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1. “They Named This Pigeon Valley”
2. Introduction
3. Rutherford Trace – Charles Miller - Learn about General Griffith Rutherford’s Revolutionary War expedition which passed through the Bethel Community.
4. Pigeon Valley – Charles Cathey - Hear the stories of the passenger pigeons, the Bethel Academy, & the industries of Woodrow.
5. The Cathey House – Doris Cathey - Learn about the oldest remaining home in the Pigeon Valley which was home to five generations of Catheys and where visitors may meet the ghost of cousin John Boone.
6. Lenoir Devon Acres – Dr. Mary Lenoir Michal & Charles Trantham - This farm has been in business for over 150 years and is home to the docile red Devon cattle, brought here from Maryland during the summer of 1849.
7. Bethel Presbyterian Church – Riley Covin and Bill Terrell - Hear the story of the church’s formation, construction, and the changes it has gone through. This is one of several buildings in the community built by master carpenter Rev. Jesse Stalcup.
8. Inman Chapel – Ted Darrell Inman – “The Mayor of Bethel” tells the story of James Anderson Inman and the formation of this unique Universalist church where the first female minister in the area preached.
9. The Inman Family – Ted Darrell Inman & Malinda Messer - Hear the real story behind the fictional history of the “Cold Mountain” novel: the tale of William Pinkney Inman’s fateful journey home over Big Stomp Mountain during the Civil War.
10. R.A. Sentelle – Sandi Boone - Learn about the life of the first superintendent of the Haywood County School system, Richard Alvah Sentelle. He was an educator, a Baptist minister, and a family man who raised 9 children to adulthood.
11. The Pingree Priestly Plott House – Richard & Jimmie Ellen Henson - This unique home was another building constructed by Rev. Jesse Stalcup and has served as home to five generations of the Brown family.
12. Francis Mill – Tanna Timbes - Follow the journey of this 120-year-old mill from a community gathering place to a disused relic and back to a beautifully restored, fully-working grist mill.
13. Truss Bridge #79 – Ava Chambers Barrett & Troy Hargrove - The oldest working truss bridge in North Carolina was almost lost in 1925 when it was replaced with a new concrete bridge. A group of willing volunteers moved it to a new home where it gave them and their neighbors a better way across the river.
14. Calvin Filmore Christopher – Berdine Hirschy, Winifred McNeil, & Eula Rigdon - This prolific inventor who lived in Bethel held over 100 patents, but very few people even know he lived here. Three members of the community who knew him personally recount their stories of this distinguished southern gentleman.
15. The J.B. Rigdon General Store – Berdine Hirschy, Winifred McNeil, & Eula Rigdon - Located in the heart of the community, this store was a central hub for mill workers, school children, and anyone else who made use of the fine goods stocked by owners Joe Berry and Rose Powell Rigdon.
16. Bethel Community Cemetery – Malinda Messer - The community’s oldest cemetery spreads out on a hill overlooking many of the valley’s landmarks. Here, William Pinkney Inman & Calvin Filmore Christopher are laid to rest.
17. “Walking In The Footsteps…”
18. “Bethel the Beautiful” – Performed by Kelly McFalls & the Bethel Elementary School 5th grade choral group
19. End Credits
20. For Further Information… Find out more about Bethel Rural Community Organization, Inc.

Legends, Tales & History of Cold Mountain, Book I, accompanying Bethel Rural Community Organization’s first Cold Mountain Heritage Tour in 2005, reflects a brief history of the nine sites on the tour.

Francis Grist Mill, built in 1887, is the only extant grist mill in Haywood County. Restoration efforts by owner Tanna Timbes and Francis Mill Preservation Society will result in a working mill. The mill’s unique history through five generations of owners is an interesting read. (as of this writing, July 2008, the mill is operative, and capable of grinding corn)

Truss Bridge #79, North Carolina’s oldest bridge still in use and Haywood County’s only remaining ornamental bridge, was built in 1891 and moved to its present site in 1925 by members of the community.

