Balsam Mountain Inn backstory

     If you live in this area long enough and talk to the right people, you'll eventually hear stories about the supposed haunting at the Balsam Mountain Inn. Guests relate stories of footsteps, covers being pulled from their bed, mysterious shadows with no discernible source. Employees of the historic building also have tales of lights that are turned off by unseen hands, items thrown in empty rooms, even apparitions. I'll be examining some of these stories in detail in later posts, but I want to take a minute to discuss the history of the Inn, and the potential source of the haunting.

Photo by W. Hill

     The Balsam Mountain Inn was opened in 1908 and served the well-to-do tourists who came to the area in search of cool summer days, clean air, and quiet. Built by Joseph Kenney and Walter Christy of Athens, Georgia, the Inn was a grand destination in the heart of the Smokey Mountains. But when the passenger train service to the area ended in the late 1940's, the Inn began a slow decline into disrepair. By the end of the 80's, the Inn was only open seasonally, and served very few guests. A restoration by a passionate innkeeper began in the 90's, and the Inn is again a vibrant destination in western North Carolina.¹

     So with this long history, there are obviously stories to be told. But is there a source for the allegations of a haunting, some trauma or horror hidden beneath the fresh paint and well-varnished floors? Most stories elude to a shooting on the property, with only a vague idea of the time frame in which this murder may have occurred. In general though, the tale goes like this:

     Sometime in years past, the community of Balsam was holding a picnic, celebrating the warm, long days of summer. One of the local deputies was in attendance, enjoying the hospitality and friendship of this small mountain community, when he was shot by some long-forgotten villain. The deputy was carried inside, but died in one of the rooms before medical assistance could arrive. His spirit, tied forever to this place, is now one of several ghosts seen on the property.

     So is there any truth to this? Surprisingly, there is. On Friday, August 31 (or Saturday, September 1, depending on the source) of 1928, Deputy Sheriff Claud Green of the Jackson County Sheriffs Office, was shot and killed during a box supper at the Balsam School, which lies at the foot of the hill below the Inn and is now used as the Balsam Community Center. His attacker, a man named Ed Smathers, used two separate weapons to shoot the deputy, and was later convicted of Second Degree Murder. He served only a short sentence before being released and moving west.^2,3  However, the family of Ed Smathers has their own version of events, one in which Ed was not the true killer, and that a cousin of Ed's had actually pulled the trigger that ended Green's life.⁴

 

Deputy Sheriff Claud Green

     I can't find much else about the death of Deputy Green. Did he, as the legend insists, make his way to the Inn before passing? It's unclear. I've begun some research into this, but it's hard to find historical accounts from the time period. Green is buried in the Parris Cemetery in Dillsboro, NC⁵, but does his spirit still roam the halls of the Balsam Mountain Inn? Did his traumatic death somehow stain the grand old hotel, causing countless unexplained encounters? Guests have spoken of a shadowy man in a hat lurking on the second floor porch. Are they seeing Deputy Sheriff Green searching for peace? Is he still trying to find justice, more than 80 years after his death?

Sources and Notes:

1: A Brief History of the Balsam Mountain Inn
2: Jackson County Fallen Officers
3: Officer Down Memorial Page
4: Smathers Family Legend
5: Claud Green's cemetery record
Note: Deputy Green's first name is spelled either Claude or Claud depending on the source. I've chosen the less common spelling of Claud because that is what is on his tombstone.