February kicks off the NASCAR Cup Series and marks the 76th anniversary of the founding of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. Did you know that located where North Buncombe High School has its football field was once the first NASCAR-sanctioned racetrack in WNC, the Asheville-Weaverville Speedway?
In recognition of October’s American Library Association’s Banned Books Week, Thomas Wolfe’s birthday, and the publishing of his first novel, we thought it would be a good time to revisit the complex history between Pack Memorial Library and Look Homeward, Angel. On October 18, 1929, just a few weeks after Thomas Wolfe turned 29,
Over the next several weeks Buncombe County Special Collections will share five different posts by former Special Collections (NC Room) Librarian Zoe Rhine. Since “retiring” in January 2020, Zoe has continued to follow her research interests; investigating the lives of African Americans in the late 19th century. Do you have research or stories about Asheville
Over the next several weeks Buncombe County Special Collections will share five different posts by former Special Collections (NC Room) Librarian Zoe Rhine. Since “retiring” in January 2020, Zoe has continued to follow her research interests; investigating the lives of African Americans in the late 19th century. Do you have research or stories about Asheville
Asheville’s First Public Schools For Blacks For more than a year, I have collected every newspaper article on the Beaumont Academy, Beaumont School and the Mountain Street School, in my quest to gather information on the first public schools for blacks in Asheville. But something puzzled me – where was the original location of the
In Part One we focused on Stephens’s work as a principal and teacher in the Asheville City Schools and as the organizer and first general secretary of the Young Men’s Institute (YMI). In this new post, we’ll look at the events that led to Stephens’s departure from Asheville and the work he and his wife
This post begins the two-part story of Edward Stephens and his work in Asheville and other cities. Although Stephens wasn’t one of the original five black teachers when the Asheville public schools opened in January 1888, he came to the system two years later and made lasting contributions to the black community as a teacher,
This installment offers a look at the life and career of the fifth of the five original teachers at Asheville’s first black city school, Beaumont Street. We’ve saved one of the best teachers for last. We’ve also included information on the members of her family because of their prominence in Asheville and their connections to