The Highlander Folk School was founded in 1932 in Monteagle on Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau. Its founders envisioned an adult education center where mountain people could tackle community problems. . .
In 1928, Bascom Lamar Lunsford turned his vast knowledge of traditional music and his organizational skills to the creation of a local music festival. The Asheville Chamber of Commerce had long sponsored an annual Rhododendron Festival, highlighting mountain arts and crafts. . .
In May 1867, having been led by the spirit of God, newly freed slaves from Charleston joined with their ministers to establish the Mud Creek Missionary Baptist Church in East Flat Rock, North Carolina. With no permanent meeting house and only circuit riding clergymen. . .
Riverside Cemetery, located in Asheville’s historic Montford District overlooking the French Broad River, was established in 1885 to serve a growing city. The beautiful and historic cemetery’s 87 carefully landscaped acres. . .
Jackson County, created in 1851, built a brand new town named Webster to be its county seat. Court was held at Daniel Bryson’s home and at Alan Fisher’s store until the courthouse was finished. In 1887, a second courthouse was built, but the new railroad had bypassed Webster three years earlier. . .
In 1952, the Cherokee Historical Association opened the Oconaluftee Indian Village, a recreated Cherokee village set in the 1750s. . .
DigitalHeritage.org includes essays, video interviews, and other materials created by the students of Western Carolina University. It also includes regional lesson plans created by teachers participating in the Adventure of the American Mind project sponsored by the Library of Congress. Radio spots created by WCU faculty and students may be heard on stations WKSF-FM, WMXF-AM, WPEK-AM, WWCU-FM, and WWNC-AM. A print version is available each month in the Laurel of Asheville.
