Mars Hill in Madison County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Mars Hill College
Strategic Location, Divided Loyalties
Photographed by Stanley and Terrie Howard, September 26, 2009
1. Mars Hill College Marker
Baptist farm families here established Mars Hills College in 1856. The four-acre college campus had three structures by 1861: a two-story brick classroom building, a frame dormitory for boys, and a frame teachers' residence. They stood about 75 yards in front of you.
During the war, neighbors, families and even brothers here were divided in their loyalties to the Southern cause, but many joined the Confederate army during the first two years. Mars Hill was a strategic location, a crossroads for north-south and east-west travel. A hundred-man detachment from the 64th North Carolina Infantry - called "Keith's Detail" - was posted here, the first of several Confederate units at Mars Hill during the war. The college was closed during the last two years of the conflict as conditions in mountain communities deteriorated and supported for the Confederacy waned.
Home Guard commander Gen. John W. McElroy had his headquarters here after July 1863. He wrote to North Carolina Governor Zebulon B. Vance in April 1864, "I have 100 men at this place to guard against [Union Col. George W.] Kirk, of Laurel, and cannot reduce the force....In fact, it seems to me that there is a determination of the people in this country generally to do no more service in the cause."
Confederate troops left Mars Hill to forage in March 1865,
this page online
Erected by North Carolina Civil War Trails.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Religion & Religious Structures • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the North Carolina Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1865.
Location. 35° 49.623′ N, 82° 32.968′ W. Marker is in Mars Hill, North Carolina, in Madison County. It is on College Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 205 Cascade St, Mars Hill NC 28754, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in North Carolina’s Mountains. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Mars Hill University (a few steps from this marker); Spilman Hall (a few steps from this marker); Rural Heritage Museum (within shouting distance of this marker); Marshbanks Hall (within shouting distance of this marker); Bascom Lamar Lunsford (within shouting distance of this marker); Founders Hall (about 300 feet away,
Photographed by Stanley and Terrie Howard, September 26, 2009
2. Mars Hill College Today
Photographed by Stanley and Terrie Howard, September 26, 2009
3. Mars Hill College Today
Photographed by Stanley and Terrie Howard, September 26, 2009
4. Mars Hill College Today
Photographed by Stanley and Terrie Howard, September 26, 2009
5. Mars Hill College Today
Photographed by Stanley and Terrie Howard, September 26, 2009
6. Mars Hill College Today
Credits. This page was last revised on December 25, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 9, 2009, by Stanley and Terrie Howard of Greer, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 1,586 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on October 9, 2009, by Stanley and Terrie Howard of Greer, South Carolina. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
