Built by Mordecai Zachary between 1842 & 1852 and virtually unaltered, the Zachary-Tolbert House is one of the most important historical buildings in Western North Carolina. It is a rare example of vernacular Greek Revival-style architecture, a style that flourished in the mid 1800's. Hallmarks of the style include a distinctive front facade with columns on the porch, side windows, and transoms above the entrance door.
Through a combination of preservation and restoration the House is today much as it was over 150 years ago; with no paint on its interior walls, no electricity, no plumbing, and no central heat. The House contains much of its original furniture, also crafted by Zachary. It is recognized as the largest known collection of Southern Plain Style Furniture crafted by one person in one place.
The Zacharys were among the first white settlers of Cashiers Valley, arriving in 1832 to carve a new homestead out of a mountain wilderness, previously a part of the vast Cherokee Nation of Western North Carolina. Mordecai Zachary was nine years old when his family settled in Cashiers. Among the many skills he learned from his father and older brothers was carpentry. In 1842, at the age of 19, he began clearing a tract of land bordering the Chattooga River, turning the felled trees into lumber at the family saw mill. Home building in the 19th century Cashiers Valley was a slow process with Zachary himself doing all the carpentry and also crafting all the furniture. The original site had several outbuildings and a ten horse stable, no longer standing. A rear-positioned Kitchen Dependency was constructed just outside the back door of the Main House. In 1852, Mordecai presented The Zachary House as a wedding gift to his new bride, Elvira Keener. Of historical note, Keener’s father was an early Methodist minister to the Cherokee and a peer of William Holland Thomas.
The Greek Revival architecture of the Zachary’s new home was unusually elegant for Cashiers during this time and it is believed that future Confederate general and SC governor Wade Hampton III provided the plans for the home – and may have helped with purchasing the hardware and glass in exchange for boarding during his visits to the area.
In 1853, the Zacharys had their first child. Twelve children were born while they lived in the House and Elvira taught them all to speak Cherokee, in which she was fluent. The Zacharys hosted boarders, primarily men interested in hunting and fishing. Zachary supplemented his farming income with a sawmill, a gristmill, and carpentry. He was eventually hired to build Wade Hampton’s first hunting lodge. Inside the Zachary House there is much graffiti on the walls. In the downstairs hallway under the steps, one writing tells of a Zachary son, Charlie, taking his first step in the early 1860s.
Over the years, the Zachary House continued its dual existence as both a private home and a summer boarding retreat for the landed, prominent families of the South Carolina Upstate, Piedmont, and Lowcountry. Notably, the period from construction until 1873 was the only timeframe that the House was used as a year-round residence. Subsequent owners would maintain the House only as a seasonal retreat – a respite from the hot humid climes of South Carolina summers.
After over two decades and 12 children, Zachary and his bride sold the House along with its furnishings to Armistead Burt in 1873. Burt was a prominent 19th century lawyer & politician from Abbeville, SC. He was both a protégé and nephew by marriage of John C. Calhoun, U.S. Senator and former Vice-President of the U.S. Notably, the Civil War effectively ended in Burt’s Abbeville home, when Jefferson Davis’ last meeting with his Confederate War Cabinet was held there. Davis and Burt were good friends. Burt later served as Speaker of the House of U.S. Representatives and was instrumental in getting Wade Hampton III elected as South Carolina’s famed Reconstruction Governor. In 1881, Burt sold the house (and its furnishings) to his fellow politician, parishioner, and former law partner, William Henry Parker.
William Henry Parker was the great-grandson of William Henry Drayton (Drayton Hall), the aristocratic member of the Continental Congress of the American Revolution, whose suggestion of fireworks to celebrate July 4th became an official American tradition. His wife, Lucia, was the daughter of the most prominent family in Abbeville, the Wardlaws. Parker served in the Confederate Army, was active in both local and state politics, and eventually became a wealthy and notable attorney.
Just before the Parkers bought the House, a new road (today’s Highway 107) had been built from South Carolina to Cashiers, allowing travel by coach or wagon up to the mountains. The Parker family took advantage of this ready accessibility. They had 10 children who found both Cashiers Valley and their new summer home quite a playground. Evidence of childhood restlessness on rainy summer afternoons is found throughout the House – where ink spots (from “ink fights”) are visible on the walls and furniture. This youthful energy is also responsible for a much of the house graffiti (over 200 “entries” discovered) - especially in the upstairs bedrooms. In 1901, William Henry transferred the House to his brother’s family, Dr. Francis Le Jeu Parker, a physician from Charleston. When in Cashiers, Dr. Parker treated the local residents. In 1909, Dr. Parker sold the House to Robert Red Tolbert, the son of J.R. Tolbert, Tax Collector for the Port of Charleston. – beginning the Tolbert Era for Mordecai Zachary’s grand home.
Soon after buying the House, Robert Red Tolbert, an Abbeville cotton farmer and prominent Republican politician, and his wife Lucy construct a wide porch. This “piazza” completely surrounds the house and enables Tolbert’s father, J.R., to move about outside during the rainy Cashiers afternoons that are common in the summer months. The porch was removed in the 1940s because of disrepair. The Tolberts truly made the House a “home”, making friends with the local residents as well as other summer visitors and became an active part of the community. They often stayed beyond the summer months.
Early in the 1920s, the original kitchen located just behind the Main House was destroyed by fire and subsequently replaced with a wooden structure from a former logging operation in Whiteside Cove. Taken apart, transported, and then reconstructed on the exact site (utilizing the original chimney), this building was carefully and historically restored in 2009 and is now part of the comprehensive House Tour.
The House remained in Tolbert ownership for most of the 20th century, beginning with Robert Red in the early 1900s and eventually falling to his grandson and namesake, Robert Red “Bubba” Tolbert. Bubba recalled in the 1990s, “We children had many chores; bringing water from the spring, chopping firewood for the fireplaces & stove, cleaning, and trimming the wicks in the kerosene lamps.” His mother, Mamie, liked company and the house was always filled with family and friends who returned year after year. Mamie does all the cooking and because of the old fashioned conditions, calls life in the house “Indoor Camping”.
After Mamie dies in 1972, the House is used only for a couple of weeks during each summer and begins to deteriorate. 1987 is the last summer the House is used and the deterioration accelerates. However, Bubba Tolbert wants to preserve his family legacy and decides to sell the house with the condition it be preserved, and hopefully restored.
In 1997, Tom & Wendy Dowden purchased the Zachary-Tolbert House and subsequently donated it to the newly-organized Cashiers Historical Society. The Historical Society quickly mobilized to identify and protect the House and its contents. After successful fund-raising efforts, the Zachary-Tolbert House was restored to its original condition, its contents preserved, archived, & displayed, and its surrounding meadows, woodlands, and streams naturally developed for public use.
Today … The Zachary-Tolbert House Museum is on the National Register of Historic Places and is open for guided tours on Fridays and Saturdays from May through October.
