Pingree Priestly and Charity Haseltine Osborne Plott House

Pingree and Charity Plott built their home on a knoll on a portion of his father’s land which, at the time, comprised approximately nine hundred acres.  At the time of Pingree’s death, land holdings contained 1,311 acres that included the large white two-story Victorian detailed L-shaped wooden frame structure built by the Reverend Jesse Stalcup in 1867.  The nine rooms allowed sufficient space for the couple’s five sons and one daughter.   Several members of the household contracted tuberculosis, evident by the blue windowpanes said to be soothing for patients suffering from consumption.  Plott operated a mill and farmed the land.  For more information about the Plott House and family see Legends, Tales & History of Cold Mountain, Book 1. See also Walking in the Footsteps of Those Who Came Before Us DVD. An unknown artist painted a picture of the Plott family in front of the house that is included in the Historic Preservation art print collection.  Also in the collection are a painting of the house by artist Jason Hawkins and a colored drawing by artist Linda Anders Sizemore.

Riverhouse Acres

Riverhouse Acres currently comprises a house, a campground, and an organic garden alongside the Pigeon River at the location where the East and West Forks of the river merge.  A part of the original William Cathey land grant, the site was, according to oral history, probably utilized by the Native Americans who inhabited the area.  The location became a popular site for religious camp meetings during the 1800s.  Bethel, meaning “House of God,” changed its name from the original Native American moniker, "Sonoma", as well as its "Forks of Pigeon" reference, to its current name because of the religious fervor that encouraged local citizens to prefer the Biblical reference for the community’s name.  For more information about Riverhouse Acres see Legends, Tales & History of Cold Mountain, Book 1, and Cold Mountain Heritage Driving Tour CD.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, taxpayer supported homes for individuals/families, also known as “almshouses” or “poor houses,” came into existence as a means of aiding the sick and unfortunate.  Most of these poor houses included land for farming, and individuals housed there were expected, if able, to work on the “poor farm.” Poor House laws at the time authorized each county to “provide for the maintenance and well-ordering of the poor and to employ biennially a sane competent person as overseer of the poor.” (quote from article about Wake County poor houses).

North Carolina, in the early 1900s, authorized that each county should build a “County Home” to house indigent citizens. Haywood's County Home was in Bethel. Built in 1911, this large three-story Colonial Revival brick structure incorporated a twelve-acre farm that provided work opportunities and produce for people at the County Home. Residents were cared for at the expense of the county with the intention of releasing them as soon as their situations improved. Residents assisted with cooking and cleaning if able. In the early days, the basement level of the building housed overflow prisoners. By the 1940s, most residents were elderly, and the name changed to “Pigeon Valley Rest Home” by 1952 when the government aided indigent individuals at local nursing homes.  The Kenney and Leatherwood families operated the facility as part of Silver Bluff Village until 2025 when a nursing home corporation took over operation of the facility.

James Henry and Flora Kinsland Plott House

James Henry Plott was the fourth child of Pingree Priestly and Charity Haseltine Osborne Plott.  His 1900 marriage to Flora Kinsland, the daughter of state legislator, Marion DeKalb Kinsland, united two prominent family lines in Haywood County.  On land inherited from James Henry’s mother, Charity, in what was called “Garden Farm” or “Flowery Garden,” the couple hired builder, George Smathers, to construct a Colonial Revival/Queen Anne style house in 1904.  They reared six children there.  The house stood on an original 260 acres that included the Garden Creek Native American settlement that dates to 8,000 B.C. as well as the site of the first white settlement in Haywood County in 1785.  Bethel Rural Community Organization assisted the family with disbursement of Plott artifacts and memorabilia that were gifted to six museums when the house was sold in 2018. Artist Jason Hawkins painted a picture of the house that is included in the Historic Preservation art print collection.