Mitchell County Historical Society is excited to announce that Samantha Fortner istherecipientof itsFirstAnnualInezMcRaeScholarship.Samantha,thedaughterofLarry Scott Fortner of Bakersville and Sheila Howe Fortner of Hendersonville, NC,graduated from Mitchell High School in 2017 at the top of her class. Superlativeacademics were not Samantha’s only achievement; she participated in studentgovernment, several sports, and extracurricular activities, as well as working andvolunteering in the community. She plans to attend Wake Forest University andhopestobeanelementaryteacher.

ThescholarshiphonorsInezMcRae, foundingmember,anchor,andguidingforceofMitchell County Historical Society. Inez taught school for many years inMitchellCounty, so it is quite fitting that our annual scholarship bears her name. Inezcurrently lives inWinston-Salem, but came back for theRhododendron Festival, atwhichSamanthametherforachatandaphotoopportunity.

TheMCHSscholarshipisawardedtoahighschoolseniorfromMitchellCountywhodemonstrates an interest inAppalachian studies,including, but not limited tohistory, music, art, folkculture, and economic orcommunity development.The student selecteddemonstrates a desire topursue this interest at ahigher educational level andexpressadesiretoeventuallylive and work withinAppalachia.

HistoricalSociety’sMcRaeScholarshipAwardedtoSamanthaFortner

MITCHELLCOUNTYHISTORICALSOCIETYNEWSLETTER

SecondQuarter2017

RIOTSINBAKERSVILLE?TheterribleriotthattooksomanylivesinBakersville,NC,onJanuary3,1893,israrelymentionedtoday.Perhapsfewevenknowaboutit,andthosethatdojustwant to forget that awful time.Maybe their relativeswere among themob of“over500angrymenbentonrevenge.” Themobcompletelyoverpoweredthebravemen in law enforcementwhokilled some25of them. But theywerenomatchandafter7oftheirnumberwerekilledthoseremainingwerenotabletokeepCalvinSnipes,whohadmurderedIsaacOsborne,frombeingtakenoutintothedensewoodsandhanged.Apossewasformedand25moremenwerekilled.

Thedetailsabove,recountedintheSt.JosephTelegraph,wentviral,aswewouldsaytoday,andwereincludedindozensofnewspaperscoasttocoast.ThestoryevenmadetheLondonTimes. Whilethestorywaswidelycirculated,themajorreasonitisnotoftendiscussedtodayisthattheentireepisodewasafabrication!Fakenews!

Sensation-hungrymediawerequicktograbontothestoryaboutthe“bloodiestbattle since the Little Big Horn.” Within 2 days, however,many reporters, totheir shock and dismay, discoveredthat the entire story of “the Riot inBakersville”wasactually“thelibelousaccountbytheBakersvillefake.”

The following information about theperpetrator of the hoax is fromnewspapers of the time. TheBakersville News reported: “We havebeen convinced that no less anindividual than J. Wallace Hyams isresponsible for the libelous accounttheBakersvillefakeabovealludedto.”

J.W., as he was known, was born inBakersville in 1873, the son of W. SHyams,ClerkoftheSuperiorCourtofMitchell County. He attended wellknown private schools in NC,eventually“receivingamostthorough

Englisheducation.”HestudiedlawwithT.A.Love inBakersville(1892-93)and“wouldhaveappliedforlicensetopracticelawin1893,butforhistenderyears.”

InJanuary1893,itwasreportedthatJ.W.becameCityEditoroftheJohnsonCityDaily Comet. However, the Daily Comet reported 1/24 that “the world’schampion liarwhovictimized thepressof thewhole country…has skipped thetown, leaving his hotel in the lurch to the amount of his board. The reportcurrentthathewasatanytime,andinanyway,connectedwiththeDailyCometisuntrue,”Fourdaysearlieritwasreportedundertheheading,“Good!”that“theoriginatorof thepurportedBakersville riot iswearingasorehead tonight, thetheresultofafightwithCaptainH.F.PerryinwhichHyamswasbadlywhipped.”

In1894J.W.becameEditorandProprietorofthe Bakersville Enterprise and apparentlyredeemed himself. He wasmarried to “thebeautiful and accomplished Nellie G.Bateman of Virginia,” and had a son, CarlGibbons Hyams, born December 1894 anddied 3months after his father. J.W. died on1/1/1895andwasburiedexactly2years tothe day his elaborate hoax supposedly tookplace. Father and son are buried in theHistoricBakersvilleCemetery.

The Bakersville Enterprise, 1/2/1895, offersthis account of his death: “Mr. J. WallaceHyams, editor and proprietor of theBakersville Enterprise, died at his residenceonHillstreet,Bakersville,N.C.onJanuary1st,

1895 at 2:30 p.m. after a painful and lingering illness of several weeks withtyphoidfever…buriedfromtheM.E.ChurchatBakersvilleonJan.3rd,at2p.m.bythe Rev.Mr. Anderson, his pastor, attended by a large concourse ofmourningfriendsandrelatives.Mr.Hyamswasamostbrilliantyoungman,justarrivedatmanhood’sestate.”Anothernewspapercalledhima“talentedyoungeditor.”

From the 5/9/1895 Morganton Herald: "Our contemporary, the BakersvilleEnterprise, has started up again, Good Luck to it." The new editor S.J. Turner,turnededitorshipovertoJamesBrittin1896.

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Ifyouwouldliketoreadmoreabouttheso-calledriotanditsfabrication,locateK.B.andS.R.Whitson’sbook,RedHill:TheUntoldStoryoftheWhitsonBrothersandtheMurderofKitByrd.CopiesmaybefoundintheMCHSresearchroom,theMitchellorSprucePineLibrary,orareavailablefromtheauthorsat322FarmerHollowRoad,Clinton,TN37716.

TheMitchellCountyHistoricalSocietyispursuingacompletehistoryofMitchellCountynewspapersandtheireditors.WegreatlyappreciatefeedbackoradditionalinfoaboutEditorsHyams,Turner,orBrittorJ.W.’swife,NellieBateman.PleasecontactDr.DanielBarronat828-284-1914ordrdanbarron@gmail.com.MCHSisdedicatedtothepreservationofourcounty’shistory.Wewelcomecomments,pictureidentifications,orquestions.Pleasecontactusat828-688-4371,byemailatmitchellnchistory@gmail.com,orvisitourwebsiteathttp://mitchellnchistory.org

MitchellCountyHistoricalSociety

(locatedintheHistoricCourthouse)

Hours:Weds.–Sat.10to4

POB651-Bakersville,NC28705

828-688-4371

Email:historicmitchellcounty.org@gmail.com

Website:mitchellnchistory.org

PlannowtoattendtheMitchellCountyHistoricalSociety’sannualAPPLEBUTTERFESTIVALscheduledforSaturday,October21st.Morethan20vendorsofcraftsanddeliciousfoodwillsetupatthebeautifulCreekWalkinBakersville,NC.Andspeakingofdelicious,MCHSwillalsohaveourapplebutter–fresh-madeonthesite!–forsamplingandpurchase.We’llseeyouthen!