torn down is a matter of conjecture.” (Griffin, Clarence 174)

“The Ledbetter home stands on almost the identical spot where the old Salisbury-Lincolnton-Asheville turnpike connected with the Charlotte-Asheville high road.  And almost on the identical spot stood for generations the famous, or infamous Red Tavern, where stage coach passengers would stop for a sip of brandy or rum, a meal or a nights lodging.” (Griffin, Clarence 174)

“Generations of Negroes studiously avoided the spot after nightfall.  Like Washington Irving’s ‘Legend of Sleepy Hollow,’ the ghost of the ownerless horse roamed the premises of the Red Tavern, searching for his master who was murdered in a Tavern brawl.”  (Griffin, Clarence 174)

“The Red Tavern was one of several which existed and made money during the 19th century in Rutherford County. . . . Frequently brawls and fights occurred, which taxed the ingenuity and patience of the innkeeper.  One night according to tradition, a young soldier, fresh from the Mexican War, tied his horse to a tree in the tavern yard and entered the tavern for a drink of Madeira rum.  As the night wore on he became intoxicated and at length became involved in an argument with another guest, who invited him into the tavern yard to settle their difference of opinion.  The young soldier was shot by the unknown guest, who then took off his sword and stabbed the horse to death.  For years thereafter, the horse searched nightly for his soldier-master, and Negro slaves for miles around studiously avoided that area after nightfall.” (Griffin, Clarence 176)

J. D. Ledbetter

J. D. (James Dexter) Ledbetter was a savvy businessman and co-founder of The First National Bank in Forest City when it opened in 1923.  He was the president and chief founder of and first and only president who served until his death in the spring of 1926.

         The National Bank of Forest City had “Capital of $100,000 and Resources of $400,000” in 1926. (Knight, Herbert L.)

         “Although in the list of Rutherford County banks there is none that enjoys any more prestige than does The National Bank of Forest City, which although one of the county’s youngest institutions, is its only national bank and one of the fastest growing banks within its borders.” (Knight, Herbert L.)

         Starting November 15, 1923 with an initial capital of $65,000 and as of December 1, 1925, just two years later, it reached $100,000 in capital and deposits of over a quarter million. (Knight, Herbert L.)

The key to the Banks’ success.

“ . . . the career of this bank has been featured by an unselfish service towards the up building of Forest City and all of Rutherford County, as well as all the other territory it serves.” (Knight, Herbert L.)

“Civically it has been equally as active during the two years of its operation there has been no other institution nor agency in the county that has contributed any more nor played any larger part in the general progress and welfare of the county than has this bank.” (Knight, Herbert L.)
Banks’ ingenuity.

“Special attention has been given by the bank to the agricultural and kindred interest of the county and the local farmers have always found this bank to be their friend in every particular.” (Knight, Herbert L.)

 “As a means of promoting better poultry raising opportunities in the county, The National Bank of Forest City, in the spring of 1925 distributed about 300 settings of eggs from pure bred stock.  This distribution was made free of cost to the poultry raisers and resulted most favorably.” (Knight, Herbert L.)

Modern Banking brought to area:
Elevator and State-of-the-art Vault

“The banking house” [currently the Mountain Bank at the corner of Cherry Mountain Street and W. Main Street, Forest City] “is three stories in height and is built of Pennsylvania iron slag brick, with interior walls of re-enforced concrete and hollow tile.  This with its steel frame makes it absolutely fireproof.” (Knight, Herbert L.)

“The bank itself uses the entire front part of the first floor, while in the rear of the first floor are 4 modern store rooms.  The second and third floor of the building are used for offices, an electric elevator serving the second and third floors.” (Knight, Herbert L.) [emphasis added]

“The banking room is equipped with Roseal marble and its floors are of terrazzo.  Directly in the center, to the rear, is the large vault, which is the largest and most modern and best of anywhere between Asheville and Charlotte.” (Knight, Herbert L.) 

“The vault is equipped with a door weighing 18 tons, having a modern time-locking system, and is truly one of the most attractive features of the interior of the banking rooms.” (Knight, Herbert L.) 

“The work began on July 31, 1925 and The First National Bank moved in in March, 1926.” (Knight, Herbert L.)

NOTES:  Additional facts obtained from Margaret Butcher, only living heir of J. D. Ledbetter who died of pneumonia in the spring of 1926. 

J. D. Ledbetter had his banking office in a building west of The First National Bank building.  J. D.’s office was in the building that currently houses The Daily Grind and is owned by Margaret Butcher.    

