Letter: Could we please rename Spooks Branch Road?

Graphic by Lori Deaton

I used to live in your fine city and found it to be a magical place. It made me wonder how a road could still bear that name.

I looked into it and found a 100 years of history article by the Citizen Times [“Visiting Our Past: 100 Years of Spooks Branch Stories”], and it says the name is either about a wagon wheel or some folksy esoteric nonsense.

So I looked up other articles. I found only a blog post from a Black Ashevillean writing about present-day racism. She refers to the fact it contains a slur, but misses the broader point.

This name is a blatant reference to lynching. One hundred percent. No debate about it.

This street was named in 1915. That is the height of the lynching.

This road flies under the radar as a small stretch of mountain road where people could be dragged up in the dead of night and hanged.

Please get someone to rename the road. It’s too much of a blatant reference to anti-Black terrorism at the hands of the Klan for 2022.

Short Coxe is a two-block stretch of road everyone knows about. Everyone’s got a joke about it.

Spooks Branch is slightly longer, but more tucked away. Shrouded from view by trees and cloaked by mountains, the road is a relic of the past that haunts us to this day.

So please do a story about it. Try to do some good and have this street renamed.

— Nick Rehwaldt
Milwaukee, Wis.

Editor’s response: Thank you for the suggestion. In the 2015 Citizen Times article mentioned above, Rob Neufeld wrote: “A trace of African American life in Beaverdam may reside in the name Spooks Branch — which, according to Helen Nelon, either refers to a wagon-maker and his spokes or to the phosphorescent glow that emanated from the cove’s damp area, to which Baird slaves had once taken cows to pasture.”

Current research hasn’t found evidence of a lynching around the Beaverdam road. In Buncombe County, there are three known lynchings, as Thomas Calder noted in a 2020 Xpress article (avl.mx/c63): John Humphreys (in 1888 near the old jail, not far from Pack Square), Hezekiah Rankin (in 1891 somewhere along the French Broad River) and Bob Brachett (in 1897 at Reems Creek).

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Letters
We want to hear from you! Send your letters and commentary to letters@mountainx.com

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

4 thoughts on “Letter: Could we please rename Spooks Branch Road?

  1. Jonny D

    Another example of someone spouting off about something they no nothing about.
    I got a better idea, go back to Wisconsin. And take a few with you..
    Jonny D

  2. NFB

    “This name is a blatant reference to lynching. One hundred percent. No debate about it.”

    The letter writer makes this emphatic statement and yet offers absolutely no evidence to back it up.

    But, hey, it is good to know that Milwaukee is so perfect and has not problems for the letter writer to concern himself with.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.