Monumental Decisions: The Legacy and Future of Civil War Markers in Our Public Spaces Date: Saturday February 3rd Time: 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm Where: Pack Memorial Library, Lord Auditorium, lower level. This event is free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Friends of the North Carolina Room Like any local history room,
Bricks and the Buildings They Made Exhibit at Pack Memorial Library on the main floor includes real bricks! This exhibit from the North Carolina Room will be on view through January. . . Downtown shopping or seeing the sights with family? Stop in and check it out. Kids will love it. Little is known about brick manufacturers
Title: Asheville: 200 Years of Good Eating Speaker: Nan Chase Date: Wednesday November 29, 2017 Time: 12:00 to 1:00 Bring a brown-bag lunch and eat while you listen. Pack Memorial Library, Lord Auditorium, lower level. Most people think Asheville recently became a foodie town. . . Not according to Nan Chase, who says Asheville has
Standing on one corner of Asheville is an excellent place to learn about the ever-changing face of our town. Do you recognize this corner and are you familiar with its curious history? James McConnell Smith was born in 1787. According to historical accounts he was the first white child born west of the Blue Ridge.
Tempie Avery was a young girl purchased in Charleston in 1840 by Nicholas Woodfin. During her time on his plantation she became a midwife delivering both black and white babies in Asheville. After the Civil War, Mr. Woodfin deeded property to Tempie at 26 Pearson Drive, the current site of the Montford Community Center. On
The North Carolina Room received a call from someone–with both musical and local history interests–asking if there really was a collapse of the Swannanoa Tunnel, as the song, “Swannanoa Tunnel” relates? I said I would send him an article about it, thinking in a free moment I would just slap the article on the scanner and have it off to him.
The Western North Carolina Railroad was chartered in 1852 by the North Carolina General Assembly. A railway was to be constructed from Salisbury to some point on the French Broad River beyond the Blue Ridge. By 1859 the road had reached Morganton, a distance of 84 miles. [Asheville News July 14, 1859.] The Western North
Several weeks ago I wrote about the Baraca & Philathea convention in Asheville in 1909. Many churches opened their doors to the conventioneers for various meetings. I recognized most of the church names, but was puzzled by one in particular: Ora Street Presbyterian. Do you know where Ora Street is located? I didn’t until I
“On The Front Porch” A porch is a passage into a home. It’s where we comfortably pause before entering as well as when leaving. Porches link the private interior with the outdoors, the public sidewalk and street. Porches are where we rest, are silent, or talk quietly with family or friends. We sometimes gather on porches