Picturing the Past will feature some of Brevard’s
historic homes over the next several weeks. 
The houses in these articles will all be part of the upcoming Historic
House Ramble.  They represent a variety
of time periods and architectural styles. 

The oldest homes on the tour will be the Red House and
the Lankford-Cleveland House.  Although
the two houses are different in architectural style they do have some
commonalities.  Both were originally constructed
in the mid-1800s before the town of Brevard was incorporated and both were
built by men who were leaders in the formation of Brevard. 

The west side of the Red House includes a large dormer on the roof and a partially enclosed porch.

The Red House built by L.S. Gash was originally a trading
post known as Poor’s Store.  After the Civil
War it was leased to W.T. Moore who expanded it and operated it as a
hotel.  Although Gash himself never lived
in the house his family moved there shortly after his death in 1872.  It was around this time that it received its
first coat of paint and became known as the Red House.

Time was hard on the old house though until Miss Boswell,
Gash’s granddaughter, hired Moffitt Construction to remodel the home.  A brief mention in the Local Paragraphs of
the September 15, 1911 Sylvan Valley News states, “The house will be
practically rebuilt, a metal roof put on, the outside stuccoed, and the inside
finished throughout in hardwood.  The
improvements will cost about twenty-five hundred.”  The Gash family descendants would own the home
for another 50 plus years.

Lankford built the two-story right side section of the home and Cleveland extended the original front dormer into a large one-and-one-half story gable addition.

Meanwhile on the east side of what would become the town
of Brevard B.C. Lankford built a large home. 
Lankford, known as Caldwell by friends and family, is the namesake for Caldwell
St.  Unlike the Gash family, the
Lankfords sold the home and property shortly after Caldwell Lankford’s death in
1895.  It went through several owners before John B. Cleveland of
Spartanburg bought it in 1913.  The east
side of the current structure was the original home which was referred to as
“one of the most attractively situated dwelling sites in town” in a Sylvan Valley
News article when Cleveland purchased it.  Cleveland had the home remodeled and the
Cleveland family used it as a summer home through the 1960s.

Photographs and information for this column are provided
by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. 
Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more
about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information,
comments, or suggestions contact Marcy at [email protected]
or 828-884-1820.