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
When I went searching our database for sources to write this edition of 52 Weeks, 52 Communities I had one thought when the results came back: “This cannot be it.” Alas, this seems to be the only historical image of the Shiloh Community in the North Carolina Collection here at Pack Memorial Library. "Shiloh Baptist … Continue reading The only historical image of Shiloh? 52 Weeks, 52 Communities.
A DRAMATIC READING James M. Henderson, Company F, 25 N.C. Regiment wrote to his wife Maria Henderson and little son, William Henry Drayton Henderson. Henderson was killed August 23, 1864 at battle of Weldon Railroad, Petersburg, Va. The Henderson family was from Pigeon River, Haywood County. From the NC Room Collection MS024. IN OBSERVANCE OF … Continue reading Event: CIVIL WAR STORIES BETWEEN HAYWOOD COUNTY SOLDIER JAMES M. HENDERSON AND HIS WIFE MARIA HENDERSON
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 … Continue reading My Sandy Mush: 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 … Continue reading On a Staircase in Reems Creek: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities
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
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 30, 2019 FROM 6:00 TO 7:00 PM LORD AUDITORIUM PACK MEMORIAL LIBRARY LOWER LEVEL THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Light Refreshments will be served H. W. Pelton panoramic photograph of Pack Square from the north centered on the Vance Monument, 1910. B440-XX The photograph above is probably one of … Continue reading EVENT–THE PANORAMIC PHOTOGRAPHS OF HERBERT PELTON: ASHEVILLE 1905-1930 BY BENJAMIN PORTER
Presentation This Thursday, October 24 from 6:00-7:00 Pack Memorial Library, Lord Auditorium, lower level. This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Where is the Ravenscroft Reserve? The Ravenscroft Reserve is located at 11 Collier Avenue north of Banks Avenue, at the southern end of Ravenscroft Drive. The … Continue reading The Ravenscroft Reserve: Its History and Importance
View published in Asheville News and Hotel Reporter, vol. 3, no. 9, March 28, 1896. Nazareth First Baptist Church (Pine Street at Beaumont & Hazzard Streets) right of center. Hazzard Street down and left from the church into Valley Street. M681-DS Part One of this series began with a survey of private and religious efforts … Continue reading Asheville’s First City Schools for Black Students Part Two: African Americans Help Build the City and Its School System
