Step back in time with us as we delve into the rich history of the Highlands Biological Station. Notes from the Archives offers a glimpse into the stories, discoveries, and milestones that have shaped our legacy. From rare photographs and historic documents to personal accounts and scientific breakthroughs, this page is dedicated to preserving and sharing the moments that connect our past to the present.
Join us on a journey through the archives as we celebrate the people, events, and ideas that continue to inspire our work today.
Samuel T. Weyman Building
On August 29, 1931, the newly incorporated Highlands Museum and Biological Laboratory held the dedication ceremony for the first building constructed on campus. Then referred to as the Sam T. Weyman Memorial Laboratory, this building was constructed in under two months and functioned as a research facility for biologists nationwide upon completion.
The building gained notoriety not only as the first biological laboratory in the region at the time, but also for its unique architecture designed by Atlanta firm Tucker & Howell with consultation on the architectural design from renowned German architect Oscar Stonorov. The building was constructed in the International Style of modern architecture and featured pale yellow exterior walls with mahogany red trim to mimic the Dutch de Stijl.
The Weyman building functioned as the Station’s research laboratory until 1957, when it was converted into a dining hall and a separate laboratory was built next door. The renovation erased the structure’s international-style architecture. Shingles were added to the exterior walls, and the roof was converted from a flat roof to a gabled roof and the walls and trim were repainted.
This building served as a dining hall for the next two decades and has continued to serve the Station’s researchers and staff in various capacities since. In the 1970s, the cooking equipment was removed and replaced with refrigerators, dining tables, and lounge furniture. In 2023, Weyman was renovated once again thanks to a generous donation by R.B. Haynes and work from facilities manager Mike McMahan. This renovation allowed the building to function as a gathering place year-round. This included the installation of HVAC and insulation, skirting around the foundation, and remodeling the building’s interior with new flooring.
-Cora Bauman, December 2024
E. E. Reinke
Between the Thelma Howell Administrative Building and the Coker Laboratory at the Highlands Biological Station is the E. E. ( Edwin Eustace) Reinke Library established by Dr. Reinke, a Founder and the First Director of the Highlands Museum and Biological Laboratory. Little known to visitors of the Nature Center or Botanical Gardens, the many college and graduate students and researchers from around the world use this library for their studies.
First suggested in 1941 by Botany Professor Kaufman visiting from the University of Alabama, he and other researchers told Reinke and the Trustees that they needed a library to aid in their study of the plateau flora and fauna. To that end, Reinke established the library in 1945 and then others began to donate books and published research reprint papers to the Station for library use. Upon Reinke’s death in 1945, his widow, Emily, gave all of his books and a collection of this personal papers to the Station which comprised the initial library. Other major donors to the library include: Lindsay Olive, C. K. Wall family, Sargent Family, and the family of Byron Ingram among others.
Dr. Reinke was a Princeton graduate awarded at Ph.D in Biology in 1914. He was primary affiliated with the Biology Department of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, holding various positions in that department including Chairman. Reinke spent his summers in Highlands with his family for many years, even commissioning a log cabin by local famed builder, Joe Webb, which still stands today as the location of the Highlands Hiker.
In 1928-1929 Clark Foreman of Atlanta and a summer resident of Highlands, approached Reinke about a biological station in Highlands. The Station Trustees asked Reinke to study the Highlands region with a view of establishing a southern biological research station in the mountains. His findings were published in the Highlands Museum of Natural History Publication No. 1, entitled “Report on the Necessity of a Mountain Biological Research Station in the South.”
Reinke’s primary research included experimental work in the field of hormones and the pituitary gland in the life pattern of vertebrates, namely salamanders, which he carried out at the Highlands Laboratory. Some of his original drawings were included in his correspondence files, an illustration of which is shown here.
The Reinke Library is non-lending library, except for registered students and research faculty, but is open to visitors by reservation. Its holdings are available online through the Hunter Library at Western Carolina University.
-Bryding Adams, November 2024