Cold Mountain Heritage Tour
Begins: 07/05/2008 Ends: 07/06/2008
BICENTENNIAL YEAR 2008 TOUR SITES
(Tour Site descriptions will be updated later.) Day One, Saturday, July 5th from 9am to 5pmShook House
Blaylock House
Bethel Cemetary
Oldest Truss Bridge
Inman Chapel
Inman Cemetary
Forks of the River
Entertainment and Food from 5:30pm to 8:30pm At the Forks of the River, Riverhouse Acres Campground
ENTERTAINMENT BY:
Burnette Family
Trantham Family
Anne and Rob Lough
Inman Family
Cagle and Friend
Day Two, Sunday, July 6th from 1pm to 6pm Shelton House
Smathers-Gautier House
Sulpher Springs Park (last shot of the Civil War)
Francis Mill
The fourth booklet in the Tour Series will be available. This will be a special 2008 Bicentennial Edition.
The Cold Mountain Heritage Tour, organized by the Bethel Rural Community Organization, celebrates and preserves the enormously rich heritage of Bethel Community located in Haywood County in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Historically, Bethel Community boasts its Indian heritage as well as its distinction as the location of the oldest settlement in Haywood County. This rural area is also fortunate to be the real home of "Inman" from Cold Mountain fame. The community, "Cold Mountain," was essentially a fictionalized place that was named for a nearby mountain; actual events that happened in Inman's life occurred in Bethel. Inman was born, lived, murdered, and buried in Bethel. Inman's gravesite, the location of which has been quietly maintained since 1864 when he was killed, is featured on the tour. In addition to Inman, many of the young men from Bethel enlisted in the Confederacy. Fortunately, for the purposes of the tour, several of them built beautiful houses in the community that are well preserved almost 150 years later. Some of these homes, as well as others sites, will be featured in the July 5th and 6th, 2008 event.
Bethel community has maintained its strong religious connection and church affiliation since the early days of settlement. Bethel's name is derived from its association with camp meetings prevalent in the area during the early 1820's to 1840's. To honor this religious tie, one historic church and two cemeteries as well as a camp meeting site are also on the tour. Tour guides at each location discuss architecture and family history concerning each site.
