J.F. (Frances) Hayes was an industrialist from Pennsylvania who, like
many others, came to western North Carolina for the business
opportunities.  He and his associates and
their business enterprises were responsible for the rapid growth in tourism and
business in Transylvania County at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of
the twentieth century. 

Hayes purchased the failed Hendersonville and Brevard Railroad, re-established
it as the Transylvania Railroad Company and extended the line to Lake Toxaway
through the city of Toxaway (Rosman).

Toxaway Tanning Employees

Seeing an opportunity to capitalize
on the abundant natural resources and the new rail line in the area 23-year-old
Joseph Silversteen choose Toxaway to begin his tanning business.  The tanning process required hides, lumber
and water.  The tannin from the bark of
chest

nut trees was used to tan the hides which were then shipped by rail to
businesses using leather.  Toxaway
Tanning Company opened in 1902.

The people of Toxaway had a difficult
time settling on a name for their growing community.  To avoid confusion with Lake Toxaway 10 miles
further west a new name was needed.  Several
changes were made before Joseph Silversteen ended the debated by combining the
names of two of his business partners, Joseph Rosenthal and Morris Osmansky,
for Rosman.

Silversteen acquire about 20,000
acres from George Vanderbilt to harvest timber. 
Silversteen opened Gloucester Lumber Company in 1910 in Rosman, followed
by Rosman Tanning & Extract and the Gloucester Company Store a year later.

The Gloucester Company Store sold a
wide array of merchandise including hardware and farm implements, dry goods
(textiles, clothing and sundries), packaged food and gas.   Employees used “scrip”, a substitute for
U.S. currency that was part of their pay, to purchase what was needed.

Scrip booklets

The Company Store was an institution
long after all of Silversteen’s businesses had closed.  H.J. Schain, Mr. & Mrs. A.P (Dock &
Mae) Lusk and W.T. Owen purchased it from Silversteen.  Later the Jarrett brothers owned and operated
the store until it closed in 1987.

The Company Store was an institution
long after all of Silversteen’s businesses had closed.  H.J. Schain, Mr. & Mrs. A.P (Dock &
Mae) Lusk and W.T. Owen purchased it from Silversteen.  Later the Jarrett brothers owned and operated
the store until it closed in 1987. 

The Company Store also had a luncn counter where generations of Rosman natives gathered.  Doleburgers, hamburger with onion mixed into
the ground beef before cooking, were a popular item.  But it was the Company Store Chili that folks
still talk about.  The Owen Reunion
Family Cookbook lists the ingredients for Pop’s Company Store Hot Dog Chili as
1 can Beverly sausage, ¼ cup ketchup and chilli powder to taste.  

Silversteen’s businesses created jobs and a
population explosion in Rosman. 
He employed several hundred people in Rosman and at the logging
camps.

Silversteen provided housing for some
of his employees in Rosman.  Many of
these houses are still in use today.  The
houses ranged from single-family four-room homes to larger two-story homes occupied
by two or three families.

Various Rosman Mill Houses

Early photo of Silversteen family home in Rosman

Joseph and Elizabeth Silversteen
built a large two-story home in 1902. 
The growing family, including daughters—Miriam, Dorothy and Adelaide,
lived there until 1917 when Silvermont was completed.

In addition to Silversteen, Shaffer
Lumber Company ran a logging and lumber operation from Rosman into the rugged
area to the south of Rosman from 1910-1917.

To learn more about the Silversteen and Shaffer businesses and their logging railroads, as well as those of Carl Moltz and Louie Carr see chapter 7 in Logging Railroads of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains by Tom Fetters or “The Railroads of Transylvania County” in volume III of The Heritage of Transylvania County also written by Fetters.

Additional photographs can by viewed at nchistoryroom.blogspot.com.

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 828-884-3151 X242.