Marshall McClung
Early families that came to present-day Graham County seemed to prefer the deep woods; the farther back, the better it seemed to suit them.
Kurt Orr, told me of one family that lived miles back in the woods on Deep Creek, in the northern part of Graham County. Elsbury Carringer, (Sept. 1856 – July 10, 1929, and his wife Harriett Odom Carringer, (Nov. 16, 1860 – Nov. 20, 1941) lived in the vicinity of Rock Wall Branch. The old homestead was in a level area that has now been taken over by the woods. A thorough search of old land records did not turn up any record of the Carringer’s ever have owned land in that area.
There are a lot of cases where families lived on land owned by lumber companies, but did not actually own the land. In 1916, the Kitchen Lumber Company – and then Babcock Lumber Company in the 1920s – operated a logging railroad in Slick Rock Creek, Bear Creek and Deep Creek. The railroad was abandoned in 1929.
Another family lived in the vicinity of the Carringer’s. Homer Frisby and his wife Fannie Colvin Frisby owned 98 acres there. A stream in the general area is known as “Frisby Branch.”
Homer spoke of working on a logging job at the head of Yellow Creek. He would leave home to walk to work between 3-4 a.m.
It would be daylight by the time he was walking up Yellow Creek and he would be greeted by crowing roosters. The logs harvested were hauled down the Tuskeegee side of the mountain and sold to Broyhill Furniture Company.
On July 11, 1941, a land exchange took place between the Frisby family and the U.S. Forest Service.
The forest service offered the Frisby’s land either on Meadow Branch, or property on Old Field Gap Road – which had an orchard on it. The Meadow Branch property was chosen, which was near a stream listed on the map as Clat Branch – but called Clate Branch by locals.
The Frisby’s built a home there, where they partially raised country music star Ronnie Milsap.
Marshall McClung is the historical columnist for The Graham Star. He is retired from the U.S. Forest Service and can be reached via email, mcclungs828@gmail.com.