Pleasant Alexander Calhoun lived most of his adult life in a place Horace Kephart described as the “back of beyond.” Until the beginning of the 20th century, it was so remote that few outsiders had ever ventured into the isolated community nestled deep in the Great Smoky Mountains. It’s not probable that he thought his final years would be spent in an
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
We’re over halfway there, folks! Here we are on community #34/52. And a few times throughout this series, we’ve taken the opportunity to teach you a little bit about how to most effectively use your time in the archives or navigate our public database, Presto, to do some of your groundwork from the comforts of
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
Edwin Wiley Grove had a grand vision. After striking it rich in the patent medicine business he began to invest in real estate, a hot market in the Southern United States throughout the 1880s and into the 1920s. Grove purchased property in a number of major cities, including Atlanta. And although his famous tasteless chill
For this week’s edition of 52 Weeks, 52 Communities we’re reaching back into the HeardTell archives for two posts about Grace, a community in North Asheville. These posts were originally authored by NC Room Staff Zoe Rhine and Ione Whitlock. Grace, A Community that got absorbed by an avenue A View of Grace, Then and
In the late 1920’s a group of Asheville investors, boosters, and executives (including Fred Seely, son in law of the late E.W Grove) hatched a plan to lure one of the world’s most progressive burgeoning industries to western North Carolina. Established in the early 1920s after the discovery of the scientific process for creating “artificial