Currently, Mountain Bank is utilizing the site of The First National Bank building and the vault is clearly still the focal point of the banking institution.


Commentary by Teri St. John: 

J. D. Ledbetter . . . “was a big, broad gauged citizen endowed with an unselfish desire to co-operate in any movement designed for the common good and welfare of the community and county.” (Forest City) 

When the depression hit Forest City in the 1930s, most banks suspended business. The National Bank of Forest City merged with Farmer Bank and they retained the bank building. (Forest City).   I speculate that if J. D. Ledbetter had been living at the time of the depression his savvy business skills might have made a marked difference in the financial recovery history of Forest City.  I gleaned from Margaret Butcher, that J. D. Ledbetter’s widow, Affie Ledbetter, was left in excellent financial condition and she survived the depression with little ill-effect other than Affie remembering having to use coupons for food.

Genealogy      



J. D. Ledbetter and Affie Ledbetter
DOD 1926 – DOD 1962
At age 55 – at age 81





Doris Ledbetter Butcher
[married Alfred Butcher]
One child: Margaret
Born 1914
Died 2003
Frances  Ledbetter
Born 1915
Died 1971


Leaving no children
Margaret Butcher, current living heir to The Ledbetter house

She is the granddaughter of J.D. and Affie Ledbetter.





Interview of Margaret Butcher
October 13, 2008 by
Teri St. John

Questions in italics

1.             I understand it is a 2 ½ story house.  Tell me about the ½ story – is that the attic?

Yes, it is a full attic – standing up attic.  The full width and breadth of the house.  It is 2000 square feet. [Note: I estimate less than 1,212 sq. ft.  – see property card dimensions.]

Is there a way to the “Widow’s walk?”

YES – up a small steep stair case from the attic.

Is there a basement? Cement or Dirt

Yes, Dirt

2.             Write-ups about the house indicate stained glass features.  Where are they located?

Around the front door – on both sides of the door and above the door.  Additionally – on the second story there are two round windows. 
Those windows are actually in the only two very small closets in the house.

3.             How many rooms?  Is it a central Hall, 4 over 4?

Downstairs has two living rooms.  One is formal and the other is a day room also a kitchen and another common area room. The rooms are very large. 

The stair case leads from the center of the house to the back then to the left then up to the second floor. 

Does the stair case have a wide landing with possibly a window seat?

The landing is wide, but no window seat.
The ceilings are 10 feet.  The kitchen is at the back left of the house.  There is also a full bath downstairs.

Upstairs are three bedrooms and one full bath.  Additionally there is a screened in sleeping room that has double doors out onto a screened in porch.

Out buildings include a brick house that houses the lawn furniture and a two story barn.  Also a wood shed – it had to hold the wood that was used to heat the house and for cooking and heat hot water.  Part of it was for tools.

And there is a garage – it was added on or enlarged so that as the vehicles got bigger they would fit.

4.             The lower portico or lower outside area – is it wood or stone?

The front steps are wood as well as the entire lower porch.  In fact, the entire house is wood.  The foundation is brick.

Are the ceilings of the balconies painted blue to help ward off the insects?

Yes they are, but not for the insects for warding off evil spirits.  It is a difficult blue color to find.  I’ve forgotten the name of it.

5.             To the right of the front portico, was that meant for a car to drive up and pick up passengers?

Yes, only a small car will fit there now – a sports car will fit.  It was designed for the automobiles at the time which were much smaller than today’s cars.

6.             Are the interior walls plastered? 

Yes, they are.  There is a waist high or maybe higher wood paneling throughout the house.  The picture in that book shows it going up the stair case.  Then the plastered walls and then the crown molding at the ceiling is 1 ½ to 2 feet deep. 

The woodwork is all dark wood.  This is some of the beaded ceiling board that was removed from the kitchen when we remolded.

 [NOTE: The color was a dark pecan.]  [Some of it was used to remodel The Daily Grind.]

When we were remodeling the house – the kitchen and bathrooms, we found a tag on the back of the kitchen paneling that indicated it had been ordered for J. D. and was shipped in.   I was told that most of the lumber to build the house was taken from the land surrounding the house.

7.             I understand that the house is listed on the National Historic Register. [added in 1982 – Building #82003511] What does that restrict you from doing?

We can’t change the outside.  The exterior of the house has to remain the way it was built. 

