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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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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
52 Weeks 52 CommunitiesAfrican American HistoryAfrican AmericansBrett SpiveyClaude ColemanCommunity HistoryGreen BookRabbit's Motel and RestaurantSoundSpaceSouthsideSouthside NeighborhoodSouthside RisingUrban Renewal
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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, November 02, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, African Americans, Asheville History, Forgotten People

Setting the Record Straight in Ramoth: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

Unlike most of the communities we’ve covered in this series, the community of Ramoth is in reality, no longer. Once a rather large, and even incorporated suburb of Asheville, most folks living in Buncombe County today have probably never heard of this North Asheville community. Indeed, at one time, Ramoth was so large, they intended
40th United States Colored Troops52 Weeks 52 CommunitiesA.M AlexanderAfrican American HistoryAppalachiaCivil WarCol. James T. Weaverenslaved peopleFlat CreekGeorge AveryJackson ParkKirkMontfordNorth AshevilleObituaryRamothReems CreekSlavesSpencer WeaverStonemanStoriesVeteransWeaverWeavervilleWoolsey
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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, September 21, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, Architectural Drawing Collection, Architecture, Asheville History, Books, Buncombe County History, Historic Montford, Houses, Manuscript Collection

A Montford Bibliography: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

Montford is one of Buncombe County’s most iconic historic neighborhoods. In this installment of 52 Weeks, 52 Communities, we could take almost any angle on Montford; there is just so much to talk about. So instead of trying to pick just one thesis, I decided that this would be a great opportunity to put together
52 Weeks 52 CommunitiesAppalachiaAshevilleBibliographyBuncombe CountyCollectionsHistoric MontfordMontfordMontford ParkMontford Park PlayersMurder in MontfordPreservation Society of Asheville & Buncombe CountyRichard Sharp SmithSubdivisions
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Saturday, August 31, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, Buncombe County History, Forgotten People, Local Heroes and Heroines, Local History

His Name Was Leicester: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

Disclaimer: This installment of 52 Weeks, 52 Communities has no ill intent. Indeed, I mean to shame no one in my assertions, only educate. However, be warned, I may air some grievances. Dear readers, there are a few things that send unpleasant chills down my spine. For my husband, it’s the sound of a fork scraping
52 Weeks 52 CommunitiesAppalachiaBascom CollegeBuncombe CountyCommunitiesCommunity HistoryDry GoodsEnglandForgotten PeopleImmigrantsLeicesterMerchantsPeopleWalesWest Indies
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