-
Graves on a ridge top near Swan Meadows: Walter “Bud” Brank – “The Swan” – Dec. 12, 1923 – Nov. 3, 2004; infant of Ed Johns and wife Christine Swan. Mark and Gina Rogers helped locate the graves. Photo by Marshall McClung/The Graham Star
The John Swan family consisting of John, his wife and eight children were early settlers in
Graham County having traveled here from Pennsylvania in 1890, and eventually settling in what is now known as Swan Meadows in the Wolf Laurel section of Big Santeetlah Creek.
John Swan obtained title to three 100 acre tracts of land. One of the daughters – Harriett Swan Ledgerwood, who lived to the age of 89 – recalled the trip into the remote area with pack horses carrying the family’s belongings, including corn shuck mattresses, cooking pots and a stove.
A check of old land records indicates that one of the 100-acre tracts was bought at the courthouse steps on June 5, 1893 for $621. This was the result of a court action involving a Jones family and a Johnson family.
The other two 100-acre tracts were both land grants from the state of North Carolina. One of the tracts was granted to John Swan on March 29, 1904. This tract had previously been granted to Robert “Bob” Stratton on Jan. 4, 1872; the same year that Graham became a separate county from Cherokee County.
The present cabin – which is not the original Swan cabin – was built by Frank Swan in 1931. As time passed, portions of the Swan property were deeded to the Swan heirs or sold.
The Swan property is surrounded by part of the Nantahala National Forest from land which was purchased by the U.S. Forest Service from the Gennett Lumber Company, the same company that once owned what is now Joyce Kilmer Forest on Little Santeetlah Creek.
Marshall McClung is the historical columnist for The Graham Star. He can be reached via email, mcclungs@email.com.