This installment offers a look at the life and career of the fifth of the five original teachers at Asheville’s first black city school, Beaumont Street. We’ve saved one of the best teachers for last. We’ve also included information on the members of her family because of their prominence in Asheville and their connections to … Continue reading Asheville’s First City Schools for Black Students, Part Four: Builders of Black Schools (concluded)
The Creation of a Public School System for the City of Asheville, 1887-1888 Looking down on Asheville with a distant view of the first Battery Park Hotel built in 1886. Eagle Street is in the center of the photo curving around a stand of trees. L473-8 Setting Up the System and Hiring the Teachers Asheville … Continue reading ASHEVILLE’S FIRST CITY SCHOOLS FOR BLACK STUDENTS, Part Three: Builders of Black Schools
Oakley School, abt. 1952, image scanned from the Oakley Oak school annual. M055-DS. 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 … Continue reading The Name Game, Oakley : 52 Weeks, 52 Communities
Map of the Newfound Community from a 1966 Newfound Community Club Scrapbook, MS306.001 pp 02. 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, … Continue reading Hall’s 7 Acres in Newfound: 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 … Continue reading Greetings From Montreat: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities
Part One: Blacks Vote for Public Education, Win a Separate but Unequal Place in the New School System When Asheville went to the polls in July 1887 and narrowly approved a resolution establishing tax-supported public schools, black voters provided the crucial margin of support. The city took this step forward during an era of educational … Continue reading Asheville’s First City Schools for Black Students
