Junior Johnson

Back in the 1930s and 1940s, when moonshining was a means of survival in the mountains of Western North Carolina, a young man emerged who would go on to become one of NASCAR’s founding fathers. He reinforced the romanticized, cultural stereotype of a “noble rogue.” His name was Junior Johnson.

Cornhusk Crafts

A Corn husk Family from Allenstand, part of the John Parris Collection Appalachian people, of Cherokee, European, and African origin, all share a long history of making useful and decorative items from the outer leaves of ears of corn, known as cornhusks, or corn...

Woolly Worms

Not 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. . .

Horace Kephart

In 1934, the United States Congress officially established what is today the most popular National Park in the country, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As a result, over 500,000 acres of scenic. . .

Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual

Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, located on the Cherokee Indian reservation in North Carolina, was founded in 1946. Its goal is to preserve Cherokee arts and crafts, and provide Cherokee people with a means to sell their crafts year-round. Today, Qualla Arts and Crafts...

Culture

Appalachian Trail Through Hikers

Appalachian Trail Through Hikers

A hiker follows the Appalachian Trail across Max Patch Bald in Haywood County, NC.   The Appalachian Trail extends 2,160 miles from Springer Mountain in North Georgia to Mount Katahdin in northern Maine. “Through Hiker” is the name given to those who hike the...

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Mountain Feist

Mountain Feist

Mountain Feist and puppy. Courtesy of Becky Moran Photography. A Mountain Feist is a type of small hunting dog.  Like the many others varieties of feists, it is not a specific breed. The ancestral homeland of the Mountain Feist is the Southern Appalachian and Ozark...

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Economy

Appalachian Trail Through Hikers

Appalachian Trail Through Hikers

A hiker follows the Appalachian Trail across Max Patch Bald in Haywood County, NC.   The Appalachian Trail extends 2,160 miles from Springer Mountain in North Georgia to Mount Katahdin in northern Maine. “Through Hiker” is the name given to those who hike the...

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Land Trusts

  Sunset over Hall Mountain, Macon County, NC. Photograph by Ralph Preston, courtesy of Mainspring Conservation Trust.   Some of Appalachia’s most special places are protected through land trusts. These non-profit organizations work with private landowners...

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Land

Appalachian Trail Through Hikers

Appalachian Trail Through Hikers

A hiker follows the Appalachian Trail across Max Patch Bald in Haywood County, NC.   The Appalachian Trail extends 2,160 miles from Springer Mountain in North Georgia to Mount Katahdin in northern Maine. “Through Hiker” is the name given to those who hike the...

read more

Land Trusts

  Sunset over Hall Mountain, Macon County, NC. Photograph by Ralph Preston, courtesy of Mainspring Conservation Trust.   Some of Appalachia’s most special places are protected through land trusts. These non-profit organizations work with private landowners...

read more

People

Appalachian Trail Through Hikers

Appalachian Trail Through Hikers

A hiker follows the Appalachian Trail across Max Patch Bald in Haywood County, NC.   The Appalachian Trail extends 2,160 miles from Springer Mountain in North Georgia to Mount Katahdin in northern Maine. “Through Hiker” is the name given to those who hike the...

read more
Lady Bird Johnson

Lady Bird Johnson

Lady Bird Johnson at the dedication of the new library wing at Western Carolina University   On March 14, 1967, Lady Bird Johnson, wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson, arrived in Jackson County, North Carolina. She had come to visit the Canada community...

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Institutions

Facejugs

Facejugs

Daniel D. Davies, native of Wales and member of the Noble Nine, Western Carolina University’s first Board of Trustees.   Face jugs, a form of folk art, are so-called because human faces are shaped on them. Because the faces usually have exaggerated humorous or...

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Cradle of Forestry

In the early 20th century, the Appalachian forest was subjected to devastating large-scale commercial exploitation for the first time. At the same time, pioneering conservationists were devising reforms for forest management.  In 1889, George Vanderbilt hired a young...

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