But, when we moved back here in 1997 and 1998 there was no heating.  The house had been heated by only wood.  They cooked on a wood stove and they heated their water for the bath in a wood stove in the bath.  There was no hot water.

When we remodeled we put in heating, cooling, upgraded the wiring, remodeled the bath rooms and completely re-did the kitchen.

I couldn’t live here with no heat or hot water.  It was so cold when we moved back and we started it in the fall of the year. 

When we were fixing it up a rumor was around that we were re-doing it for Andy Griffin.

8.             That’s funny.  When I moved to this area in 1985 and asked the locals about the house, I was told by so many in the area that it was the “Governor’s house”, but that is not true is it?

Not true.  And this house doesn’t have ghosts either.

[NOTE: - See The Red Tavern history – re: Ghosts]

9.             There are brick posts with metal pipe fencing that come from the corner of Smith Grove Road and along to the right side of the driveway.  Yet, there are none to the left of the driveway.  Do you know anything about that?  Did they move the road or something?

No, that was because of the Gypsies.  Grandfather said the Gypsies would camp in the woods and start fires and he didn’t want his forest or house to catch on fire – so to stop the Gypsies – he fenced it in to keep them off his property.

10.         So, this house was continuously lived in only by descendants? 

Yes, grandmother and grandfather, my Aunt Frances and my mother Doris when they were children.  When Frances and Doris grew up they went off to Converse College and then on to study at Julliard School of Music in New York.  My mother, Doris, eventually settled in Charlotte and taught music for a living. Frances went on to be concert pianist {sic}.[1] I was born and raised in Charlotte most of my life.

11.         What is your fondest memory?

Minnie, the daughter of my grandmother’s maid.   Minnie was 17 or 18 when she took over from her mother.   She had been  raised to take over and she cooked everything on the wood stove and made the best biscuits. 

They say the housemaid [Minnie’s mother] was the oldest freed slave in North Carolina.  J. D. Ledbetter built the maid a house west of the Ledbetter house up near where the gas station used to be. She would walk to and from work. She cooked and cleaned and took care of the house and then Minnie took her place after a time.

My favorite memory is putting my feet in the cook stove to keep them warm.  I was about 10 or 11 at the time.

Oh, there was also a buzzer under the dinning room table so that if the master wanted anything, he’d press it with his foot and it would buzz in the kitchen and they would come out to attend to him.

12.         Is the house comfortable to live in?  Other than being a fishbowl to people slowing down and taking pictures?

Yes, when we redid the heating and air and hot water – it is very comfortable.

13.         Comparing the Ledbetter house to a house built in 2008, does it have functionality?

Yes, because we remolded the kitchen.

14.         What is your favorite feature of the house?

The architecture – the wainscoting and woodwork, inside and out, the architecture. 

15.         What is your least favorite? 

Not much closet space, hardly any at all.  Those stained glass windows on the second story – that is where the very small closets are. Those windows are in the back of the closets.

16.         The advertisement for builders that is framed at the back entrance of The Daily Grind - is that the Ledbetter house?  I don’t happen to see Baynard listed?

Yes it is the Ledbetter house.  No it was an advertisement for building suppliers.

17.         I understand that Andy Baynard, the architect for the Ledbetter house may have also done the Washburn house, yet I have been told that may be false.

He didn’t build the Washburn house.  J. D. Ledbetter liked a house in Spartanburg and he took some of that design and worked it into the house.

18.         The articles on the wall – that was the bank – on the corner where your grandfather J. D. Ledbetter worked?

Yes, this building was J. D.’s office when he worked at the bank.  Did you know that they made their own money back then?  J. D. Ledbetter and W. N. _________ signed it.

19.         So you have some money with your grandfather’s signature on it?

Yes, in the vault.

Additional comments made by Ms. Margaret Butcher – not answers to anything – just bits of history.

Minnie used to feed Frances and Doris to the point where they would get sick.  It was not fashionable to be skinny and I’ve been told that they would wear extra clothes to look fatter.  If you were thin back then it was due to lack of nutrition and it was not a fashion statement like today.  It also was questionable if the cook’s skills were up to par if the inhabitants were thin. 

Also, Affie Ledbetter home schooled both Frances and Doris.  Later they went on to public school.  There is a school room certificate for Frances when she was in the fourth grade. [Framed on the wall of The Daily Grind.]

You may also want to look at the article that Virginia Rucker did.  It has a picture of my grandmother, my aunt and my mother.  There is a picture of me with my grandmother.  [It is framed and in the original section of The Daily Grind.  The Sunday Courier, dated August 19, 2001.  Section 1C.] 

