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.

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. . .

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. . .

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

Happy Land

Happy Land

In 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”. . .

read more
Personal Names

Personal Names

People receive their names according to a number of social conventions. Often those conventions reflect regional differences. . .

read more

Economy

Frankie Silver

Frankie Silver

18-year-old Frankie Silver was hanged in Morganton, North Carolina in 1833, convicted of killing then dismembering her 19-year-old husband in a fit of jealous rage. Her mother and brother were also arrested but both were soon released.  Her family broke her out of...

read more
F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald was the famous author of The Great Gatsby and other novels chronicling fast life in the Jazz Age. Scott, an Army officer, met Zelda, a Montgomery, Alabama debutante, at a dance in 1918. . .

read more

Land

Lake Logan

Lake Logan

Thousands of years before the arrival of European settlers, Native Americans, particularly the Cherokees, inhabited the mountain region now known as Appalachia. Within the boundaries of present-day Haywood County, the Cherokee were scattered throughout several villages.

read more
Little Switzerland

Little Switzerland

The Grassy Mountain area of Mitchell and McDowell counties was long a traditional settlement of Scotch-Irish families. In the summer of 1909, Charlotte lawyer Heriot Clarkson discovered the Alpine-like setting and laid plans for a resort colony.

read more

People

Mary Cornwell, 1989

Mary Cornwell receives 1989 Mountain Heritage Award Mary Cornwell of Waynesville, creator of the North Carolina State Fair’s Village of Yesteryear and founder of the Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts, received the university’s Mountain Heritage Award September 30....

read more

Lloyd Arneach, 2011

Storyteller, Stecoah Center Receive Heritage Awards September 24, 2011 Western Carolina University Chancellor David O. Belcher presented 2011 Mountain Heritage Awards on Saturday (Sept. 24) to well-known Cherokee storyteller Lloyd Arneach as part of activities at the...

read more

Institutions

No Results Found

The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.