A historically significant downtown house was too far gone to save and was demolished to make room for green space and a parking lot for members and visitors to Murphy First United Methodist Church.
The Akin-Axley-Davidson House at 69 Valley River Ave. was built in the Civil War era and was one of the oldest buildings in downtown Murphy. Charlene Smith, a town council member and member of the church, said the historic but old building required too much money to fix and was unsalvageable.
“I hate to see it go down,” said Smith, a member of the church’s history committee.
The Rev. Wil Posey, pastor at Murphy First United Methodist, posted a history of the structure on Facebook.
“Friends, here is a tribute written to honor and tell some of the stories of those who’ve called the Akin-Axley-Davidson house ‘home,’ ” he wrote.
“One thing our faith teaches us is to hold the land not with a possessive grip, but with humble care, recognizing that we may be its stewards for a while, but in the end (and really ever since the beginning), it is not our own.
“Part of the legacy of this land is that it has been a blessing for others; we intend for that to still be true.
“Now, standing on the threshold of what was and what will be, we at First United Methodist Church are sensitive to this moment, where there is a convergence of gratitude for the stories that have made this house a home and grief at its coming down,” Posey shared, adding this prayer:
“Almighty God, we remember in our hearts all those for whom this house has been a home, and for how their story is intertwined with our congregation’s. We give thanks for how this home has heard laughter and tears, seen celebrations and sorrow; its floors crossed in the ordinary course of daily living, and its thresholds witnessed the milestones and passing of generations.
“We thank you, O God, for your faithfulness and grace that has held those families all throughout. And, as we acknowledge the grief of this ending, we ask that you hold them now. We trust in you and in your grace, through which endings become new beginnings. Amen.”
House families
Crediting Jan Davidson for all the stories and details, Posey shared a detailed, heartfelt chronology of the old house.
In 1874, when the Town of Murphy was still young, Robert Alexander Akin came home from the Civil War and built the house that stands on 121 Valley River Ave., according to the post. The two-story home featured twin fireplaces and a covered front porch with columns repurposed from town lamp poles.
“The families who have lived here through the years have been townspeople, school teachers, cooks, store-keepers, tailors, salesmen, church workers, soldiers, musicians, storytellers and public servants.”
Robert Alexander Akin’s children include Samuel Davidson and Mae Akin Axley, who were both born in the house. Samuel was a fiddler known for “Cumberland Gap” and “Turkey in the Straw.” Samuel and Mae, like each generation after them, were active members of the Methodist congregation in Murphy.
Samuel’s son, Harvey Davidson Akin, was a Naval Academy graduate severely wounded when the USS West Virginia was bombed at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
“Mae’s husband, John William Axley, played the harmonica and buck-danced in the home. He pumped the pump organ at the Harshaw Chapel and later at the new Methodist Church downtown. John and Mae had four children: Anne Margaret, John Henry, Emogene Axley Bates and Kathleen Olive Axley Davidson.”
During the New Deal
Anne Margaret’s husband, Garrison, was a supervisor at a Civilian Conservation Corps camp during the New Deal.
John Henry Axley operated a regional truck line, while his wife, Leila Gray, was an accomplished pianist and organist. John Axley measured the blue marble stones in the Cherokee County Courthouse, which is where the marble “Axley” slab in front of the home comes from.
Leila played for services and held fundraisers in the house to support the new church and its organ. John Henry and Leila’s daughter, Marion Axley, served in World War II in the Women’s Army Corps.
Their son, John Henry Axley II, was a pilot and engineer who graduated from the Naval Academy, was recruited by the Air Force, earned master of science degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and wrote about re-entry of space vehicles. He flew 140 missions in Vietnam in an F-105 and retired as a colonel.
Emogene Axley Bates was the choir director and an organist at the church for many decades. Her son Gene Bates, an accomplished trombonist, was a perennial soloist, known especially for “The Holy City” and “Ave Maria.”
Kathleen Olive Axley Davidson was the youngest of the Axleys. An early childhood educator, Kathleen ran a kindergarten in the house, and later worked in the Methodist Church day care and kindergarten programs.
She led music in Murphy Pubic Schools and was director of the Murphy High School Band on its U.S. 64 tour from Murphy to Manteo. She sang in the choir with her mother-in-law, Sally Davidson, and her daughter, Kay, under the direction of her sister, Emogene. Kathleen led an annual viewing of The Perdseid meteor showers at the back of the church.
John Allen Davidson and Kathleen were married at the church building in 1938. John Allen Davidson’s mom and dad ran stores on Valley River Avenue from their marriage in 1908 to 1960. John and Kathleen had two children: John Allen Davidson Jr. (Jan) and Kay (Axley) Davidson Nabers.
John was a member of early baseball, basketball, and football teams at Murphy High School. He was a veteran of World War II, part of General Patton’s 3rd Army. He was well known for his musical talent at the piano, which he played at the former Regal Hotel and Grove Park Inn,” according to the post.
Jan married Nanette Buchen Davidson and have three children: John Neil Davidson (1983 to 2007), Cloe Anne Davidson Leceese, and Samuel Ballard Davidson. Jan and Nanette’s contributions and depth of involvement with John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown are numerous.
Jan is the longest-serving director (1992 to 2017) and has also impacted the broader craft and folklife movements in western North Carolina. Nanette is the founder of the folk school’s cooking program, wrote the Folk School Cookbook and continues to engage with the school in many other ways.