Verbatim excerpts from August 19, 2001
The Sunday Courier
“Restoring Family Roots” by Virginia Rucker

[parentheses added for note or clarity by T. St. John]

. . . the Ledbetter house was begun in 1912, and completed in 1914 . . .[Note:  Deed indicates land purchased 1913.]
The Ledbetter house has a distinction that possibly no other Rutherford home can claim, it’s been owned and occupied by one family since it was built.
Doris was born 1914
Frances was born 1915
J. C. Ledbetter died in 1926 at age 55.
He was a shrewd businessman and co-founder of The First National Bank in Forest City when it opened in 1923.
The money he accumulated he invested in property mostly on the town square and still owned by daughter, Doris. [Doris has since died.]
After Mrs. Ledbetter’s death in 1962 at the age of 81, the two daughters continued to return to the home and kept it in excellent condition.
Both girls graduated with degrees in music from Converse College in 1936, then Julliard School of Music in New York City.  After completing their educations, Doris came back to Charlotte to teach music in the Mecklenburg school system and Frances remained in New York where she was a concert pianist.
During World War II, Doris met Alfred Butcher of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, while playing for a dance at a USO club.  They married in 1946 at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Rutherfordton, but continued living in Charlotte.
Her (Doris) life was filled happily with work, their child Margaret, and travel.  Trips for Doris were frequent and out-of-the-ordinary.  One included a camping trip to Siberia, another on the Queen Mary, with Margaret, sailing to England.
She’s (Doris) still active in the D.A.R., Opera Guild, a music club and her flower garden.
After Frances’ death in 1971, she [Doris] had to assume full responsibility of the Ledbetter property here. She realized that it was becoming a daunting task for her and her husband and four years ago they suggested to Margaret that she live in the family home and manage the Forest City property.
The Ledbetter house had been Margaret’s other home since early childhood and, after some soul-searching, she agreed.
That changed her life drastically, but it seemed to have fallen gracefully in place.  Margaret had graduated from Charlotte’s County Day School then pursuing her love of horses went to Kentucky to Morehead State University majoring in education.
Golf is another favorite sport and she had met another golfer, Jill Thorne, while playing Golf in Charlotte. Jill was a Mapping Supervisor and involved in historical sites in Chester, S.C. at that time, living in a renovated house built in 1860.
Knowing Jill’s love of old houses, Margaret asked if she’d be willing to come and help renovate the Ledbetter home.  She accepted and four years of hard work has made a vast difference, now the house still needs only a few finishing touches.
Thorne had grown up in Ohio, attended the University of Ohio; attended the University of Michigan and the University of West Virginia majoring in civil and mechanical engineering with emphasis on architecture.  That background was valuable in the renovations.
The house presented a formidable task.
There was no heat, no hot water, a woodstove in the kitchen, some rooms with only one electrical outlet and limited plumbing.
“The renovation had to be functional,” Thorne said, “but ((with its historical background)) it had to have integrity.”
They started with replacement of wiring, plumbing and added heat and hot water.  “When we first moved in we had only a wood cook stove so we brought a hot plate and a microwave, but because of the limited electricity could use only one at a time,” Thorne said.
Often families and guests gather in the kitchen so the women began with that room, removing a window and door to add light, replaced the cabinets, restored the hardwood floors, used stainless steel for the countertops and installed a Chinese red commercial stove.
“We have combined the old and the new,” Butcher said, “and it was priceless to see my mother’s face when she walked into the remodeled kitchen.”
Some family pieces have been retained – a grand and square piano, the beds Doris and Frances slept in, and other pieces that have sentimental value.
They found old pictures, newspapers, some dating back to the 100-room Mabree Hotel on the square, which was built in 1904 and destroyed by fire in 1918, along with pictures of Ledbetter family members.
The house beginning to be comfortable, the two women could foresee enough leisure to set themselves up in business, But what kind?
After deliberation, they decided on something new to Forest City, an espresso serving various types of coffee and tea, along with baked Danish, muffins, fresh breads, cakes and sundaes.  After a month or two they planned to serve lunches that date is settled now, the first of September.
. . . .
Crown moldings came from the Ledbetter house when it was built and boards used as facings on the counters were found in the Ledbetter home’s two-stall barn.  Some bear the inscription “J.D. Ledbetter, Forest City, N.C.,” on the back.

