Pisgah Home Colony
Pathbreaker’s Hall - 1932
In 1915, Mrs. Hattie B. Lawrence founded the Pisgah Home Colony on a Columbia County mountaintop 4.75 miles southwest of the Crown Z Trail. It was a home – and colony – devoted to the rehabilitation of men who had been overtaken by life. From injured loggers to those addicted to alcohol and drugs to those just too old and infirm to live by themselves, the home created was designed to restore their dignity and self-respect.
Hattie B. Lawrence
1859-1937
Hattie Lawrence had a vision for what needed to be done. In the beginning, Hattie and her husband, Albert put their own life savings into the establishment of a home for derelict men. These men were down-and-out for any number of reasons. Some were alcohol or drug addicts; others were ill, often from tuberculosis; some were former loggers who had suffered injuries that made them invalids and unable to work. No matter the cause, Hattie recognized in them not someone to be afraid of but homeless and friendless men and women in need of Christian sympathy and care. She wanted to provide for them a chance at a better and honest life.
All of the buildings were erected by the men of the Colony, largely from the wood on the acreage, which they cleared themselves. Over the years, they created a number of outbuildings, and several of the men became “homesteaders,” building their own cabins and working their own 5 acres. For most of its existence, the population was around 100. Some men disappeared after just 1 day or a week. But many stayed for many years, having truly been enriched and encouraged by the home and its founder.
