Asheville School’s nearly 100-year-old stone Boyd Chapel sustains significant storm damage

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (HERE NEWS) — Dale Epperson, the owner of Epperson Tree Removal Company, was strapped in and secure as he dangled from pulleys in the air moving from limb to limb on the campus of the Asheville School on Thursday, May 9.

A huge white oak tree, more than 100 feet tall — and more than a century old — lay at a 45-degree angle on the bell tower of the school’s historic stone-built Boyd Chapel. The Chapel was built in 1928 to honor student William Spencer Boyd, who died in 1918 while attending Yale, the year after he graduated from Asheville School. Boyd is believed to have died from tuberculosis. His mother built the chapel to honor her son.

Lauren Northup, communications officer for Asheville School, lives on campus and was near the chapel when the tree fell Wednesday, May 8.

“It was around two o’clock yesterday,” Northrup said Thursday. “I came out of my office, which is in Lawrence Hall, and I was walking on the road along the chapel. It was right as the first band of storms were coming in, and the wind was blowing in a way I have never seen it blow on this campus. There was debris and leaves starting to swirl.”

Northup, heading to another building, continued down the road. “As I came around the corner, I heard a large cracking sound,” she described. “I thought there had been an enormous car wreck on nearby Patton Avenue. I turned and watched as the tree fell onto the Chapel. It’s a surreal experience to see a tree that large come down.”

Students and staff she said were shocked and saddened by the event, but school administrators called in a tree company to begin the removal work.

“This is a beloved historic building,” said Northup. “The chapel was built in 1928 as a memorial to a boy who died in the early 20th century and his mother built the chapel. It’s a really special place to thousands of people all over the world. The outpouring of support and love for this structure has been unbelievable.”

Epperson has had more than 30 years working as an arborist. As the leader on the job Thursday, he was belted into pulleys and worked the tree. He moved from limb to limb attaching ropes, then sawing off limbs.

A huge crane then carried the limbs to the ground. The work was going well but the process that takes hours must be done gingerly, with a focus on preventing any further structural damage.

“The tree fell on the chapel’s flat roof, causing a hole and water to spill in all night. A top limb also took out a cornice stone in the top of the bell tower. Chaplain Nate Sell said the chapel was a special creation for the campus, carefully constructed.

“The chapel’s stone was quarried near Salisbury, North Carolina,” said Sell. “Inside, there are three huge wooden beams that were made of Louisiana pine that was shipped all the way up by train from Louisiana. So, we’re hoping the structure is still intact.”

A huge focus also is the stained glass throughout the chapel. “The 12 apostles are represented in the 12 windows,” Sell said. “The final back stained-glass window is an iconic scene for us here at Asheville School with a beautiful mountain scene in back.”

“The Carolina’s (bell) is still ringing. What the bell tower’s damage is we still don’t know yet. It has suffered some damage, from what we can see,” he said. “I think we count ourselves lucky that no one was hurt,” Sell continued. “We’re fortunate no students were under it when it happened and no one was in the chapel.”

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