What’s in a name?

What’s unique about Rutherford College, North Carolina? Well, for one thing there is no college there. The small Burke County town built up around the college Robert Abernathy started in 1853; the town was later incorporated.

When the college merged with Weaver College and moved to Brevard to become Brevard College in 1933, the town’s charter was repealed.

What’s a college town without a college? For local residents, evidently quite a lot. And they liked the name. So residents reapplied for incorporation status to the General Assembly, and in 1977 the town was re-chartered. Without the college, of course.

– Ron Smith, S&A Communications