Note: This is part of a series of articles about the history of the local community centers in Transylvania County.

Cedar Mountain is located in southeastern Transylvania County near the NC – SC state line. Families who first settled Cedar Mountain include the Thomas, Burns, Heath, Jones, Bishop, and Garren families. The area became a summer mountain retreat for upstate South Carolinians and is dotted with small, secluded cottages, making it a true summer colony for many property owners.

The scenic forests inspired the creation of many summer camps beginning as early as the 1920s, with some of those camps continuing to operate into modernity. The many camps to host visitors over the years include Piedmont Camp, the Elks Club of Greenville Camp, Camp Reasonover, Summit Camps, YWCA Camp Burgiss Glenn, Camp Comfort, High Rocks Camp, and Camp Greenville—YMCA.

Rural residents who lived in Cedar Mountain full-time found employment connected to the camps or summer visitors. Some workers also vacationed in Cedar Mountain, due to upstate SC textile mills owning plots that were used for employee recreation similar to a time-share. Mill families could sign up for a week in the summer and beat the heat of urban areas in the cool mountain shade.

The Cedar Mountain Community Club (CMCC) first met at the local schoolhouse, as many of the early community clubs did. The location where CMCC now stands first had the Cedar Mountain School upon it. The small, subscription school burned down in 1914 from a mishap with the wood stove, and a new one-room schoolhouse was contracted and built later that year by George W. Bishop for $598.95. W.S. Hooker sold the Transylvania County Board of Education (TCBOE) an adjoining acre of land to accommodate the new building.

Classes continued to be held at the school, which was used as a community center outside of school hours, such as for meetings of scouting troops and a 4-H club. In 1933 the student population grew so much that the upper classmen (7^th graders) had to transfer to the Brevard schools instead.

Further consolidation of schools in the late 1940s was what prompted the final closure of the Cedar Mountain School. The TCBOE conveyed the property to the CMCC in 1949. Residents say that the old schoolhouse was demolished and the materials used for renovations at the Bishop property – perhaps in exchange for the Bishops’ original donation of the land.

A new center was built in 1953-1954 with funds raised in a number of events, including a “Tacky Party”. The building was made of concrete blocks with a concrete floor and aluminum windows. The main room waws 30 x 50 feet, and the facility included a kitchen, restrooms, and two porches. The same structure is utilized today.

A major innovation for the center was when a concrete-brick curb market was built in 1956. Local residents now had a location to sell their garden surplus to tourists and neighbors. Other additions and renovations were completed through the years, including a tennis court being added in 1961 due to a generous donation from the Crosswell family.

Today the center hosts personal celebrations such as wedding receptions, baby showers, birthday parties, family reunions, quilting bees, and church socials. Regular potlucks and programs keep the community connected and continue to fund the many activities and events, as well as maintenance of the property.

Cedar Mountain Community Center president Caroline Chambers can be reached for more information. Photos and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. This article was written by Laura Sperry, Local History Librarian. Special thanks to Linda Packer Young and Patty Stahl. Sources available upon request.