When I went searching our database for sources to write this edition of 52 Weeks, 52 Communities I had one thought when the results came back: “This cannot be it.” Alas, this seems to be the only historical image of the Shiloh Community in the North Carolina Collection here at Pack Memorial Library. This photo,
Unlike most of the communities we’ve covered in this series, the community of Ramoth is in reality, no longer. Once a rather large, and even incorporated suburb of Asheville, most folks living in Buncombe County today have probably never heard of this North Asheville community. Indeed, at one time, Ramoth was so large, they intended
If you grew up in Buncombe County any time after 1960, chances are you took a trip either with your school or your parents to the Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace State Historic Site located in the Reems Creek community near Weaverville. The reconstruction of a late 18th, early 19th century mountain plantation has hosted thousands
Part One of this series began with a survey of private and religious efforts to educate Asheville’s black children in the decades following the Civil War. Next we saw how the city established a public school system in 1888 after a close vote of public approval in which black voters provided the crucial margin of
Part One: Blacks Vote for Public Education, Win a Separate but Unequal Place in the New School System When Asheville went to the polls in July 1887 and narrowly approved a resolution establishing tax-supported public schools, black voters provided the crucial margin of support. The city took this step forward during an era of educational
In our recent post “PART 2: A WHO’S WHO LIST OF PROMINENT BLACK ASHEVILLE BUSINESSMEN IN 1922” we were giving the story of Noah Murrough and said that he had joined the Maceo Volunteers, a company of “colored men under Capt. Thomas L. Leatherwood” that left Asheville in July 1898 for Cuba. It occured to me
Of all the communities on our list, one of the most photographed besides Downtown Asheville, may be Kenilworth. This Asheville Suburb in the southeast part of the city sprung onto the scene in the late 1910’s and rose in popularity into the 1920’s until the town, once incorporated and independent, was annexed by the city
Or . . .”How Well Do You Know Black Asheville History?” “Colored Race Prospers in Asheville as the Result of Attitude of White Citizens” was the title of an article published in an Asheville Citizen-Times on December 3, 1922. “While it would be difficult indeed to mention in a short article the numerous successful business
Or . . .”How Well Do You Know Black Asheville History?” “Colored Race Prospers in Asheville as the Result of Attitude of White Citizens” was the title of an article published in an Asheville Citizen-Times on December 3, 1922. “While it would be difficult indeed to mention in a short article the numerous successful business