Scarlet Hollow is a small town in the North Carolina hills. Scarlet Hollow is named for the Scarlet family, who built the Scarlet Coal Mines and the surrounding town. Residents refer to it as "the Holler."
Prior to the Scarlets' arrival in 1841, the Forsyth family lived in the region. The Tremaine family were early settlers in the area and may have had an established farm and homestead before 1841; however, this is currently unclear. The two halves of the former Tremaine homestead are the oldest extant buildings in town.
In 1841, Silas and Mary Joseph Scarlet settled in what would become Scarlet Hollow. Silas built their log cabin by hand. A few years later, Silas discovered a coal seam running underneath his land and the surrounding area. He bought the land at a discount and opened the Scarlet Coal Mines.
In the 1850s-1860s, Silas funded the construction of the Town Hall (the first municipal building in the community) and the Scarlet Hollow First Baptist Church. During the Civil War, Silas had the Hiram Scarlet Memorial Hospital built.
After the Civil War, Silas's son Andrew Jackson Scarlet took over management of the Scarlet Coal Mines and built up the surrounding town. He had the Scarlet Estate built atop a hill in the town's geographic center. The estate was the "most elaborate and elegant estate in the region prior to the construction of the Biltmore in 1895."
In the 1880s-1890s, Scarlet Hollow prospered, in no small part due to the railroad industry and its reliance on coal. Additions were built onto the Hiram Scarlet Memorial Hospital, and the hospital was opened as a "Change of Air" Clinic. Scarlet Hollow became a tourist destination for patients and prestigious clientele from around the world.
In 1918, the coal mine collapsed, killing 160 men and boys. The original mining facility was destroyed. Enoch Scarlet's partner, Charles Shaw, was found responsible for the collapse. Allegedly, Shaw used substandard, dangerous material in constructing the mine shaft. The townspeople ran Shaw out of town on a rail and exiled his wife and son.
Enoch Scarlet rebuilt and reopened the Scarlet Coal Mines, outfitted with cutting-edge technology. He defeated the miners' attempts to unionize. The mine was rescued from the brink of bankruptcy and became prosperous again.
In the early 1920s, Scarlet Hollow switched to a "dog-mayor system of governance." The Town Hall building has since been put to different use, although the town archives and a ceremonial office remain upstairs.
At some point, the Tremaine family split into two factions: the Tremaines and the Calloways. The families split the farmland and even the homestead in half.