history of camp

Rockbrook Camp Water Wheel
• History • Charlotte Page

The Water Wheel

We have written about the Rockbrook water wheel in the past but wanted to share this new photograph that we just came across while doing some research into the history of Rockbrook at the Transylvania County library.  It is a great view of the water wheel from the perspective of the lake. We know the water wheel was in use from the founding of the camp in 1921 until Duke Power brought electrical lines to the camp in 1930.  If you stand on the dam at the lake today and look down you can still see the stone remains of the water wheel foundation.

Rockbrook Camp water wheel
The Rockbrook water wheel, date of photograph unknown
Elizabeth O'Neill Verner waterwheel sketch
The Rockbrook water wheel, by Elizabeth O’Neill Verner

The water wheel was such an important and certainly noticeable part of the camp in those early years that there was even a song written about it!  Take a look at this earlier post to learn more about the Rockbrook Camp water wheel song.

There is also a beautiful etching by famed Charleston artist Elizabeth O’Neill Verner of the camp water wheel.  Mrs. Verner was an art instructor during the early years of camp and her daughter Elizabeth Verner Hamilton was the first camper at Rockbrook!  In this earlier blog post, you can see a photograph of Mrs. Verner teaching an art class at camp.  Maybe they were drawing the water wheel?

A local rumor has it that when the water wheel was taken down it was given to another camp in the area at some point in the 1940’s. We have not been able to verify the story, however.  Wouldn’t it be cool if we could track down the old wheel?

We also have a little bit of amazing video of the wheel in motion! This footage came to us from an alum and it was incorporated into a video about Rockbrook’s history. We’ve since made a more complete video about Rockbrook’s History, but it’s still fun to see this shorter version too. Enjoy!

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first camp application
• History • rbc

The First Rockbrook Application

Continuing our series of archival photos and history documents, today we have this; it’s an original application to attend Rockbrook from 1921, its very first year. That summer, girls attended for one long session that lasted 8 weeks between July 6th and August 31st. This application shows that Elizabeth Fisher from Hackensack, NJ was one of 35 girls who traveled to Brevard to be the very first Rockbrook campers. So neat!

Completed application form to attend Rockbrook Camp
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Camping at Rockbrook
• Counselors • Charlotte Page

Camping in the Mountains

Check out this great page from a 1941 Rockbrook Catalog.  Campers had the opportunity to go on lots of different adventures including overnight camping trips.  Camping trips now follow the principles of Leave No Trace, but back in the 1940’s you can see that the camp outs were quite elaborate.  Don’t you know those S’mores tasted delicious?!

Campers at Rockbrook enjoy an overnight camp out
Rockbrook Catalog Excerpt, 1941
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Sketching with Elizabeth O'Neill Verner
• History • Charlotte Page

SC Artist Elizabeth O’Neill Verner

Charleston Artist Elizabeth O'Neill Verner
Elizabeth O’Neill Verner by Marie Danforth Page, 1937


There are many fascinating and inspirational women who have been a part of Rockbrook and it’s history.  None more so than the artist Elizabeth O’Neill Verner of Charleston, South Carolina.  Mrs. Verner was a long time neighbor of Rockbrook, her seasonal home Hanty Branch Hill is located next door.   Her daughter Elizabeth Verner Hamilton was the first camper at Rockbrook in 1921.  Mrs. Verner and Mrs. Carrier were good friends and Mrs. Verner was often recruited to come teach the campers the art of sketching and pastels. We can imagine her walking over from her home, ready to teach the enthusiastic campers.  She is mentioned in the journals and scrapbooks of several campers from the mid 1920’s.  It must have been a great occasion when Mrs. Verner was in attendance.

While at Rockbrook she also created an etching of the waterwheel that ran the power for the camp.   We will be sure to share that image with you in a later blog posting.

Rockbrook campers in the early 1920's take part in a drawing class
Rockbrook campers sketching with Elizabeth O’Neill Verner

As an artist, Mrs. Verner is recognized as the “matriarch of the Charleston Renaissance” and is considered the “best known twentieth century woman artist of Charleston. “She is famous for her etchings and pastels of life in Charleston. Her studio The Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Gallery is still in operation in Charleston and is the oldest fine arts gallery in the city. She is such a well respected and important artist that the state of SC has named their highest honor in the arts after her. The Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Awards  recognize outstanding achievement and contributions to the arts in South Carolina. According to their website: “These awards honor South Carolina arts organizations, patrons, artists, members of the business community, and government entities who maximize their roles as innovators, supporters and advocates of the arts. In 1980, the Verner Awards took on a special significance with their designation as the official “Governor’s Awards for the Arts.”

Mrs. Verner’s great great grandchildren are current campers at Rockbrook.  What a treasure that they can share in their families wonderful legacy at RBC!

