


Black Mountain College
In 1933, Black Mountain College opened near Black Mountain, North Carolina. Dedicated to the arts, it marked a radical departure from most colleges of the time. It was an experiment in progressive education and communal work.

Craft Guild
In 1892, Frances Goodrich, a New England educated Presbyterian Missionary, moved to the Madison County community of Allanstand. Her goal: to improve the quality of life for mountain families. Her means was the promotion of traditional crafts to a growing American market for authentic handicrafts. . .

Highlander Folk School
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. . .

Mountain Dance and Folk Festival
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. . .