By August of 1895, even though Village construction was well under way, James Walker Tufts was having considerable difficulty finding a name for his new health resort. He had variously referred to the location as the “town site” and “out at the place” but obviously these were not real names, only a way to indicate what location he may be referring to in his correspondence with the many firms and individuals he was dealing with.  

During the summer of 1895, village construction was progressing at a rapid pace. Land was cleared and graded as necessary, buildings were erected, streets laid out, a rail line was being built, and water and sewer systems constructed. It seems that the more physical progress was being made, the farther Tufts was from finding a satisfactory name for the Village. Locals who worked at the location, lacking any name from the founder, started to call the Village “Tuftstown” or “Tufftown.¹”

In a letter to his wife Mary dated July 17, 1895 written from the Ozone Hotel in Southern Pines, James Walker Tufts was apparently seriously considering two names.  He opened the letter with “I got your welcome letter of the 14^th tonight upon my return from Pinalia.”  And later in the letter went on “I have ordered telephone put up between Sunalia and Aberdeen³” (emphasis added). He also tried out “Pinealia” as a different spelling from Pinalia.  Maybe he was trying these names out with his wife to see which sounded best for his village and his wife’s opinion on the matter.

Although he was not convinced either of these names were exactly what he was looking for, in July and August of 1895 he would use these names repeatedly. Correspondence from the Olmsted firm to Tufts dating from early July 1895 also used the name Pinalia, so this name may have been an early favorite.  

As was his custom every year, James Tufts spent much of the summer of 1895 at his house on Tuckernuck Avenue in “Cottage City” on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Most of his correspondence in this time frame is noted with a stamp “Address Reply to Cottage City Mass” (in 1907 Cottage City was renamed Oak Bluffs).  

In the summer of 1895, a real estate development on Martha’s Vineyard was seeking a name. The developers ran a contest in the local paper where readers could submit names and a small prize would be awarded to the winner. Tufts went through the published names and came upon the name “Pinehurst”, which struck him as the name he was searching for. Luckily the name was not selected as the winning name for the Martha's Vineyard development, so Tufts felt he was free to use the name. He gave a private award to the person who submitted the name. Thus “Pinehurst” was adopted as the official name of the Village.

The “Pine” part seems obvious now, although at the time, anyone familiar with the areas and the devastation caused by the turpentine industry and logging in the Sandhills may have wondered what pine it referred to. Little was left of the original pine forest. The “hurst” part is derived from the Middle English “hirst” usually defined as wood, grove; hillock or from Old English “hyrst” defined as a hillock, eminence, wood or wooded eminence. 

So by September of 1895, having found the right name for his Village, James Walker Tufts was relieved of this onerous weight. He could focus on completing the town and the advertising campaign to ensure his venture was a success.

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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. Cottage City Picture, Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C.
3. A History of Pinehurst, Unpublished Paper by Herbert Warren Wind, undated