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Camp lake 1921
• History • Charlotte Page

Camp – A Place to Recharge

Rockbrook Camp, founded 1921, Lake and Lodge View
Rockbrook Lake and Lodge, 1921

In a time when we all lead such busy lives it is nice to have a place like Rockbrook where you can step out of the hustle and bustle of the modern world and live a more simple and thoughtful  life.  We recently discovered a chapter in the Rockbrook Memories Book that was written in the 1960’s that expresses this same thought.   Whether it be the 1960’s or the 2010’s, we all appreciate that Rockbrook provides a haven for girls to reconnect with themselves, friends and the natural world.

“Living in a world so filled with change that it is difficult to communicate with one’s grandchildren, it is good to know that girls still enjoy living close to Nature, hiking down mountain trails, sleeping under the stars, cooking over an open fire and swimming in a rocky pool.  It is refreshing to discover that there is one area, at least, where time has stood practically still.  That area is summer camping where a cardinal is still a cardinal and although one may picnic on plastic instead of paper, one gets the same thrill from a mountain sunset or a flamboyant rainbow covering the earth with its semi-circle of jeweled colors.”– Mary Bissell McIver Thompson

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P.T. Barnum's gift to Nancy Clarke, Goodwill
• History • Charlotte Page

Nancy Carrier, P.T. Barnum and The New York Times 1888

While doing some research for the Rockbrook archives we came across this fascinating article printed in The New York Times in 1888.  It is another written source that connects Rockbrook, Goodwill Cabin, Goodwill Plantation, Nancy Carrier and P.T. Barnum.  What an interesting history!

P.T. Barnum's gift to his grandaughter, Nancy Clarke, Goodwill Plantation
The New York Times, October 24, 1888

Barnum’s Gift To A Granddaughter.

From the Columbia (S.C.) Register. October 18

It is evident that the renowned P.T. Barnum has a good opinion of South Carolina real estate, for he has recently given to his granddaughter, the wife of Henry P. Clarke, $100,000 for the purpose of buying and equipping the noted “Goodwill” plantation, which was formerly owned by the late Judge Edward Elliot Huger.  The transfer of the property took place yesterday.  Mr. Clarke owns another plantation near Eastover, where they have resided for several years.  “Goodwill” is one of the finest estates in the South, containing upward of 7000 acres, including a magnificent water power.  Several hundred acres of the richest river bottoms are protected from overflow by a levee extending for five miles along the banks of the Wateree River.  The other improvements on the property are  upon the same scale.

Right around the time that Nancy Barnum Clarke and Henry Clarke received their gift from P.T. Barnum they also purchased 300 acres in Brevard that would later become Rockbrook Camp. Their daughter Nancy Clarke Carrier grew up spending time between Brevard and Goodwill Plantation.  She founded Rockbrook in 1921.  Goodwill and Curosty are two cabins central to the heart of camp and are still in use today.  What an amazing gift from P.T. Barnum!

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Old dinner inside clarke carrier rockbrook house
• History • Charlotte Page

Dinner at The Rockbrook House, 1921

Old dinner inside clarke carrier rockbrook house
Campers and staff enjoying dinner at The Rockbrook House, circa 1921

We were thrilled to visit with former camper Shea Hussey Lackie and her parents and daughters last week.  Shea wanted to give her future Rockbrook campers a tour so they would know all about camp when it is their time to attend.  Sarah enjoyed walking around with them and sharing camp stories.

Shea’s parents were kind enough to bring copies of two Rockbrook photos that were taken in 1921, the year that Rockbrook began.  Shea’s grandmother Kathleen Conant Hussey attended camp that year and is in both of the pictures.  We were particularly excited about one of the photos as it features the campers eating dinner in The Rockbrook House.  Before the dining hall was built, all meals were served inside The Rockbrook House (or Carrier House as it is sometimes called) but we have never found a photograph of mealtime.  We were so happy that they were kind enough to share this picture with us as it is a great addition to our archives.

If you have any photographs that you would like to share please let us know.  How lucky we are to have so much history in one place, here in the heart of a wooded mountain.

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Goodwill Vintage Camp Cabin
• History • Charlotte Page

The History of Goodwill

Goodwill Cabin at Rockbrook
The Rockbrook Camp Goodwill Cabin

In 1895, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Peck Clarke, formerly of Connecticut, purchased over 800 acres in Transylvania County on which they built their mountain estate.  On this site, their daughter Nancy Clarke Carrier and her husband Henry established Rockbrook Camp for Girls in 1921.   One of the more interesting facts about Mrs. Carrier is that she was the great granddaughter of PT Barnum, of circus fame.  Many circus artifacts were on display in the Carrier House, and thrilled many a camper, such as the chair of Tom Thumb and many lovely home furnishings.

This circus history also has a direct link to the building known as Goodwill.   The circus winter residence was at the Goodwill Plantation, located near Columbia, SC.  When Nancy Carrier decided to establish a summer camp on her property in Brevard, she moved two 200-year-old hand-hewn chestnut log cabins to the property.  She restored the cabins to their original beauty and made them part of the center of camp life.  The buildings were named “Goodwill” after the SC plantaion and Curosty (the mountain word for crafts). Both are still in use by the campers and remain a part of Rockbrook’s proud history.

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