It’s really getting exciting around here at camp now because the horses are starting to arrive! Several have made it up from South Carolina, a few from Virginia, and a bunch from down in Laurinburg, North Carolina. It’s great to see them back in the mountains and enjoying their time in the Rockbrook fields. They’ll also be enjoying the latest addition to the Rockbrook Horseback Riding Program— a new double riding ring!
That’s Robbie in the photo.
We recently uncovered another piece of Nancy Carrier’s history while searching through some old documents. One of these documents was the Bryn Mawr College Calendar and Register of Former Students. Guess who was listed? Nancy Barnum Clarke! Nancy was listed as a Graduate Student in Psychology, Geology and Biology in 1909-1910. It also indicates that she received her Bachelors of Science in 1909 from The College for Women in Columbia, SC.
Bryn Mawr was the first college in the United States to offer Graduate Studies for women. We can imagine Nancy leaving Brevard and venturing to Pennsylvania for further schooling. She was quite an amazing woman and very ahead of her time!
See the image below for Nancy’s record. She is listed third from the top.
We’ve often pointed out that Nancy Carrier, the woman who founded Rockbrook Camp, is the great-granddaughter of P.T. Barnum, the great American showman and circus founder. It’s true, and here is a cool old photograph that helps explain the lineage. Taken in 1875, this is a portion of a larger family portrait showing P.T. Barnum, his second wife, Nancy Fish, several of his children, son-in-laws, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
P.T. Barnum is seated third from the right and the woman seated third from the left is Nancy Fish Barnum, his second wife. Standing between them is Samuel Henry Hurd, the man who married P.T. Barnum’s second daughter Helen Maria. Samuel and Helen Hurd had three daughters, the second of which, Julia Caroline, you see standing here to the far right. Julia Caroline Hurd, who was born in 1860, was P.T. Barnum’s granddaughter. In this picture she is fifteen years old.
Later, in 1886 when she was 24 years old, Julia Hurd married Henry Peck Clarke. She moved with her new husband from Connecticut in 1888 to South Carolina after purchasing the Goodwill plantation. It was there, in 1889, that Nancy Barnum Clarke was born, the woman who later marries Henry Nash Carrier in 1913, and in 1921 establishes Rockbrook Camp. Put differently, the young woman standing to the far right in this photograph is Nancy Carrier’s mother.
There are many more details and stories to tell about each of these people. Stay tuned…! Meanwhile, here is a short video discussing the history of Nancy’s founding of Rockbrook.
Rockbrook has recently been added to the “all things horse” web site infohorse.com. With information and articles about horse care, horse breeds, horse careers, horse training, and of course horse camps, it is a fantastic Internet resource. Since 1997, infohorse.com has been a great place for every horse enthusiast to find out about horse related products and services.
Rockbrook is proud to now be included. Our equestrian program has a very nice detailed profile on the site.
Want to learn more about horses and horseback riding? Head on over to infohorse.com!
We’re so pleased and proud to announce that Clyde Carter, our amazing Outdoor Adventure Director, has been named the Outstanding Experiential Education Teacher of the year by the Association for Experiential Education (AEE). This is an international award recognizing that Clyde has “demonstrated an active passion for experiential education principles and theories,” has “practiced innovative, experiential educational methodologies,” and has consistently shown “the highest ethical standards in working with students.” We knew Clyde had been nominated for this prestigious award, and recently that he had won. In late November, he accepted the award at the AEE International conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In addition to working full time in the summer as Rockbrook’s Adventure Director, Clyde is an Associate Professor of Recreation/Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education at Brevard College. In 1989, with encouragement from Jerry Stone, Rockbrook’s Director at the time, Clyde came to Brevard to establish the College’s Outdoor Leadership major, one of it’s most popular offerings. He helped develop Brevard College’s Voice of the Rivers (VOR) program in 1997 and led expeditions in 1999 and 2008. Throughout the year you can find Clyde teaching courses on Risk Management, Experiential Education, Wilderness Leadership, as well as Rock Climbing and Kayaking.
Congratulations Clyde!
Like a lot of the country, Rockbrook Camp staff members have been fighting bitterly cold temperatures and LOTS of snow! Right here in Brevard, we are currently experiencing negative degree wind chill temperatures and think this is crazy. However, we have been hearing from our fantastic staff members braving the elements. From what we gather, they are some tough ladies to be finishing up exams and traveling home in that weather. Keep the pictures coming ladies!
Our wonderful Mountaineer counselors up at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina may have experienced the worst of it. They have been getting snow almost every day for weeks and some students are even having to take exams late. We wish Paige Salsman, Grayson Randall, Ashley Harris, and Nicole Lankford the best of luck in those elements!
Our year round staff have been enjoying the beautiful snow here in Brevard and braving the roads and cold to get some fabulous pictures. Mandy ventured into the Pisgah Forest to get some great shots. Enjoy!
Word of the Day!
estivate.
This is a great word that applies to camp. You’ve heard of “hibernate,” which basically means to “spend the winter in a dormant condition.” Well, estivate means the opposite— “to spend the summer, as at a specific place or in a certain activity.”
Looking it up here, you find that estivate is derived from the latin word aestīvāre meaning “to reside during the summer (akin to aestīvus of or relating to summer).”
So, what’s the best way to estivate this year? At Rockbrook Camp! Are you a camp estivator? Are you ready for some seriously fun estivation?!! Oh yeah!
As part of our continuing efforts to document the history of Rockbrook and its founders, we have been doing some genealogical research on camp founder Nancy Carrier and her famous Great- Grandfather P.T. Barnum. We have explored some fascinating genealogy books and websites and have also visited the Transylvania County Courthouse and Library. We will soon be blogging a more detailed story of their lives, but we need your help in unraveling some of the story.
Those of you who were campers and counselors during Mrs. Carrier’s time at camp can add a lot of detail to the story. We are particularly interested in any information that you remember about her children, Henry and Helen. We would also love to hear any recollections you have on her daughter in law Helen, who directed the camp. Your stories, photos and memories will assist us in painting a more accurate picture of Mrs. Carrier and Rockbrook. Please let us know if you have anything to add!
Visitors to western North Carolina often remark that there are a lot of summer camps located in the area. There sure are! The awesome natural features of this part of NC— the highest peaks east of the Mississippi River, millions of acres of State and National forests, whitewater rivers, rock climbing crags, and beautiful lakes —make it ideal for adventure activities, cooler summer temperatures, and the outdoor setting for summer camps. It’s not too surprising western North Carolina has a long history of summer camping.
Looking at the entire state, there’s a clear pattern to where summer camps are located. Take a look at this map.
It shows the youth summer camps in western North Carolina. In the entire state, there are approximately 186 camps, with more than half (about 90) located in the western mountains. The others are concentrated near 3 major population centers (Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh). Many of these are smaller day camps that serve the local communities.
The red pins are accredited by American Camp Association accredited camps, like Rockbrook. Here too, more than half of the State’s ACA accredited camps are located in the western region.
For more information about the precise location of Rockbrook, visit our NC Location page.
My daughter came home just bubbling with self confidence! She had a wonderful counselor and I’m so pleased with how much she’s grown personally and socially. Absolutely priceless!
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