NEWS

BACK IN THE DAY: Frog level bedspreads had colorful connection to Georgia

Janie Mae Jones McKinley
Times-News columnist

Multi-colored chenille bedspreads draped over long clotheslines — and blowing in Frog Level’s mountain breezes — had a vibrant history in Dalton, Ga. As a child in the late 1940s and early 1950s, I admired the bright displays at tourist shops in nearby Frog Level. Competing businesses on both sides of U.S. Highway 25, between Tuxedo and Zirconia, stretched outdoor clotheslines to exhibit their newest selections of flowery bedspreads.  

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, colorful chenille bedspreads were displayed on long clotheslines at Frog Level tourist shops in Henderson County.

In a previous article, I described Frog Level as a local, unofficial name. It had jokingly been given to the area when scores of frogs hopped out of the roadside creek only to be smashed on the highway by passing motorists. Older Henderson County residents still recall the comical name, and they remember those flamboyant tourist businesses, too.  

Bedspreads fluttering in the wind were the eye-catching product that caused tourists to stop and shop. Without such showy displays, tired vacationers might have continued driving through the mountains toward distant home states. It was common knowledge that chenille bedspreads were manufactured in Georgia, but nobody seemed to know just where — or how that part of the South became famous for the fuzzy, bright-colored fabric. 

On a recent trip, my husband and I researched Georgia’s connection to Frog Level. We were thrilled to discover that Georgians are just as proud of their local history as we are of ours. The Hamilton House Museum in Dalton maintains several rooms of historic chenille memorabilia, and we were treated to a tour by two of their board members, Bruce and George Davies.  

Displays at Hamilton House Museum include baskets of thread, chenille rugs, bedspreads, and robes. Notice the many colors in the vibrant peacock-design throw rug.

They were pleased, but surprised, that Dalton’s bedspreads played such an important tourism role in far-away Henderson County, North Carolina. However, they certainly understood the appeal of long clotheslines displaying colorful bedspreads. A museum centerpiece is a large painting depicting Georgia farm folks creating chenille bedspreads by hand on their front porch. Bedspread tufting was a cottage industry in the early 1900s, and to attract tourists, the finished products were displayed on roadside clotheslines.  

Large multi-colored peacocks were a favorite chenille design. So many travelers were drawn to the bright colors that Dalton’s U.S. Highway 41 became known as Peacock Alley. It is remarkable that Georgia locals gave their area an interesting, unofficial name — like Henderson County folks named Frog Level.  

Both U.S. Highway 41 and U.S. Highway 25 were popular routes for beach vacationers from northern states. Local entrepreneurs in Georgia and North Carolina capitalized on the tourist trade for their livelihood; many became quite successful selling chenille products.  

Then, Georgia’s roadside shops disappeared when I-75 came through Dalton, just like Frog Level’s tourist businesses were acquisitioned for the I-26 connector in Henderson County. Like us, Georgians celebrate the conveniences of modern interstate travel, but older folks are quite nostalgic about the bygone chenille era. They made sure those Peacock Alley memories are preserved for posterity in Dalton’s Hamilton House Museum.  

Northwest Georgia’s cottage industry began in the late 1800s after young Catherine Evans first saw an antique chenille bedspread. Determined to master and simplify the skill, and needing a gift for a family wedding, the teenager produced her first bedspread in 1895. Soon, numerous orders came from relatives, neighbors, and friends. Recognizing the business opportunity, the young entrepreneur hired helpers to meet the ever-increasing demand. Cottage industries developed that eventually helped Georgia farm folks to not only survive, but thrive, during the Great Depression. Fuzzy chenille became so stylish that people far and near, as well as tourists, wanted colorful bedspreads. 

The market grew to levels that tufting needed to be automated, and some equipment was specifically designed by Singer Sewing Machine Company. National retailers like Sears-Roebuck began featuring chenille items, and they were marketed to high-end department stores in big cities. Bedspreads, bathrobes — and especially tufted throw rugs — became so popular that Georgia businessmen opened manufacturing companies that gradually morphed into carpet factories.  

Today, up to 70 to 80 percent of carpet produced in the U.S. comes from the Dalton area, and locals are quick to credit Catherine Evans Whitener (1880-1964) for inspiration and ingenuity. Even the governor came to dedicate her portrait, and the results of her lifework live on in her home state. For over thirty miles outside Dalton, high-tech, state-of-the-art carpet manufacturers bring prosperity to northwest Georgia — into the 21st century.  

Similarly, tourism in the mountains of North Carolina expanded since the days of Frog Level’s roadside shops. Despite fewer travelers during Coronavirus years, visitor spending in Henderson and nearby counties still benefits the area by hundreds of millions of dollars annually.  

The antique hand-tufted bedspread that inspired young Catherine in the early 1890s had a long history dating to the late 1700s in France. Interestingly, the word ‘chenille’ means ‘caterpillar’ in French since the finished design looks fuzzy, like the fluffy fur of a caterpillar.  

From France, the tufted fabric was popularized in Scotland. And in the early 1800s, it came to the United States. Although the sewing method is somewhat similar to the Colonial art of candlewick, the finished threads of chenille are cut to produce the fuzzy appearance. 

In antebellum days tufted bedspreads, collectively known as chenille, became fashionable for well-to-do Americans. In fact, Gone with the Wind production crews needed a vintage-style chenille spread to create teenage Scarlett O’Hara’s fictional bedroom. Dalton suppliers were quite honored to fulfill Hollywood’s request.

During postbellum Reconstruction years, however, chenille went completely out of fashion. Remaining bedspreads were considered as heirlooms of the past. Viewing one of those antiques in the 1890s inspired Catherine Evans to singlehandedly improve and revive the art of hand tufting.  

It is amazing that one young lady brought an outdated craft into a new century and impacted Georgia’s economy for well over one hundred years. If a fictional story used such a plot, it might be considered too far-fetched to be reasonable. However, it really happened, and today we probably have Dalton carpet in our living rooms. 

Although the era of roadside clotheslines in places like Peacock Alley and Frog Level has passed, chenille bedspreads remain available. Sears still sells them online, as does Penney’s, Belk’s, and Macy’s. Although most modern chenille spreads feature just one or two colors, a few are reminiscent of the multi-colored flower patterns I remember from childhood. 

Remarkably, new bathrobes in soft chenille are still manufactured, and I recently bought one in pink with lovely decorative flowers. Chenille robes were once so popular that movie stars like Carole Lombard, Barbara Stanwyck, and Lucille Ball wore them onscreen.  

Vintage bathrobes preserved from those long-ago eras are still resold, and antique bedspreads are upcycled and sewed into robes. Because of the extensive redesign process, such robes often sell for hundreds of dollars. Talented seamstresses bring the past alive and make old bedspreads useful for another generation to enjoy.  

Think about your memories of warm chenille, and the state-wide economic impact of one teenager’s inspiration. Do you remember highway tourist shops that featured flowery bedspreads blowing in the breezes? Perhaps you can recall colorful nicknames for local areas where you grew up. They were often quite descriptive and unique to the community. 

Janie May Jones McKinley

Janie Mae Jones McKinely's new book, "The Legacy of Bear Mountain, Volume 2," (340 pages) is available in Hendersonville at the Historic Court House Gift Shop, The Curb Market, Henderson County Genealogical & Historical Society, M. A. Pace General Store (Saluda) and at Amazon.com. Over three years of her Back in the Day  newspaper columns are included, along with new stories of Granny’s life on Bear Mountain.