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Tuesday, May 05, 2020 / Published in Arts, Buncombe County History, Crafts, Forgotten People, Oral History, Women

Elsie’s Story – Hidden Stories in Oral Histories

Working in local history archives at UNCA Ramsey Library and at Pack Library’s North Carolina Room, I thought often about the many fascinating stories that remain hidden in the oral histories of both collections. Until the interview is transcribed, the story remains untold. Few people will have the time or the patience to listen to the
AppalachiaArts and CraftsBeaconEdsel MartinMartinOral HistorySwannanoaTraditional CraftsWade Martin
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Tuesday, December 17, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, African Americans, Asheville History, Buncombe County History, Friends of the NC Room, Local History

Swannanoa: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

I volunteered this week to create the post for Swannanoa in part because it has been my home for the majority of my life. I was educated in grades 1-12 in “the Valley” (as you will hear natives often call the community including Black Mountain and Ridgecrest). In the 20th century, Swannanoa was transformed by
BeaconBeacon BlanketsBuncombe CountyCharles D. OwenCommunity HistoryLocal HistoryManufacturingMill TownMill VillageRural HistorySwannanoaSwannanoa River
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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, July 20, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, Architecture, Asheville History, Buildings, Buncombe County History, Houses, Local History, Manuscript Collection

A Model Letter from a Model Village, Grovemont on Swannanoa: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

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
52 Weeks 52 CommunitiesAlexanderBattery HillBattery ParkBattery Park HotelBuncombe CountyE.W. GroveEdwin Wiley GroveGeorge MasaGrove Park InnGrove's Tasteless Chill TonicGrovestone QuarryHomesPatent MedicinesPlanned CommunitiesReal EstateSt. Margaret Mary Catholic ChurchSwannanoaSwannanoa Branch Library
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Monday, October 20, 2014 / Published in Local Heroes and Heroines, Photograph Collection, Woo-Woo Moments

Beacon Manufacturing Co., Baseball Team Starring Wade Martin

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the Swannanoa native Wade Martin, who was known nationally for his woodcarving abilities. Click here if you haven’t read it. While I was writing about Wade Martin, I was surprised to read that he was also known of as a great baseball player. Because I was staying focused on Wade’s
Beacon Manufacturing Co. Baseball TeamNCNorth Carolina Industrial League Baseball TeamsSwannanoaTar Heel League All-Star Baseball TeamWade Martin
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Saturday, October 04, 2014 / Published in Local Heroes and Heroines, Photograph Collection

Swannanoa Woodcarver Wade Martin Carves One Last Piece

Wade “Gob” Hampton Martin was born in 1920, the son of Marcus Lafayette and Callie Holloway Martin. He had four brothers, Edsel, Wayne, Fred and Quintin and one sister, Zenobia. All of them carved. In the early 1930s the family moved from Andrews, N.C. to Swannanoa, N.C. Wade was nine at the time and grew
AllanstandAshevilleMargaret RobertsSouthern Highlands Handicrft GuildSwannanoaWade Martinwoodcarver

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