Pigeon Valley Award for Historic Preservation

Bethel Rural Community Organization’s (BRCO) Historic Preservation Committee is appreciative of the preservation and restoration work of its community residents.  In order to recognize outstanding historic conservation achievements by individuals in Bethel, the committee in 2014, initiated an annual acknowledgement: Pigeon Valley Award for Historic Preservation.  Pigeon Valley is the alternate name for Bethel, commemorating the legacy of the now extinct passenger pigeon that migrated to the valley for eons until its demise in 1914. While we could not keep the passenger pigeon from going extinct, with this award BRCO hopes to keep our own local history from sharing the fate of the Passenger Pigeon. BRCO has granted nine Bethel citizens with this prestigious honor.  

2022 - Mack Ledbetter

2019 - Cheryl Inman Haney

2020-2021 - Bob and Phyllis Inman Barrett

Cheryl Inman Haney is the 2019 recipient of the Pigeon Valley Award for Historic Preservation.  Haney's journey as a researcher began in earnest when she was a teacher at Bethel Junior High School and sent 27 of her eighth-grade students to interview dozens of Bethel residents, research hundreds of leads, and write 161 sections for the book, Pigeon Valley.  She and her students published the book in 1992, and BRCO republished it in 2008.  Haney was also a valued speaker during BRCO's Cold Mountain Heritage Tours that received hundreds of visitors annually to Inman Chapel as one of the tour sites.  Books 4, 5, and 6 of Legends, Tales & History of Cold Mountain, written and produced by members of BRCO's Historic Preservation Committee to accompany the tours, included articles by Haney: James Josea Ballou Inman, The Reverend Hannah Jewett Powell: Universalist Missionary of Inman Chapel, and A Monument to Mountain People: Inman's Chapel and Inman's Chapel Cemetery.  Haney continues to research and educate with lectures about Inman family history at the annual reunions at the chapel.  

Haney's writing continued with the publication of her well-documented book about the Inman family:  My People – History of a Mountain Family for which BRCO nominated Haney for a state history award.  Haney has also written articles for “The Universalist Herald.”  Her knowledge about Sunburst logging village was apparent when she was a key speaker for BRCO's Sunburst and Other Logging Operations in the Bethel and Cold Mountain Region DVD.

Haney's most daunting historical achievement, perhaps, was writing the submittals for two state historical markers that reside in Bethel as a result of her efforts: Inman Chapel and Sunburst Village. Historical markers are notoriously difficult to secure, so the fact that Haney has been successful with two indicates the depth and success of her historical endeavors.  Haney presented her knowledge about the state historical marker process at a BRCO meeting.  

BRCO's Historic Preservation Committee selected Bob and Phyllis Inman Barnett  to receive the 2020 Pigeon Valley Award for Historic Preservation, with the couple scheduled to be the focus of a BRCO program about their role in restoring the historic Inman Chapel, the first Universalist Church west of Durham.  

In addition, Phyllis is a Bethel writer, having composed 3 books: At the Foot of Cold Mountain, Love in the Time of War, and Once Upon a Time: Stories of the Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater. A former teacher who is knowledgeable about Bethel and Inman family history, she was enlisted as a presenter for BRCO's Sunburst and Other Logging Operations in the Bethel & Cold Mountain Region DVD.  She was also a frequent speaker for BRCO's Cold Mountain Heritage Tours that were held from 2005-2011; she has also served as program hostess at Inman family reunions.  Phyllis is the third Inman sibling to earn BRCO's prestigious Pigeon Valley Award, with sister Cheryl as the 2019 recipient and brother Ted Darrell receiving the posthumous award in 2017.

Bob's project management skills, his time commitment, and his willingness to do whatever tasks were necessary were essential to seeing the restoration to completion. The two-year project required the couple to secure funding, solicit volunteers, and oversee the day-to-day tasks of finishing the entire project.  Because of their efforts, the 1902 historic chapel constructed by the Reverend James Anderson Inman, one of Bethel's most treasured historic sites, is restored and is featured on BRCO's Cold Mountain Heritage Driving tour CD, is the site of frequent weddings, and continues to bring the Inman family and friends together for Inman family reunions.

