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Tuesday, February 25, 2020 / Published in Architecture, Asheville History, Buildings, Buncombe County History, Forgotten People, Houses

Correcting the Record.

A few months ago some questions arose about a couple photographs in the North Carolina Room’s Special Collection. They show a group of African-American masons erecting a wall up against a building with a large “Drink Pepsi-Cola” sign painted on it. Zoe asked me if I could confirm the details in the description. Here’s part
BuildingJames Vester MillerManufacturingNeighborhoodsPepsiSanborn MapsSouthsideSouthside AveUNC Asheville
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Saturday, January 04, 2020 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, African Americans, Asheville History, Buncombe County History, Houses, Local History

Confronting the Legacy of N.W. Woodfin: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

The Woodfin community, like many other Buncombe County communities is named for a man who enslaved human beings. If you’ve followed along in this series, you’ve probably recognized that to be a common theme among communities; they’re named for people of extravagant wealth. Wealth earned on the backs of enslaved black people. Indeed, our county
52 Weeks 52 CommunitiesAfrican AmericansAppalachiaBuncombe CountyBuncombe County HistoryCivil WarCommunity HistoryEducationenslaved peopleEnslavementlaborlawyersLocal HistoryNicholas WoodfinRailroadsSlaverySlavery in Buncombe CountyWoodfin
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Saturday, December 28, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, Architecture, Asheville History, Buildings, Buncombe County History, Houses, Local History, Photograph Collection

A “Worst” Asheville Album: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

I remember “worst” Asheville. It’s the neighborhood where my Grandfather was born in a house with dirt floors, where I went to preschool (back when Crossroads Assembly was “West Asheville Assembly” located on Haywood Rd.), attended my first dance lessons (in the building where Asheville Greenworks is today), and went along with my mother to
52 Weeks 52 CommunitiesAppalachiabefore and afterCrossroads AssemblyEatieriesGentrificationHaywood RoadRestaurantsService StationStandard Pizza Co.Sunny Point CafeUniversal JointUrban AppalachiaWest AshevilleWest End BakeryWorst Asheville
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Tuesday, December 10, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, Architecture, Asheville History, Buncombe County History, Friends of the NC Room, Houses, Local History, Postcard Collection, Volunteers

St. Dunstan’s Circle: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

Asheville’s real estate boom in the 1920’s fostered the growth of many neighborhoods: Lakeview Park, Malvern Hills, Horney Heights, and Kenilworth, just to name a few. Biltmore Avenue borders Kenilworth on the east and across the avenue, on a knoll overlooking Biltmore Village, is the pocket neighborhood of St. Dunstan’s Circle. A Mr. Roebling first
1920'sAppalachiaArchitectsArchivesAshevilleBoom and BustCommunity HistoryHistoric HomesHistoric NeighborhoodsHistoric PreservationLocal HistoryNational Register of Historic PlacesPoultryPreservationReal EstateResearchUrban Appalachia
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Saturday, November 16, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, Buncombe County History, Friends of the NC Room, Houses, Local History

My Sandy Mush: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

Abraham Reynolds was one of the earliest settlers in Western North Carolina. He received land grants totaling some 1525 acres of land in the Bent Creek area in the late 1770’s. My great-great-grandfather John Haskew Reynolds was a grandson of Abraham Reynolds. John Haskew Reynolds (1836-1918) grew up on his father’s farm on North Turkey
52 Weeks 52 CommunitiesagricultureAir ForceBuncombe CountyBurginCommunity HistoryDuckettFamily HistoryHaskewLeicesterMadison CountyOdessaSandy MushTerry TaylorTobaccoTurkey CreekUSAF
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Saturday, October 26, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, African Americans, Architecture, Buncombe County History, Forgotten People, Houses, Local History, Women

On a Staircase in Reems Creek: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

If you grew up in Buncombe County any time after 1960, chances are you took a trip either with your school or your parents to the Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace State Historic Site located in the Reems Creek community near Weaverville. The reconstruction of a late 18th, early 19th century mountain plantation has hosted thousands
52 Weeks 52 CommunitiesAndrew HemphillAppalachiaArchivesBee TreeBuncombe CountyCivil WarCommunity Historyenslaved peopleFarmingFederal Writers ProjectHemphillHistoric SiteslaborMountain MastersMountain PlantationMuseumsNC State Historic SitesOld FortPattonReems CreekReems Creek ValleyRicevilleSarah GudgerSlave DwellingSlave NarrativeSlavesSwannanoaWeavervilleZebulon Vance
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Saturday, October 26, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, Architecture, Asheville History, Buncombe County History, Education, Houses, Local History

The Name Game, Oakley : 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

Oakley, like all of the communities we’ve featured this year, has seen significant changes over time with the ebb and flow of Asheville and Buncombe County’s real estate, industrial, and tourism economy. Throughout the years, the section has developed from rolling farmland to middle-upscale planned community, and over time, the apparent planning of the suburb
1920s52 Weeks 52 CommunitiesAshevilleBinghamBrown Real Estate CompanyBuncombe CountyCommunity HistoryEducationFarmersHomesL.B JacksonOakleyReal EstateSayles BleacherySayles VillageSuburbsSwannanoa RiverSweeten CreekWest ChapelWestern North Carolina
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Saturday, October 05, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, Architecture, Asheville History, Buildings, Buncombe County History, Crafts, Education, Forgotten People, Houses, Local Heroes and Heroines, Local History

Hall’s 7 Acres in Newfound: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

Throughout the year as I’ve continued to work on this series and it has gained traction and popularity, hints and suggestions as to what I should write about have come in from various sources. It has been a tremendous undertaking, and sometimes it’s a relief to hear from someone else what you ought to say,
Asheville Fire DepartmentBuncombe CountyCabinsCommunity CentersCommunity ClubsEducationHall's Seven AcresJ.L. HallLane HallLeicesterMuseumNewfoundOutdoor recreationWestern North Carolina
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Saturday, September 28, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, Architecture, Buildings, Buncombe County History, Education, Houses, Local History, Postcard Collection

Greetings From Montreat: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

Nestled in a cove in the eastern end of Buncombe County lies the tiny town of Montreat. The town has only been officially incorporated since 1967, but the community has been around much longer. Montreat began in the late 19th century as an annual Presbyterian camp meeting, and by 1905, congregants had established the Montreat
Anderson AuditoriumMontreatMontreat AssemblyMontreat CollegeMontreat Conference CenterPostcards
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