Mr. Jabez Wheeler Hayes was Sewanee’s first large scale benefactor after the Civil War. Born in New Jersey in 1799, at 15 he became a watchmaker's apprentice. By 1840 he was a successful jewelry manufacturer and was a devout Episcopalian and enthusiastic horticulturist.
After Mrs. Hayes died in 1870, Hayes moved from Newark to Sewanee, which had 10 buildings in the campus area, 11 around the railroad station, and 3 on a leasehold he held at what is now St. Mary's. It was Hayes who opened a sawmill, located on a stream leading into Lost Cove about one half mile from the depot. Its 48 inch circular saw, with cut-off saw attached, planer, lathe, shingle machine (turning out 2,000 shingles an hour) and machinery for doors, blinds, sashes and mouldings was a game-changer. Within two years the community had assumed the general appearance it was to have for the next 40 years.
His gifts to Sewanee were mainly civic improvements in the community. He contributed $100,000 of his fortune into the early development of the village (with his sawmill and grist mill and the construction of the two-story concrete building for the SEWANEE STEAM LAUNDRY). He also introduced a fruit evabporator that allowed fruit to be dried and boxed for market. Perhaps his greatest contribution was the founding Sewanee’s first public school.
By the end of the decade, Hayes was again living primarily in Newark, New Jersey, and he died in 1882 being hailed one of that state's greatest citizens.
