A group of students from the East Flat Rock School in Henderson County attend the 31st Annual Buncombe County Negro District Fair, held at Oates Park, McDowell and Southside Streets. Spanish-American War veteran Edward W. Pearson founded the Buncombe County Negro District Fair in 1914. Pearson lived at 3 Buffalo St. in West Asheville and ran a grocery store and the Blue Note Music Club at that address. He created Pearson Park in West Asheville and organized the Asheville Royal Giants semi-pro baseball team. His son Edward W. Pearson, Jr. was manager of the fair in 1946. E.W. Pearson Sr. died that year, and the fair was not held again until the fall of 2010, when the first revival of the agricultural fair was held at the Burton Street Recreation Center in West Asheville.
NC Collection, Pack Memorial Public Library, copy print made from photo loaned by Mrs. Iola Byers, daughter of E. W. Pearson, Sr.
To purchase a copy of this photo or for further information, contact the North Carolina Room at Pack Memorial Library 828/250-4740 or packnc@buncombecounty.org.
