Buildings Back When: The Craft Shop
Buildings Back When looks at the history of Rabun Gap's craft shop
Rabun Gap’s campus and buildings have a lot of history. Many of our buildings have held various purposes throughout our 116 years of existence. They are testaments to the hard work and dedication of dozens of people who had a shared common dream - to see the school succeed and serve the community. “Buildings Back When” celebrates the rich history of our buildings at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School.
Rabun Gap’s campus and buildings have a lot of history. Many of our buildings have held various purposes throughout our 116 years of existence. They are testaments to the hard work and dedication of dozens of people who had a shared common dream - to see the school succeed and serve the community. “Buildings Back When” celebrates the rich history of our buildings at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School.
Rabun Gap’s campus and buildings have a lot of history. Many of our buildings have held various purposes throughout our 116 years of existence. They are testaments to the hard work and dedication of dozens of people who had a shared common dream - to see the school succeed and serve the community. “Buildings Back When” celebrates the rich history of our buildings at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School.
Have you ever noticed the quaint little log cabin on the side of the road when driving to campus from Highway 441 South, just after the Rabun Gap Post Office? This little cabin, which now houses an Amish market, has had a long history with Rabun Gap and the local Appalachian culture.
Believed to be built by the school in 1940, the cabin was used as a roadside market. In 1947, the Craft Shop, which began in the Dillard Community School by the Community Club, moved in. Students and members of the community began the idea of a craft shop after a class where they made craft items out of corn shucks and pine straw.
Miss Marion VanGorder, who taught music, folk games, and crafts at Rabun Gap from 1935 to 1956, was instrumental in the formation of the Community Club and the development of the roadside Craft Shop. VanGorder is said to have funded the shop largely on her own with some assistance from the school. The original name for the shop was Kalmia Craft Shop; soon after Dr. Karl Anderson became president of the school, the name was changed to Rabun Gap Crafts.
A 1952 brochure for Kalmia Crafts reads, “You see school girls and perhaps even their mothers weaving by hand the things that their great grandmothers wove in days gone by. Articles of unusual beauty and design and workmanship are on display. It matters not whether you come to buy or just see the hand looms in use, a visit to this shop will be an experience you will never forget.”
The Craft Shop served as a location for VanGorder and assistant Ms. Kate Hopper, a local weaver, to hold classes for students and other community members. The products created through these classes were sold there, the proceeds of which went to help support the Rabun Gap Work Scholarship Fund. They sold woven goods, pottery, jewelry, corn shuck dolls, books, etc. As time went on, additions were added to the original structure to make room for expanding business and craft interests. In an old article from The Clayton Tribune, Hopper is said to remember the personal touches that were added to the shop, like the Laurel door handle and the stairway that was donated by Mr. Melton Dixon who was the postmaster to Rabun Gap in the early days of the shop. The shop eventually closed in the early 1990s.
Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School
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Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School is a private, coeducational day and boarding school for grades Pre-K through 12. Centrally located between Atlanta, GA, Greenville, SC, and Asheville, NC, we prepare young people for college, career, and a lifetime of leadership and service.
