The "Ela Hotel"

High on the Thomas Divide, a long ridge overlooking the Indian Creek drainage, lies the foundation of a home that has for over a century been referred to as the “Ela Hotel”. Interestingly it never was an advertised hotel, and its owner was a woman by the name of Beatrice Ely (not Ela, though the Ela community is not terribly far away from it as the crow flies).

The remains of the Beatrice Ely Read home on Thomas Divide
Source: Don Casada

Beatrice Jolls was born in Nebraska in 1885, the daughter of jeweler Frank Jolls and his wife Ida (nee’ Abbott). By 1892 the family had moved to Chautauqua County, New York. In 1905 she married civil engineer Walter Shipman Ely and in 1906, her only child, Dorothy, was born. The Ely's lived in New York for a time before moving to Birmingham, Alabama. I do not know how she became acquainted with these mountains, but a September 1913 article in the Birmingham News noted that she had just returned from spending six weeks in the “Balsam Mountains” of North Carolina.

Beatrice and Dorothy Ely at an unknown location in the mountains (1914)
Source: Carolyn Lee, granddaughter of Beatrice Ely Read and daughter of Dorothy.

In August 1915, she bought 10.5 acres on Thomas Divide, adjoining the lands of William Cope, Joe Queen, and Andy Wiggins. Shortly thereafter, John Elander Davis, Joe Queen, John Wiggins, and another man, identified only as “Mr. Shuler”, began construction on her cabin and barn. In her 1929 correspondence with the North Carolina Park Commission during property acquisitions for the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), she estimated that she spent over $4000 in building the home and barn (> $115,000 in today’s currency).  Acquisition records describe her property as a “mountain camp” and indicate that the home was large and had 5 rooms, ceilings, stone fireplaces, and wide front porches (seen in the picture of the home). It was crafted of virgin timber. As the home was built on a ridge with no natural source of water nearby, a large rainwater cistern provided needed water, which was piped into the home. She appears to have intended for the cabin to be her summer home and also used for lodging purposes, perhaps for summer visitors to the mountains.

The Ely home (1937)
Source: GSMNP Archives

The Ely family had moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, by 1916 and Beatrice was still living there as late as April 1918. However, she and Walter divorced in 1919 and she appears to have taken Dorothy to live with her in Swain County for a time. The 1920 census records her living as a boarder in the home of neighbors Wilmot and Emmie Hartzog, short-lived “transplants” from the Greenwood, South Carolina area. The reason she was living with them is unknown but perhaps the cabin was not warm enough for the mountain winters, which were much colder 100+ years ago than they are now.

Charleston Township census showing Beatrice and Dorothy living with the Hartzogs (Jan 31st, 1920)
Source: Ancestry.com

The Hartzog (originally Randall) home on Thomas Divide (1937)
Source: openparksnetwork.com

Almost nothing is known of Beatrice and Dorothy’s time in Swain County. In a 1969 interview, former Indian Creek resident Henry Davis recalled, “I went around there and she played records for us. When they had a song about if you don’t like th’ red, white and blue, and don’t, something about th’ hand that’s feeding you, don’t bite the hand that’s feedin’ you, or something of that sort.” (This song is “Don’t Bite the Hand That’s Feeding You”, a popular World War I song produced in 1915 which you can hear at this YouTube link.) Pictures provided by her granddaughter, Carolyn Lee, show that she entertained guests at the cabin. It’s possible that Dorothy may have attended the Indian Creek school for a time, and she and her mother may have attended the Indian Creek church at some point, but their names do not appear among the rolls of its members.

Beatrice Ely demonstrating her shooting prowess in front of the cabin. 
Source: Carolyn Lee

Dorothy with dog (1915). At some point 1914/1915, she had a
significant febrile illness that necessitated the cutting of her hair,
hence the reason it is short. (Apologies for the resolution; this
is as good as it can be made.)
Source: Carolyn Lee

By 1921, Beatrice had moved to Spartanburg and in 1923 she married prominent druggist George Cuthbert Reed. However, she kept her mountain home and spent summers there until at least 1925, after which time she was no longer able to visit. During the acquisition of her Swain County home and land for the creation of the GSMNP, she and the North Carolina Park Commission engaged in a series of letters, disagreeing over what was a fair price for the property, but ultimately settled on $1500. In her last correspondence with the North Carolina Park Commission on November 25th, 1929, she stated, “For many reasons, I regretted exceedingly the necessity of disposing of this property, however, realizing all the circumstances around it, I am reconciled to it…..” There can be no doubt that her time in Swain County was happy and having to leave it behind never to return was a bitter pill to swallow.

Agreement to the NC Park Commission's appraised amount.
The purchase was completed in mid-December 1929.
Source: NC Park Commission records at the NC Archives
(Researched and provided by Don Casada)

In her later years, Beatrice was a member of the Spartanburg American Legion Auxiliary, attended Spartanburg First Presbyterian Church, and taught Bible classes. She and George lived happily together for over 40 years until his death in 1964; she passed away in1967 and Dorothy followed in 1982.

Beatrice Read, circa mid-to-late 1930's. 
Source: Carolyn Lee

George Cuthbert Read, circa 1945
Source: Carolyn Lee

What drew this enterprising and daring, high-society woman to the rugged and remote mountains of Swain County? We will almost certainly never know. However, I am grateful that a part of her legacy remains here, preserved in perpetuity in the land of her beloved mountain home, and in the enduring mystique of the “Ela Hotel”.   

The remains of the Beatrice Ely Read home on Thomas Divide, looking toward the front porch.
Source: Don Casada

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Sources:

• Ancestry.com
• Carolyn Lee, granddaughter of Beatrice Ely Read and daughter of Dorothy Ely Edwards (Note: I am much indebted to her for her willingness to share her family's picture heirlooms and stories)
• Don Casada
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park Archives
• North Carolina Park Commission Records (North Carolina Archives)
• Open Parks Network
• Swain County Register of Deeds, Book 42, pages 109-110
• The Birmingham News (Birmingham, AL), September 1^st, 1913
• The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC), April 19^th, 1918
• The Index-Journal (Greenwood, SC), December 19^th, 1921
• The Index-Journal (Greenwood, SC), January 3^rd, 1967
• The State (Columbia, SC) January 27^th, 1929