Second in a Series: The History of Springhaven Inn in Blowing Rock 1888 – 1906

Written by Dr. Dan Morrill and Catherine Perry

This is the second in a series of articles covering the long, rich history of the Springhaven Inn, built in 1888 in Blowing Rock, NC. As these articles show, this property has historic significance to Blowing Rock. 

The Springhaven Inn is located on S. Main Street and 116 Globe Road, Blowing Rock, NC and it is for sale. A group of town residents and the Blowing Rock Historical Society, BRAHM, and Preserve Mecklenburg, Inc. (PMI) are working to save the structure. There are only a few properties left in the downtown area that are as old as Springhaven Inn. We are actively looking for a buyer or buyers for the property who are willing to keep the outside structure of the historic inn. Otherwise, it is in jeopardy of being torn down. 

If the property is demolished, this physical evidence of the history at the very core of Blowing Rock will be gone forever. We think it is worthy of being saved. If you would like to learn more about how you can be involved in the effort to save this property, contact Tommy Lee at either 704-737-5609 or tommy@appiantextiles.com.

Correction: In last week’s first in the series, Dr. Reverend Jethro Rumple’s name was erroneously written as Rumble.

Let’s delve into its history.

A note about the history: Dr. Dan Morrill is the historian/consultant with PMI who thoroughly researches the history of a property. You may recall that several months ago I wrote an article about the history of Springhaven Inn as the original tollhouse for the Lenoir/Blowing Rock Turnpike. As Dr. Morrill created a detailed and careful picture of the entire history of Springhaven Inn, he found that it was never a tollhouse! Yet, this was the legend of the house before his research. The history Dr. Morrill has uncovered is so much more colorful. Now, on to the actual history of Springhaven Inn.

Dr. Reverend Jethro and Jane Rumple – Owners from 1888 to 1906

The Rumple Cottage (now known as Springhaven Inn) was built in 1888 as the summer residence of Dr. Reverend Jethro Rumple (1827-1906) and his wife, Jane Rumple (1835-1902).  They came to Blowing Rock frequently during the summers and loved the village. Jethro Rumple was a “man of action, an instigator of change, and a visionary” who dramatically impacted the religious life of Blowing Rock.   

The cottage was a gable-roofed, frame, Victorian-era structure with an attached front porch supported by slender wooden posts with filigree detail. The Queen Anne-style Rumple Cottage was architecturally similar to houses found in the middle-class neighborhoods of cities and towns throughout the Piedmont of the two Carolinas in the late 1800s.  At that time, the Cottage had no architectural features that suggested that it was a “mountain dwelling.” Rev. Rumple brought carpenters from his hometown of Salisbury,  N.C.  to construct the house.  

Blowing Rock Grows as the Railroad Reaches Lenoir

Blowing Rock was experiencing a spurt of growth in the late 1880s. In 1884, the railroad reached Lenoir from the south, a transformative event in Blowing Rock’s economic and developmental history. The arrival of passenger trains in Lenoir made traveling to the mountains from the Piedmont Carolinas more manageable. Before the railroad, reaching Blowing Rock from Salisbury took four days. And, just as you would think, a building boom resulted as access became easier. Lenoir developers poured money into the town.  

Reverend Rumple Establishes a Presbyterian Church in Blowing Rock    

Many of the new owners of summer cottages in Blowing Rock were Presbyterians.  Not surprisingly, Rev. Rumple was determined to establish a Presbyterian Church in Blowing Rock to minister to the religious needs of the influx of new congregants who were building summer homes in the growing mountain village. 

Construction of a Presbyterian Chapel in Blowing  Rock was completed in May 1886; it was a small, unpretentious frame structure. The congregation was officially organized in 1887 with Rumple as the first minister.  He provided the essential impetus for the church’s very existence and growth. Construction of an imposing Gothic Revival-style sanctuary for the  Blowing Rock Presbyterian Church began in 1905.  Jethro Rumple did not live to see its completion.

This picture is of the window behind the pulpit that has Reverend Rumple’s name on it.

Jane Rumple died in the Rumple Cottage in 1902.  Life was not easy at that time. Reverend Rumple and Jane had shared many joys and tragic misfortunes. One son died in infancy.  Another, James Rumple, drowned in a river in Virginia in 1894 when he was visiting his maternal grandmother.  The final son died tragically in 1877 from a baseball striking him while in school at Davidson College. 

In November 1905, Jethro traveled to Red Springs, NC to attend a meeting of the Presbyterian Synod.   While there, Jethro became ill and was taken to his daughter Linda Vardell’s home in Red Springs. He never recovered.  Jethro Rumple died on January 20, 1906, at age 79.  The Rumple Cottage was conveyed to his daughter Linda, and Linda’s husband Charles Vardell, Jethro’s son-in-law, was named executor of the estate.

In the next article, we will discover the years of ownership with the Vardells from 1906 to 1911.