Gaylord Oscar (G.O.) Shepherd Sr. settled in Asheville in 1919. At age 24, his arrival was well timed as the city began a decade of rapid growth, ripe for the energies of a young man with ambition. Through hard work he became, according to the Asheville Citizen, “one of the leading advertising agents in the state.” Yet advertising was
It is common for local historians to say of the Asheville, Loan, Construction & Improvement Company, that the “enterprise languished until it was taken over by George Willis Pack.” (Quote from Asheville’s Historic Montford District, edited by Michael T. Southern, 1985.) What the Asheville, Loan, Construction & Improvement Company did do needs to be on record. After the company
Asheville was the first city in North Carolina to have an electric streetcar system, with the first run on February 1, 1889. Asheville was followed by Winston, Charlotte, Raleigh and then Wilmington (1890-1892). Montford was likely the first electric streetcar suburb in the state. Streetcar suburbs, defined as a planned community built around a street
We now know that Richmond Pearson named the new station Montford Park Station. Why the Name Montford? An article in the Daily Citizen of March 31, 1891, titled “Montford Park Station: Asheville’s New Suburb on the French Broad” reveals that “for the privilege of naming the station, Mr. Richmond Pearson, last summer, agreed to erect
Richmond Pearson’s Little-Known Part in the Creation of Montford [Click here to read Rediscovering Montford’s Early History Part 1 post revealing the first newspaper article announcing the creation of Montford Park and the naming of Montford Park Station.] Richmond Pearson was given the honor in the summer of 1890 of naming the new passenger depot on the Asheville Loan, Construction
Jon Elliston will explore the bizarre odyssey of John R. Brinkley, one of Western North Carolina’s most infamous figures. From his humble mountain origins, Brinkley rose to national stature as a medical scam artist. He made a killing on sketchy goat gland implants and other oddball treatments, only to die pretty young and totally broke. At the
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