Chapter 8: Village Construction in the Second Half of 1895

Now that James Walker Tufts had the land and a design for his Village, construction began in earnest. It is hard to imagine the frenzied level of activity that must have been going on in the small parcel of land that just weeks and months ago was nothing but stumps, rotting tree limbs and a desolate logged-over forest. 

The first of many challenges was finding a superintendent and foreman for the numerous construction crews that would be required to build the Village. In addition, Tufts was making an endless set of decisions on town layout, engineering of the infrastructure, and ordering required materials from suppliers. He was also communicating with the Olmsted firm on an almost constant basis so they could develop and update the plan as decisions were made. An indication of James Walker Tufts’ involvement can be found in letters he wrote to his wife Mary in mid July 1895 as the town construction was being organized¹:

Sunday, July 14, 1895

“I have engaged a builder here to work for me at $4.00 a day as superintendent but I fear there will be a delay in getting started.  He thinks he can get all the help we want and we shall probably put on a hundred men.”

“Had a long talk with my surveyor last night and we have decided upon a route which though longer will be more level and will come in near the big hotel here where I can get passengers”  (this is in reference to the trolley line he was to construct between the Village and Southern Pines)

Tuesday, July 16, 1895

“Shanties are to be put up today or tomorrow for them (superintendent and foreman) and two others for mechanics” ... “I ordered 146 Kegs of nails yesterday” ... “I shall increase the force of men employed in clearing the ground.  It is strange and pitiful to see how anxious the men are to get work.”

“There were three colored men over on my place yesterday.  They had walked from Keyser 8 miles just in the hope of getting work from me.  If they got it they would probably go back and forth until I got a shelter.” ... “Carpenters and masons too are begging for work.  So that I think we shall give employment enough to get the houses ready in time.” 

Wednesday, July 17, 1895

“Today I have had the water expert and have agreed to employ him to supply me with driven wells that will furnish the town with 15000 gals of pure water a day.”

 “We are putting on lots of colored and white men to clear the town site and it is getting to be a busy place.”

“Trains stop at my place for passengers and to leave freight.”

“It is curious to see how these men live and get fat.  They bring a spider with them and build a fire of chips, put in a piece of pork and when it is fried they take meal and water made into a paste pat it out on their hand and put it into the boiling fat.  Turn it over when done on one side and when cooked it makes “corn pone” which is their steady diet.  You see this does not require the services of either cook or table girl and they sleep under the bushes sometimes on pine straw” 

Thursday, July 18, 1895 

“It looks somewhat doubtful whether I can prudently leave here tomorrow.  I want to get matters started in such way that I shall not want to run back here right off”

“I shall go to Pinealia today and hope to get your letter before I start”

Alex. C. Campbell of Cameron, NC was the builder Tufts hired, and Retyre Couch, formerly the manager of the Ozone Hotel in Southern Pines, was his general superintendent. They were Tufts' primary construction contacts along with Otto Katzenstein, a German nurseryman hired through the Olmsted firm, who was in charge of developing the nursery and gathering local plant material to be used in the initial landscaping.  

A key person throughout was Francis Deaton, Tufts’ surveyor. He was one of the busiest men at the town site during the summer and fall of 1895. Deaton was responsible for completing a topographic survey of the area with hundred-foot cross section lines so the builders could lay out the roads, locate lots, set up the batter boards for buildings, ensure proper grade for sewer lines, and lay out the route for Tufts’ electric trolley rail line to Southern Pines.

Plans for many of the cottages and the Holly Inn were prepared by the firm of Burr and Sise of Boston.  (Gertrude Sise, sister of one of the principals of the firm was married to James’s son Leonard.)  Although it appears many of the simple cottages may have been standard plans the Campbell firm had built elsewhere.

By October and November of 1895, there were a number of different crews working at the site. A crew of 95 men working on the railroad, another crew of 134 men developing the power plant, electric light, water and sewer systems along with about 221 men building the hotel, cottages and boarding houses. All in all, a payroll of some 450 men were working on James Walker Tufts’ village in the fall of 1895.  However, during these early days it appears that men showed up for work only when they found it convenient or needed the money⁴. 

As for wages, common labor was paid 60 or 65 cents for a day’s work, which was probably 10 hours.  Daily rates for skilled labor ran from 75 cents up to two dollars a day for the most skilled workers.

The  Pine Rest (aka Radcliffe) and Cedars (far right) Boarding Houses under construction (located at the corner of Cherokee and Orange Road across from Holly Inn. These two are no longer in existence.)

This “General Plan for the Village of Pinehurst” was created by the Olmsted firm in November 1895 for Tufts' promotional pamphlet². This plan represents the town layout as developed by the Olmsted firm and design decisions made by James Walker Tufts as the construction of the Village progressed in the second half of 1895³ .

This plan shows the locations of 26 buildings that were being constructed in 1895. It also includes the location of significant features such as the Village Green, the “Pine Grove”, croquet and tennis courts and the railroad station.  Also shown are section views of both the main road and secondary roads and planned walkways and general landscaping for the Village. The only buildings shown on the plan that were not completed until later in 1896 are the Casino Building and the Magnolia Inn.

Although quite accurate in scale and content, since this was intended as a drawing to be used by James Walker Tufts in his promotions of the Village, this plan purposely left off utility and supporting buildings such as the power house, livery stables and the like. Interestingly, Olmsted did include in the plan the location of the much discussed water tank behind the Casino building, a location they opposed. 

Note that building setback lines, noted as “building limit” and lot lines were included on the plan, quite unusual for the time since individual lots and plats were not developed until many years later. Roads are all named as they are today with the exception of “Main Street”, “Elm Road” and “Beech Road.” Main Street was later renamed Cherokee Road, Elm became Maple and Beech became Ritter.

In summary, within a period of about six months the following were completed in the wilderness of the Sandhills: a 43 room hotel with an annex, a store, a large rooming house, two apartment houses, three boarding houses and 14 residences. Along with these was a complete water system with wells and a water tank, pump house, railroad station, a power plant for steam and electric generation, wood sheds, a sewer system, a livery stable, laundry, a woven wire fence around the entire town and a railroad reaching some six miles from Pinehurst to Southern Pines¹. In addition to the buildings located within the town site, a dairy farm, orchard, and nursery for raising the shrubs and plants needed to landscape the Village were constructed.

It is obvious James Walker Tufts was driven to complete his village in time for the first season over the winter of 1895-1896 and anxious to publicize and promote this unique village. By November, he felt there was enough progress to announce his village to the world and look for those who could benefit from the environment he hoped to create.

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References:

1. James Walker Tufts, The Founder of Pinehurst, North Carolina, a limited edition publication by   Richard S. Tufts 1976
2. “Pinehurst, A Health Resort in North Carolina” Promotional brochure by Samuel F. Hubbard, 25       Beacon St.  Boston Mass, Copy donated to Harvard College Library, Dec 20, 1895 by Samuel A. Green, M.D.  of Boston  (Class of 1851), Digitized by Google Books
3. Olmsted Associates Records: Job Files, - job number 01772; Tufts, J. W.; Town development;    Pinehurst, N.C., 1895. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Library of Congress, Washington DC
4. A History of Pinehurst, Unpublished Paper by Herbert Warren Wind, undated

Photographs courtesy of The Tufts Archives, Pinehurst, NC