Friday, December 27, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, African Americans, Asheville History, Local History, Photograph Collection

Southside: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

Henry Robinson wrote in 1992 about his childhood community of Southside–a mournful eulogy really, to a place that no longer exists–that the sprawling community “stretched over 400 acres from Biltmore Avenue westward to the French Broad River.” Robinson informs us today that it was “the largest residential area for African-Americans in Asheville and a melting
Monday, December 02, 2019 / Published in African Americans, Asheville History, Buncombe County History, Education, Forgotten People, Local Heroes and Heroines, Local History, Photograph Collection

ASHEVILLE’S FIRST CITY SCHOOLS FOR BLACK STUDENTS, Part Three: Builders of Black Schools

The Creation of a Public School System for the City of Asheville, 1887-1888 Setting Up the System and Hiring the Teachers Asheville Times, July 29, 1887: “Graded School Carried: Asheville Keeps to the Front By a Very Close Squeeze” “We need not multiply words to express pleasure at the result of the election yesterday on
Friday, November 22, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, African Americans, Asheville History, Buncombe County History, Local History, Manuscript Collection, New Donations, Oral History

The only historical image of Shiloh? 52 Weeks, 52 Communities.

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,
Saturday, August 17, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, African Americans, Asheville History, Buildings, Buncombe County History, Local Heroes and Heroines, Photograph Collection, Postcard Collection

A Kenilworth Research Album: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

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
Wednesday, April 03, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, African Americans, Asheville History, Buncombe County History, Forgotten People, Local History

Working Together on Burton Street: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

“On the west side of Asheville between Patton and Haywood/A community holds on, tries to create a sustainable model, /Relationship-building between people/What can I say: Burton Street?” -DeWayne Barton “Burton Street Working Together” from 27 Views of Asheville, Eno Publishers, ed. We have discussed the Burton Street Community a few times this year, especially highlighting
Friday, September 22, 2017 / Published in African Americans, Forgotten People, Local History, Photograph Collection, Uncategorized

Black Lives Built Western North Carolina Railroad

  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.