Wylie Hamrick’s love letters take readers back to bygone era

This photo shows one of the love letters Hamrick Mills founder Wylie C. Hamrick wrote during his courtship with his wife, Paolo Turner Hamrick. The letters are on display this month at the Cherokee History and Arts Museum. Behind the letter is a painting of the "Big Mill" by Marie Wylie that is on display in the museum's textile exhibit. upid's arrow captured the heart of Hamrick Mills founder Wylie

C. Hamrick in the 1880s through handwritten letters to his wife.

Eighteen rarely seen letters between Wylie and his wife, Paolo Turner Hamrick, are on display this month at the Cherokee County History and Arts Museum. The letters are on loan from the Hamrick family.

The letters offer an intimate glimpse into the couple's courtship, engagement and marriage.

"The beautifully written letters take the reader back to another time, when words of affection were eloquently and respectfully shared between lovers," Cherokee County Museum Director Billy Pennington said.

The letters will be on display for the Feb. 11-14 performances of A.R. Gurney's "Love Letters" at the museum. Actors Christopher Cline and Phyllis Randolph will perform the play based around love letters spanning the lifetime of the play's main characters, Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III.

In the new exhibit, Hamrick's letters allow Cherokee County residents to see how one prominent resident expressed his love and affection.

Consider the following letter Hamrick penned to his significant other on July 12, 1885: "My dear pet, I am staying at home tonight just to write to my darling."

Hamrick (1860-1935) grew up in Cleveland County, N.C. He graduated from a Baltimore, Md., medical school in 1882 and later served in the North Carolina state legislature.

Hamrick relocated to Gaffney in January of 1895 where he was manager of the Gaffney Manufacturing Company's company store. He formed Hamrick Mill in 1907.

A family biography states he served on the steering committee that led to the formation of Cherokee County in 1897. He served nine years in the State Senate and was a trustee and benefactor to Limestone College.