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When we left off last week, Hugh Brown was standing at the crossroads. He had lost his business, The Treasure Chest and decided to forge ahead with creating a new business venture with his brother Edwin and associate, Bill Lashley. This new venture was named Three Mountaineers Inc. They were able to move into a building that Edwin had purchased prior to the Asheville bank crash of 1930, located at 32 College Street. This building was known as the Smith-Carrier building and was designed by Richard Sharp Smith and Albert Heath Carrier. It started its life as an Overland Car dealer on the first floor, with a service department located in the rear of the building. This car dealer lasted through most of the 1920s and then relocated to another part of town.
Photo courtesy of Rick Furman - Hugh's brother, Robert Brown's Dodge coupe and Three Mountaineers Traveling Sales Trailer
Occupying the floor above the Three Mountaineers showroom on the ground level was the architect, Samuel Grant Alexander. Alexander had designed many homes in the Lakeview Park neighborhood of North Asheville, prior to the bank crash of 1930. He commissioned Three Mountaineers to provide interior decoration and design for light fixtures in several of the buildings in Asheville. One of Alexander's commissions post economic crash was Calvary Episcopal Church in Fletcher. The church had suffered from a terrible fire several years prior and needed to be recommissioned. Three Mountaineers were asked to supply light fixtures for the sanctuary - made of hammered wrought iron. These bore resemblance to their earlier light fixtures featured in the earlier Treasure Chest catalogs.
Photos by author - sanctuary and interior of Calvary Episcopal Church in Fletcher, North Carolina
These light fixtures were crafted by two blacksmiths at Three Mountaineers, Tony and Joe Ciccarello. The Ciccarello brothers had moved to North Carolina from Tampa, Florida to secure jobs with the Civilian Conservation Corps under Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal program. There had been no jobs to be had in Tampa after the stock market crash of 1929, so they began the search for employment out of state. They managed to get a job at a CCC camp and studied black smithing with an instructor in their camp. They answered a job ad for Three Mountaineers and began working in the forge in the back of the new building located at 32 College Street.
Tony Ciccarello - back of 32 College Street - Courtesy of Ciccarello Family
Joe Ciccarello - Inside of the iron shop at 32 College Street - Courtesy of Ciccarello Family
Iron workers in the back of 32 College Street. Courtesy of Ciccarello Family
Hugh Brown and Bill Lashley would continue trying to grow their new venture through the early 1930s. Sadly, Edwin Brown, Hugh's brother, business partner and confidant would pass from a heart attack in 1932. It was thought by Edwin's doctor and other family members that this was due to overwork and stress. Edwin and Hugh would spend most of the day working together and then in the evening, meet up after dinner at one of their homes in Beaverdam and talk late into the night about business. Edwin's wife Jane would end up taking up a role in the company for a short period and even appeared on the company letterhead as a partner.
In addition to the mountain crafts that were display at 32 College Street, there were many antiques still for sale. The sale of antiques had been mainly taken over by Hugh's wife Lelia, who had a strong business acumen and a good eye for items that would sell well. She would go up to New York City on big buying trips, taking some of their children with her to pick out items for the store. Hugh also visited local estate sales and country auctions to supply items for the store.
By 1936, the Three Mountaineers had gotten back on their feet to finally release their first catalog after four years of operation. The catalog was illustrated by Bill Lashley, who had also done most of the design work for the products they were selling.
Page from 1936 Catalog - Examples of Homespun Woven Items
Blue Ridge Woodcrafters, still supervised by Cecil Clayton was still producing all of the woodcrafted items for Three Mountaineers in his shop down on the Swannanoa River. In addition to the wrought iron being produced in the forge at the back of 32 College Street, Three Mountaineers also had a small production facility of weavers, producing woven wool cloth on fly shuttle looms, in another part of 32 College Street:
Photo by Felmet Jackson titled "Lorena Weaves a Bag" courtesy of Buncombe County Special Collections
Hugh Brown had even been able to convince Asheville artist Leah Chiles to come work for Three Mountaineers. Leah Chiles had come to Asheville with her husband Jake Chiles to develop the town of Kenilworth. After Jake's death, she had become the first and last mayor of Kenilworth, also becoming the first woman mayor in the state of North Carolina. After the depression exacted its toll on Asheville, Leah negotiated the sale of Kenilworth to the city of Asheville, to be annexed into the city. She was the daughter of a famous sculptor and had formal training in multiple mediums of artistry. With two young boys and need for money after the 1929 stock market crash, she came to work for Three Mountaineers, where she repaired antique fine China and did design work for many of their wood products.
By the late 1930s, Three Mountaineers was beginning to gain momentum as the Asheville economy was starting to rebound. But there was more in store for this mountain company with World War II on the horizon, while trouble was brewing in Europe. Hugh Brown, also suffering from a family genetic flaw of weak hearts, died from a heart attack in 1938. Bill Lashley, along with Hugh's wife Lelia stepped up to move the company forward and keep mountain people working.
There's more to the story and if you want to learn further, please join us for a program in conjunction with the Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County this month!
On Thursday, April 25th at 5:30pm, we'll be giving an hour long presentation on the complete history of Three Mountaineers. The program has a suggested donation of $10 which goes to the Preservation Society, but is free to attend. Details are:
From Cottage Industry to Mass Production: The History of the Three Mountaineers Company
Thursday, April 25th at 5:30pm
Central United Methodist Church
27 Church Street
Downtown Asheville