HISTORY continued HISTORY continued HISTORY con't. next column HISTORY con't. p. 32 and other papers; a journalist for 37 years, she now serves with the MCHA. In 1963, Mrs. Marilyn Hartsell moved to the area from the Piedmont. As Marilyn’s husband worked as an anesthesiologist, she cared for their home and child. Born in Sampson County in a little house much like the Shaw House, Mr. Milton Sills moved to Moore in 1966, with his family some 51 years ago. In following so many travelers before, my new friends happily call this special little gem in the pines—home. HISTORY con't. next column HISTORY con't from p. 2 Sara Lindau with Marilyn Hartsell. A few hundred years ago, Scottish immigrants came to the area fleeing religious persecution. John McLaughlin, a wealthy merchant who owned vast tracts of land, gave many of these Scottish families 100 acres if they would settle the land which reminded of their homeland. They were educated and came for better lives. Marilyn points out, “I was in Scotland not too long ago, and there is an entire museum dedicated to the immigrants who came to North Carolina. The little chest at the foot of the bed was brought to Moore County by a Scottish immigrant; this held all of the possessions they could bring on the boat. Katherine Boyd acquired the chest and donated it when Mrs. Buffie Ives restored this house.” Mrs. Buffie Ives, another who traveled far to call Moore County home, was from Bloomington, Illinois. She came here every winter and lived at Paint Hill. With a fascinating heritage, Ives’ family was in the newspaper and publishing business; her grandfather was the Vice President of the United States in the 1850s; her husband was Ambassador to France; and her brother Adlai Stephenson was the Governor of Illinois. Milton tells, “In 1935, Buffie and her husband retired here and bought about 400 acres off of Indiana Avenue called Paint Hill, the highest point in the area. They restored a log cabin; sadly the cabin burned down around 1984. One night when we had a severe storm, lightning struck the cabin, trees blew across the road, and the fire department couldn’t get to the cabin in time. Ives built a new log cabin, and the land is now protected with the nature conservancy.” Continuing the family heritage of leaders, Ives and her friends established the MCHA in 1946. When the Shaw House property came on the market, she saw the value of restoring this home, and the rest is history. Acclaimed as the oldest continuously-operating historical association in NC, the MCHA celebrates 71 years. Named for the Shaw family who built the house, the house has only seen two owners since 1820—the Shaw family and the MCHA. During the 1800s, Southern Pines was called Shaws Ridge after the Shaw family. Over time, the area became known as Vineland, then Southern Pines. Milton shares the story, “A guy by the name of John Patrick was appointed by Governor Vance right after the Civil War to be the Commissioner of Immigration, and immigration then doesn’t mean what it does today. Immigration then was to bring wealthy northern people down to the area, devastated after the Civil War. Patrick, associated with the Seaboard Railroad which is now CSX, planned our area as a winter resort. Southern Pines, developed to help consumptives and those with respiratory problems, became established in 1887. Pinebluff became the first developed resort in the area; the railroad made it available for people to travel from the North.” Meanwhile, the Tufts family from Boston bought land from the Page family who arrived in 1871 with the timber and railroad business. The timbered land grew to become Pinehurst under the ownership of James Walker Tufts and the oversight of designer Frederick Law Olmsted from NY who developed Central Park. Southern Pines was established in 1887; Pinehurst in 1895. In order to attract Northerners, Patrick did two important things. He laid out the town to resemble a New England village, and he named the streets after New England states—New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, etc. Marilyn continues the story, “This area was so poor, yet John Patrick came in with the idea to make a resort, and look what happened! I read somewhere that Patrick would give a building lot to an educated professional to encourage him to live here.” Milton tells, “In the middle of each block in the older sections of Southern Pines, there was a big open square which was held in common for stables and carriage houses.” The other interesting thing is that the women who came here were educated women. Marilyn explains,“They weren’t going to sit here without garbage pick-up and with animals running free. These women formed groups to organize garbage pick-up, beautify the area, and enforce the livestock laws. They established the first library through Andrew Carnegie who had a lending library that traveled from village to village by train. Carnegie gave them $1000. to start a little library. The ladies also managed a benevolent society to help people. For instance, if a Northerner died, and there was no money to ship the body, then they provided funds. While the women managed things at home, the men were employed as merchants, dentists, doctors, teachers; many worked in the service industries like blacksmithing.” Milton adds, “The Boyd family gave money to put in streets and sewers. As for the first public school, the King’s Daughters, a civic, philanthropic organization organized the school. Helen Boyd Dull was also very instrumental in organizing the school, library, and civic club; however, most of the children at the time were taught in homes.” As the town grew, the Shaw House welcomed 12 children, 10 children lived through childhood. The original part of the house was constructed in the early 1820s, in a “dog trot” style with an open center. Most of the children were grown when the house was remodeled around 1840; the date is commemorated in the chimney. In 1975, the dining room, kitchen, and back area were added. The windows in the front and back along with the high ceilings provided cross ventilation. Marilyn explains the front rooms, “The little rooms in the front of the house were used for travelers on horseback who would tie their horses and stay the night. Whenever the minister came through on horseback, he spent the night as well.” For Buffie Ives to take note of the Shaw House is truly fascinating. Marilyn explains, “Interestingly, the Shaw House is just an ordinary, plain country house; it’s said that this was one of the first preservation projects to save a house of ordinary people living an ordinary life in rural NC. Rather than a two story mansion, the Shaw House was a house that people ignored and said, ‘Oh it’s not worth saving; let it go.’ Buffie saw the value and rallied her friends to raise $5,000. for this corner property.” Sara joins in, “Another interesting story, is that when this property went on the market, there was a woman in Pinehurst who wanted to buy the property just to have the mantels. “Yes,” says Milton. “It’s very interesting. There are three other mantels like this one in the area. One is in the “old library” next to the Post Office in the Boyd room. There’s one in Weymouth in the Boyd house, and then there’s one in a house on Massachusetts Avenue. The mantels came out of an old house on Connecticut Avenue. The one in the old library came from Eagle Springs.” As for the other furnishings, Marilyn tells, “We only have a couple original pieces—Squire Shaw’s chair and a candle stick. Mrs. Ives worked with Flora McDonald, a home demonstration agent, who knew where to find these antiques. A funny story goes that the local women passed the word around that there was this rich Yankee woman wanting to buy furniture that wasn’t worth anything, so they would jack up the prices a little. The furniture is not original, but it is appropriate to the time period and all collected within Moore County. The painting inside the front door is of Charles Washington Shaw, whom they called Squire, the Southern Pines Justice of the Peace. Mrs. Ives hated this picture so much, that it was upstairs in storage. When she passed, we brought it out.” As for the pottery in the house, Mrs. Ives collected these pieces with the help of Juliana Busbee from Jugtown. When the Shaw House ran the tea room to help raise money, they actually served guests on Jugtown Pottery. Recognized as one of the outstanding tea rooms in the country, they served creamed chicken on waffles with a salad or mixed fresh fruit, and prune cake.” Regrettably in the late 1980s, the Shaw p.30 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. No. 127 House grounds were closed. When Harris
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