Pingree Priestly and Charity Haseltine Osborne Plott House, built in 1867 by the Plott family who originated in Germany. The Plotts were prominent early citizens of Haywood County and built four large houses in Bethel Community.

Inman Chapel, built by the Reverend James Anderson Inman, brother of Pinkney Inman of Cold Mountain fame, was dedicated in 1902. The first Universalist Church in North Carolina, this church was also home to the state’s first licensed Universalist kindergarten and Haywood County’s first public health clinic.

Bethel Presbyterian Church was founded in 1834, but early Presbyterians shared a log structure with Baptists and Methodists until the church’s construction in 1885. The beautiful tongue and groove chestnut interior was a favorite design of the Reverend Jesse Stalcup, prominent builder in Bethel Community.

Bethel Cemetery, founded in 1854 by Elijah Deaver, has been enlarged three times. The last resting place of many citizens, including the hero of Cold Mountain, Pinkney Inman , has a panoramic view of surrounding mountains.

The Captain James Allen and Nancy Louisa Cathey Blaylock House, started as an 1835 log cabin that was enlarged into a combination Italian Villa/Queen Anne structure, was essentially completed by 1890. The history of the five generations of Blaylocks to inhabit the house includes stories of lost and found and lost again treasure, a possible murder, and ghosts.

The Joseph Turner and Martha Anna Iva Killian Cathey House was begun in 1860 by the couple. Joseph Turner joined the 25th North Carolina Regiment and died during the Civil War. His wife was left to complete the entire back section of the house for herself and her three children. The five generations of the Cathey family are comfortable with the residence’s two ghosts.

Forks of the River was a religious camp meeting site during the 1800s and is perhaps the location after which Bethel Community was named. Bethel means “house of God.” Today, Riverhouse Acres campground is located there along the beautiful Pigeon River where the East and West Forks of the Pigeon River converge.

In 2006, Bethel Rural Community Organization’s Cold Mountain Heritage Tour was accompanied with Book II of Legends, Tales & History of Cold Mountain. The three historic houses featured on the tour are noted for their stories and interesting history as well as for their unique architecture.

The Joseph Turner and Martha Anna Iva Killian Cathey House’s first generation was featured in Book I of Legends. Aurelia Bush Cathey, married to third generation Turner Cathey, composed a fascinating account of members of the second and third generation of the Cathey family.

The Captain James Allen and Nancy Louisa Cathey Blaylock House is noted for its out-of-the-ordinary tales of ghosts and intrigue. Author Evelyn Coltman relays data about all five generations of Blaylocks who occupied the house, with special focus on the fourth generation whose lives were particularly appealing.
Few houses are constructed in the shape of a symbol or icon, but the Julius Marion and Leila Vance Welch House is noted for its distinctive cross-shaped (cruciform) design. As interesting as its architectural features are the Welch family members whose amazing social life and contributions to Bethel Community are noteworthy.

A particularly outstanding citizen of Bethel Community whose talents have affected everyone through his one hundred plus inventions has not ever received the attention or notoriety that his contributions to society deserve. Author Evelyn Coltman interviews his former neighbors who recall Calvin Filmore Christopher’s achievements, his quirkiness, and his brilliant mind. Christopher’s great granddaughter, in another article, relays family data as well as details about his numerous inventions.

In addition to Christopher’s biography, author Evelyn Coltman details the lives of two members of the Inman family: William Pingree Inman (Pinkney Inman of Cold Mountain fame) and his equally fascinating brother, James Anderson Inman. While actual details about Pinkney Inman’ life are sketchy and difficult to trace, Coltman attempts to tie together all of the factual data as well as family oral history relating to this young man whose fictional account in the book and movie Cold Mountain caught the attention of the nation. His less famous but more noteworthy brother, James Anderson, was also a Civil War veteran. His letters to home during the war serve to enlighten the reader as to the difficulty of a soldier’s life away from home and family. James Anderson, after the Civil War, returned home to become a Universalist minister, starting North Carolina’s first Universalist Church.

