Chapter 5: What led J. W. Tufts to build a Health Resort in the Sandhills

Two questions that are generally asked related to the founding of Pinehurst are:

1. Why did James Walker Tufts undertake this venture and
2. How did he come to choose the Sandhills and the “Pine Barrens” as the location for his town?

Why

The “why” can be answered by a review of the life of James Walker Tufts, his writings and actions.     

There is little question that James Walker Tufts was a warm-hearted person with a genuine and sincere interest in the welfare of not only the employees of his firm but also of the general public. From his “Rich Man”¹ composition at the age of 14 to his treatment of his employees at the Arctic Soda Fountain Company, he consistently demonstrated caring and concern for the welfare of those less fortunate. 

As an example, Tufts established one of the first mutual benefit associations in the country for the employees of the Arctic Soda Fountain Company. Employees paid a percent of their wages into an account (which Tufts matched) to create a fund to cover health benefits should they become sick or incapacitated, a revolutionary idea at the time.

With the consolidation of the soda fountain business in 1891, Tufts now found himself with the time and funds to pursue some of his more philanthropic tendencies. Among his many activities, he was associated with the establishment of an apprentice school in the North End of Boston where young men would learn the plumbing and printing trades.

In 1892-1893, Tufts demonstrated concern for his employees and the living conditions of laborers in general by the design and construction of model tenement housing.  This development, (the building still stands on Tufts St. in Boston) was named the Bunker Hill Terraces² and cost Tufts $100,000 to build. This brick tenement complex was unique for the time with 12 one-room, 38 two-room, 3 three-room and 15 four-room tenements renting from $1.40 to $3.60 per week. The tenement included a restaurant, a “Women’s Room” where women could be taught millinery and cooking, and a day nursery to support working families. The day nursery charged 5 cents per day for each child. 

Make no mistake, the tenement housing project was built not only as a philanthropic enterprise, but to a lesser extent, a business enterprise. Tufts' primary focus was his desire to improve living conditions for workers.

James Walker Tufts was never blessed with great health and found it necessary to take frequent vacations to restore his well being.  He took trips to Florida in the winter and occasional voyages abroad. He had a summer house on Martha’s Vineyard Island. His diary often mentions dysentery and fainting spells when he was a young man. Since he was concerned with his health and was a compassionate man, it is natural to think that he was concerned with others who may have health issues.

In the 1800s, tuberculosis, or "consumption," was one of the leading causes of death and reportedly had killed one in seven of all people that had ever lived.  Victims suffered from hacking bloody coughs, debilitating pain in their lungs, and fatigue.

In large cities, the poor had high rates of tuberculosis. Public health physicians and politicians typically blamed both the poor themselves and their ramshackle tenement houses for the spread of the dreaded disease. People ignored public health campaigns to limit the spread, such as the prohibition of spitting on the streets, strict guidelines to care for infants and young children, and quarantines that separated families from ill loved ones.

At that time, the most popular treatment for consumption was to retreat to a healthier environment. Numerous sanitariums sprung up or people traveled to cities in the west, such as in Colorado, in search of a healthier environment.

After completing the tenement housing project in 1894, James Walker Tufts turned his attention to the plight of those who suffered from tuberculosis. The answer to how he could make a difference was apparently to create a new town where those who suffered from this terrible disease could find a healthier environment. 

How

The “how” he came to choose this location for the town requires a bit more speculation, but there is enough evidence to piece together a likely scenario as to the choice of the Sandhills as a logical location for his health resort.

By the start of 1895, it appears that James Walker Tufts had made his decision to build a “Health Resort” but the exact location was still somewhat of an open issue.

From the mid 1880s, the town of Southern Pines was advertised as a “health resort” by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. In 1885, in response to this advertising, the Reverend Dr. Benjamin Goodridge of Dorchester, Massachusetts brought his wife to Southern Pines for her health. After five years of residence, Mrs. Goodridge returned to Massachusetts fully cured from her many debilitating conditions and her story was widely circulated in the Boston area, particularly among physicians. 

Having vacationed in Florida, it is likely Tufts did a stopover in the town of Southern Pines on his way south as this was a normal stop for passengers on their way to Florida.  So, it is probable that Tufts was generally aware of the Sandhills and the claims of a healthful environment. 

Probably the most significant factor in the selection of this area was his relationship with Dr. Edward Everett Hale, a prominent Unitarian Minister and author of “The Man without a Country.” James Walker Tufts and Dr. Hale were members of the “Lend a Hand Society”, still in existence in the Boston area. The society's motto is: “Look up and not down. Look forward and not back. Look out and not in. Lend a hand.”  Mr. and Mrs. Goodridge were members of the society, so it is natural to assume that Tufts heard about the Sandhills' special curative properties from them and was convinced it was far superior to Florida as a location for his “health resort.”  

It also turns out that Mr. Goodridge’s sister, Sarah, was the wife of Retyre Couch, manager of the Ozone Hotel (later renamed the Southland) on New Hampshire Ave in Southern Pines. James Walker Tufts stayed there in 1895 while scouting the area for a location for his town and also later while the town was being built in the second half of 1895.  Mr. R. M. Couch was eventually hired by James Walker Tufts as the superintendent of the Village of Pinehurst.

And so, having the funds, the desire, and having settled on the general location within the Sandhills of North Carolina for his town, James Walker Tufts moved on to the next step in his plan: to review, survey, and acquire land for his village.

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References:

1. See Chapter 4 in this series
2. Housing of the Working People, U. S. Government Printing Office, E.R.L. Gould, 1895
3. A History of Pinehurst, Unpublished Paper by Herbert Warren Wind, undated