Cornelius Hunt (1919-1990)

A Brevard native, Cornelius F. Hunt was a well-known
leader in Transylvania County and had a significant impact on the community.
Born in 1919, his parents James & Emily died a couple of years apart when
he was very young, and he was raised by relatives in Louisville, KY. He later
returned to Brevard, married Jessie Mae Rosemond, and had five children in
addition to a foster child. Jessie, a nurse, died of cancer at age 39, and Hunt
never remarried.

Hunt worked at Transylvania Tanning and then Ecusta/Olin
for 31 years before retirement. He served on numerous boards, councils, and
non-profit organizations both during his employment and into retirement. Some
of his notable achievements were being a Brevard City Council member for 17
years, a founding member of the Transylvania County Human Relations Council,
the first president of the TCIO (Transylvania Citizens Improvement
Organization), the director of United Way, the director of the Mary C. Jenkins
Community Center, and a mayor pro tem. He was a Sunday school superintendent
for Bethel “A” Baptist Church for 35 years and a Scout Master for the Boy
Scouts of America. These are only a handful of his many accomplishments, which
are almost too extensive to list.

While continuing to serve in office as a Brevard City
Council member, he died unexpectedly of heart failure in 1990. In 2015, the
Public Works building on Cashiers Valley Road was dedicated in his honor and
bears a plaque acknowledging the honor.

Photographs and information
for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room,
Transylvania County Library. This article was written by Local History
Librarian Laura Gardner. For more information, comments, or suggestions,
contact NC Room staff at [email protected] or 828-884-1820.