Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Saluda Historic Depot and Museum recently announced details for the first Saluda Train Tales presentation of 2023. The program will take place on Friday, April 21, at 7 p.m.  

James Metcalf will present the story of early Saluda, focusing on history long before 1881 when Saluda became chartered, and even before 1878 when the first railroad locomotive crested the steep gorge known as the Saluda Grade. 

In those very early years, this region was called Pace’s Gap, named after the Pace family who were among the early settlers. 

In addition to the Pace family, families with surnames such as Metcalf, Guice, Staton, Thompson and Morris molded the mountains into a community of trading posts, churches, farms and mills. 

Metcalf, a direct descendant of many of these early pioneer families, will share their stories, including local tales of the battles of the American Revolution and Civil War, along with other challenges and triumphs of the early settlers that led to the founding of Saluda, N.C.  

Metcalf, a member of the Fork Creek community of Saluda, has been a board member of the Polk County Historical Association for many years and is chief docent at the Polk County Historical Museum in Columbus. Metcalf has also been a local radio announcer for 20 years, currently at WWQT 1160, and is a musician and songwriter. He has been the music director of Fork Creek Baptist Church for several decades. 

This program is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. 

 

Submitted by Nita High