COVID-related meeting cancellations meant that BRCO was unable to grant the Pigeon Valley Award in 2020.  Therefore, the honor bestowed as a 2020-2021 recognition. Please click here for a writeup of the restoration, accompanied by photos.    

Bob Barnett

Phyllis Inman Barnett

Bethel Rural Community Organization (BRCO) honored Mack Ledbetter with a posthumous award for his years-long research of rail lines, logging outposts, and memorabilia from Sunburst Logging Village that resulted in the creation of an impressive map that details key locations that existed on the West Fork of the Pigeon River from the early 1900s through 1925 when a massive fire decimated the historic site.  The Ledbetter family donated the Sunburst map to BRCO's Historic Preservation Committee for its art print collection, and the map has become the most frequently requested art print in the selection.

Accepting the award for her father at the September 13th BRCO meeting, Verda Davis, relayed a fascinating narrative (created by Verda and sister Lorna) about her father's intense interest in history, dating from age fourteen with his treks up Cold Mountain to examine the aftermath of the Cold Mountain bomber crash that occurred on September 13, 1946. Ledbetter travelled and studied the mountains throughout the region, honing his expertise of the area with an undying love of the terrain. He volunteered for the Forest Service, trimmed trails, and was presented with his own key to the Cradle of Forestry.  He loved to hike and often took people to popular outlying sites in the area.  Former newscaster, Bob Caldwell, featured Ledbetter in his special about waterfalls in the mountain.  Kathy Ross with The Mountaineer interviewed him in 1997 in the midst of the creation of his map.  A craftsman and collector, Ledbetter's meticulously detailed map is the culmination of his legacy that allows him to continue to be revered in local historical circles.  

Members of the BRCO Historic

Preservation Committee

presenting the award to Verda

Davis (daughter of Mack Ledbetter).

Pictured left to right: Ted Carr,

Carol Litchfiedl, Evelyn Coltman,

Verda Davis, Frances Adamson, and

Bill Terrell

Mack Ledbetter

2023 - Hugh K. Terrell, Jr.

The committee recognized the former Bethel Junior High School teacher and librarian for his oversight of the 1978 student project that resulted in a Foxfire-style documentation of interviews of individuals who had lived at Sunburst Logging Village on the West Fork of the Pigeon River in the early 20th Century.  Sonoma – Valley of the Moon – Sunburst resulted from a year's worth of dedication by Terrell that meant arranging for students to interview former residents in the couple of hours allotted during the school day.  The interviews covered topics such as social activities, community connections, housing, sawmill layout, logging outposts, loggers, sawmillers, families, children, doctors, unique individuals, schools, post office, church, retail establishments, railway companies, rail lines, and Champion Paper & Fibre. Having students collect photographs or draw likenesses of topics for which no pictures were available was also a significant task for Terrell. Returning to school most evenings, Terrell typed, organized, and tended to printing details since, in those days, eighth grade students did not type, and automatic printers were not readily available.

In honor of Terrell's work, BRCO's Historic Preservation Committee has reprinted Sonoma – Valley of the Moon – Sunburst, which is available for purchase in the on-line catalog. Terrell will also be featured with the upcoming oral history documentary produced by BRCO's Historic Preservation Committee: The Historic Schools of Bethel DVD that is scheduled for release in 2024.

Hugh K. Terrell, Jr.

PICTURED: Historic Preservation Committee members and Terrell Family

Carol Litchfield (seated)

(left to right) Ted Carr, Bill Terrell holding Hugh K. Terrell's photo), Carole Terrell, Mike Terrell, Evelyn Coltman, Kaye Riddle, Zac Guy, and Frances Adamson

2024 - Douglas Chamers

Seated from left to right:  Carol Litchfield, Frances Adamson, Phyllis Vance.  Standing from left to right:  Janet Frazier, Reverent Steve Frazier, Ted Carr, Phyllis Gaddis, John Gaddis, Doug Chambers, Derrick Chambers, Evelyn Coltman, Charles Chambers, Roxie Billings