They opened The Daily Grind July 21, (2001).
. . . .
ABOUT AFFIE LEDBETTER:
[heading added]

Butcher hears many tales about her grandmother Ledbetter known locally as a “character”.  She was always erect, dignified, wore ankle-length dresses, often black, and the same small, round black hat atop her pinned-up hair.
According to legend, she was allowed to have the same parking space on the square and the tale goes, that once she forgot how to stop her 1938 Buick and continued circling the square until a policeman recognized the dilemma, jumped in and braked.
When she continued hearing a whining noise in her car and she took it to a mechanic for a check-up, he told her to change the three gears.  She replied she didn’t know it had three, that she had always driven in second gear.
. . . .


NOTE:  The Daily Grind sold out to another entity a few years after I prepared this paper.

ABSTRACT – PUBLIC RECORDS


1.             Deed from T. C. McBrayer to J. D. Ledbetter, dated March 31, 1913 and recorded March 31, 1913 in Book 97, page 357, for the original 11 144/100 acre tract where the Ledbetter house was built.  Consideration for the land was $1,500.
2.             Deed Sheet sketch showing dimensions of lot in1913.
3.             Deed from Mrs. Affie Ledbetter, widow, to Frances Rucker Ledbetter of Rutherford County and Doris Ledbetter Butcher of Mecklenburg County, dated and recorded August 4, 1961, in Deed Book 259, Page 128.  Note, additional property has been added increasing the acreage to 15.7.
4.             Deed Sheet sketch showing dimensions of lot with additional acreage.
5.             Frances Rucker Ledbetter deceased – break in deed chain
6.             Deed from Alfred Butcher, Jr. and wife, Doris L. Butcher to Doris L. Butcher and Margaret H. Butcher, Trustees of their successors in trust under The Doris Ledbetter Butcher Living Trust dated August 5, 2002, and any amendment thereto, dated August 15, 2002 and recorded August 21, 2002 in Deed Book 804, page 006.  Tract Three is Ledbetter home site: 15.7 acres.
7.             Deed from Margaret H. Butcher, Trustee under The Doris Ledbetter Butcher Living Trust dated August 5, 2002, to Margaret H. Butcher, unmarried, dated May 19, 2003, and recorded May 23, 2003 in Deed Book 821, Page 50.  15.7 acres.
8.             Deed from Margaret H. Butcher, Trustee, or her successors in trust under the Doris Ledbetter Butcher Living Trust dated August 5, 2002, and any amendments thereto to Margaret H. Butcher and Jill Ann Thorne Trustees, of their successors in trust, under the Butcher Living Trust dated May 16, 2006, deed dated December 8, 2006, and recorded December 13, 2006 in Deed Book 920, Page 869, and re-recorded in Deed Book in Book 924, Page 196. 15.7 acres
9.             GIS currently – shows all of property annexed into Forest City (Margaret Butcher mentioned this when I asked if the house was in Spindale or Forest City.)
10.         Tax Map outlined in yellow.  NOTE:  Forest City limits recently moved west to annex entire acreage into city.
11.         Property Sheets page 1:  A) year built 1913; B) shows square footage and layout of the house; C) indicates recent remodeling upgrades of Gas forced heat; heat pump. D) 4 bedrooms, 1 ½ baths. E) Very Good quality grade and EXCELLENT condition; F) shows outbuilding all built in 1913. [Note this is different than the National Register date.]
12.         Property Sheet: page 3 – square foot layout of house.


Resources:

Butcher, Margaret, Personal Interview. October 13, 2008.
Forest City, 1930 [newspaper advertisement – framed and located on west wall of The Daily Grind]
Griffin, Clarence, W., Essays on North Carolina, 1951, Forest City, N.C., Forest City Courier
Knight, Herbert, L., The Rutherford County News, 1926, “Progress & Publicity Edition”
Merkel, Kimberly I., The Historic Architecture of Rutherford County published by Rutherford County Arts Council, Inc., Forest City, NC, 1983.
“National Register of Historic Places”, North Carolina – Rutherford County, 19 September 2008. <http://www.nationalregisterof historic places.com/NC/Rutherford/State.html
Rutherford County Public Records, public access records; Court House, Rutherfordton, NC [includes Deed Book 97, page 357; GIS property card - 2 pages; Tax Map; and sketches from Deed Sheets
Rucker, Virginia, The Sunday Courier, 08/19/1991, SUNDAY: 1C






[1] Not sure she said “pianist”; I may have assumed it.

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