Biltmore Estate Stone Cutters

Just when you think you know a story it has a habit of changing on you. A great example of this for me is the untold story behind the Journeymen Stonecutters Association of North America monument here in Riverside. For years, conventional wisdom held that the monument was erected by the Biltmore Estate as a memorial to the stone cutters who died in accidents during the construction of the Biltmore House. As we often find with history though, this had some truth to it – but only partial truths. Further research tells a slightly different story…

Though the story told to taphophiles for years is close to the true story there are some key differences. The monument was built to memorialize workers who died during the construction of the estate. But none of them actually died as a result of construction accidents. The six men buried at Riverside were contracted by the Biltmore Company as a

Fred Miles designed & built the monument.

part of D.C. Weeks & Son of New York. Only one of the men died on Vanderbilt property – Peter Smith. Smith’s death was not a result of being crushed by a toppled stone (a rumour at the time), but instead rather more mundane. Smith succumbed to “chronic lung problems,” as common ailment of stone masons as black lung is to miners. The others who are buried beneath the memorial – Martin Murphy, Barny Clary, & A.H. Clifton – died from largely natural causes. Which leads us to the final two stone cutters, Henry Clay and Patrick McKenna. And this is where the story gets interesting.

Henderson Gold Leaf Jan 17th, 1895

According to papers at the time Clay, a 37 year old mason from Dillsboro, N.C. had become very close to McKenna, a 45 year old Irishman who had moved stateside in order to practice his craft. The two men left Asheville together on Christmas Eve of 1894 in order to visit Clay’s family in Dillsboro. On December 27th Clay’s body was found in the Tuckaseegee River. It was ruled a suicide at the time based on comments he had made to his family. On the 29th, McKenna’s body was discovered in almost the exact same location. Though the circumstances were thought highly unusual, McKenna’s death was officially ruled an “accidental drowning.”

Riverside Cemetery Interment Book 

 

 

Now to speculation… did the men commit suicide together? Did McKenna stumble upon his friend drowning and attempt to rescue him, only to drown himself in the process? Or was it something more sinister, like a murder suicide? History will not tell us, so there we must leave it. All that Asheville papers at the time had to say on the subject was “No particulars were given.”

Now on to what we do know. Fred Miles, head stone mason for the Biltmore Company and employer to the deceased procured limestone from the estate and designed the 30 foot long stone memorial to be placed in Riverside to honor the six stone cutters. The unique monument and its backstory have long been a subject of much interest and study in Asheville. And now thanks to some deep research ( many thanks to Bill Alexander, Biltmore Estate historian & Clay Sorrells, historian for Biltmore Masonic Lodge) we have the real story behind it. (At least for today…)