To complete Book II of Legends, a captivating account of an 1840s religious camp meeting relayed to Eulalia McCracken Brown gives insight to life in the mid-1800s in Bethel Community.

Legends, Tales & History of Cold Mountain, Book III contains valuable historical information about important people, places, and events in the history of Bethel Community in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Much of the information contained in the book has not been published previously.

Two sections titled Settlers of Western North Carolina and Origins and Characteristics gives a concise understanding of how the pioneers who first came to Southern Appalachia were similar to, yet different from, settlers of other regions of the country.

Like Books I and II of Legends, a member of the Inman family is featured. Reuben Stringfield Inman was noted in his community for several captivating lifestyle choices. The brief story of his life is captured humorously by author Evelyn Coltman.

The Lenoir family has contributed significantly to the history of North Carolina. The Lenoirs also played an important role in the history of Bethel Community and Haywood County, North Carolina. Fortunately, Book III includes three articles that are the result of original research by descendents of the Lenoir family: Origins of the Lenoir Family, Thomas Lenoir, and Thomas Isaac Lenoir. A Thomas Isaac Lenoir Letter that has not been previously published is also included. In addition, Dr. Mary Michal, Lenoir descendent, penned a captivating account of her life as she and her brother grew up on Lenoir Devon Acres Farm, one of the longest continuing farms in Haywood County that is noted for its docile Devon cattle that descended from the original 1849 herd.

One of the most impressive histories in Haywood County is that of the Cathey Family and its most noted representative, Colonel Joseph Cathey. A community leader, a farmer, a miller, an entrepreneur, and a legislator, Colonel Cathey was truly an enlightened man and a fine citizen.

Bethel Community was home to many schools in its formative years. Author Evelyn Coltman details a general history of the school system in North Carolina and Haywood County’s early years while giving detailed information about schools in Bethel from the early 1800s to today’s educational facilities in Bethel and Cruso Communities. The book concludes with chapters on two unique schools that existed in the Bethel/Cruso area. New College Community Experience of New College Branch of Columbia University’s Teachers College was an experimental school that thrived in Cruso Community in the 1930s. The school was unlike any other educational institutional innovation in this country, but it was short-lived. Insights gained from a study of its educational message, however, provide valuable lessons about the mechanisms required to create outstanding teachers and citizens. Summit Academy, like New College Community Experience, was also a singular experimental school. Summit Academy, however, focused entirely on teaching a unique set of learning skills to children with learning disabilities. Success Oriented Achievement Realized (SOAR) and Project Pursuit are two programs that still exist that emanated from Summit Academy.

In Legends, Tales & History of Cold Mountain, Book IV, several guest writers contribute to the book that accompanies the 4th Annual Cold Mountain Heritage Tour.

Cheryl Inman Haney details the life of her grandfather James Josea Ballou Inman.

Dr. Joseph Shook Hall delineates the history of the restoration of Haywood County’s oldest structure, the Shook-Smathers House Museum.

Jackie Stephens, Curator at the Shelton House, gives details about the Shelton family as well as the house's connection to the Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts.

The interesting history of the Smathers-Gautier House, Haywood County’s best example of Queen Anne Architecture, is ably described by Malinda Messer.

A poignant letter written by one of the last inhabitants of the Blaylock House was discovered in an antique trunk and is printed for the first time in the book.

Other entries by author Evelyn M. Coltman include information about sites on the tour such as the White Sulphur Springs Park where the last shot of the Civil War east of the Mississippi was fired and where one of eastern America’s grande hotels was located. Articles on mills and milling include data about Haywood County’s extant mills. Sections on logging and lumbering include interviews of families associated with Haywood County’s largest mill town, Sunburst. The book concludes with an interesting history of Haywood County’s family that has been associated with timbering for approximately one hundred years.