LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

The Zachary-Tolbert House

Tour this home, one of the most important historical buildings in western North Carolina, which has been virtually unaltered since it was built over 150 years ago.

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  • Lesson plan: Quilts This lesson plan in designed to be one part of a fourth grade social studies unit on the Appalachian Mountains. It is based on the mountain custom of quilt making. This plan uses the book The Quiltmakers Gift by Jeff Brumbeau. It also uses the book internet site and other related sites. Enrichments of this lesson would be to display quilts, have a real quilt maker visit, have the class create their own paper quilt, etc.
  • Lesson plan: Collecting Family Stories Students will interview relatives and compose a family story on the computer. This lesson was completed in conjunction with two other lesson plans (art and media) using the same theme but could be used alone. Student work from all three lessons was compiled in a student portfolio.
  • Western Carolina University Mountain Heritage Center The Museum provides exhibitions and programs that illustrate many of the complex issues and concerns of Appalachia's diverse people and cultures. Students discover how history relates to their own lives as they explore the many themes relevant to western North Carolina's past, present, and future.

Related pages

  • Harmony Hall Plantation: This historic home in Bladen County sits on a property with other old buildings including a schoolhouse, a chapel, a corn crib, a log home, a store, a kitchen and other preserved buildings to show what the area may have looked like in the 1800s.
  • The Mill Prong House: This historic home was restored in 1993 and was built by John Gilchrist, an important political and social leader in this area in 1802.
  • Smith-McDowell House Museum: Discover Asheville's first mansion and oldest surviving structure, now restored as a history museum.

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In 1832, the Zachary family came to the Cashiers area to build a homestead in what had been part of the vast Cherokee Nation in western North Carolina. The house, which was completed in 1852, was a gift from Mordecai Zachary to his bride, Elvira Keener. The house had no electricity, plumbing, central heat, or painted interior walls.

Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Zachary-Tolbert House was generously donated to the Cashiers Historical Society by Tom and Wendy Dowden. The house has been reconstructed and is available for tour. Visitors will see much of the original furniture which was crafted by Mordecai Zachary. “Annual highlights for the Cashiers Historical Society include Founder’s Day, a hands-on festival for local 3rd- and 4th-graders to tour the Zachary-Tolbert House, and the presentation of the Village Heritage Award, which honors a local business or homeowner that has been able to preserve an historic building in the Cashiers community.” For more information about visiting the Zachary-Tolbert House, call 828.743.7710.

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