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The Digital Heritage Project is a part of The Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University
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Culture Archive
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Trail of Tears
Posted on February 16, 2012 | No CommentsIn the 1830s, the United States government, with the approval of the United States Congress and President Andrew Jackson, forcibly removed Southeastern American Indian tribes to present day Oklahoma. This atrocious act has been infamously named the Trail of Tears. . . -
Happy Land
Posted on February 16, 2012 | No CommentsIn 1865, a band of former slaves newly freed in Mississippi began searching for a new home. They settled near Tuxedo in Henderson County, North Carolina. They eventually bought 200 acres of land that they declared to be “The Kingdom of the Happy Land". . . -
Personal Names
Posted on February 16, 2012 | No CommentsPeople receive their names according to a number of social conventions. Often those conventions reflect regional differences. . . -
Old Christmas in Appalachia
Posted on February 16, 2012 | No CommentsChristmas in Appalachia was not always celebrated on December 25th. Whether because calendar reform in 1752 had removed 11 days, turning December 25th into January 6th, or because January 6th marked. . . -
Oconaluftee Indian Village
Posted on February 16, 2012 | No CommentsIn 1952, the Cherokee Historical Association opened the Oconaluftee Indian Village, a recreated Cherokee village set in the 1750s. . . -
Cornbread
Posted on February 16, 2012 | No CommentsCornbread is a staple in the Appalachian diet. Introduced to the corn plant by Native Americans, European settlers in the New World quickly adopted it for its ease of cultivation, it’s hardiness, and its versatility in cooking. . . -
Cherokee Storytelling
Posted on February 16, 2012 | No CommentsThe Cherokee people, like all Native American tribes, possess an extensive, ancient oral history. Before European contact and the creation of the Cherokee syllabary. . . -
Banjo
Posted on February 16, 2012 | No CommentsThe banjo, a four or five string musical instrument with a leather or plastic head stretched over a circular wooden rim, is pictured by many as the symbol of Appalachian music. -
4th of July
Posted on February 14, 2012 | No CommentsOld-time mountain 4th of July celebrations focused on patriotism. In smaller communities, they involve simple patriotic services in churches and... -
The Migration of the Scotch-Irish from Ulster to Western North Carolina
Posted on December 7, 2011 | No CommentsMigration has been a major feature of human history, beginning with the earliest hunter-gatherers who. . . -
Woolly Worms
Posted on April 19, 2011 | No CommentsNot too many generations ago, before snow plows, central heat, and supermarkets, winters in Appalachia were a much different experience than they are today. Many basic necessities such as mobility, heat, and food were not taken for granted. -
Coverlets and Quilts
Posted on October 22, 2010 | No CommentsFew things warm the senses, mental or physical, like a handmade quilt. For hundreds of years, quilts have been crafted, treasured, snuggled, and displayed with dedication and devotion. A special quilt often symbolizes some of our earliest memories; either from the warmth it generated, or perhaps for the family or regional heritage it represents. -
Folk Medicine
Posted on August 30, 2010 | No CommentsNot all people in western North Carolina regularly go to the doctor when they get sick. Some still rely on the traditional folk medicine of their ancestors, drawn from the regions many cultures. . . -
Penland School of Crafts
Posted on August 30, 2010 | No CommentsThe widespread poverty that the Great Depression brought to Appalachia led to the founding of one of the area’s most valuable treasures: the Penland School of Crafts. Nestled deep in the hills of western North Carolina’s Mitchell County is the small community of Penland. -
Notable Movies
Posted on August 30, 2010 | No CommentsMost moviegoers are familiar with popular films that have made Appalachia their subject--like Thunder Road and Deliverance--or those have used a central character from Appalachia to create powerful drama, as in the case of Jodie Foster’s Agent Starling in Silence of the Lambs.