To aid Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, a portion of all proceeds from books sold on our website in October will be donated to the American Red Cross.
In celebration of the vibrant history and culture of Appalachia, we've collected nearly 350 books on the history of affected communities that we hope you will consider adding to your collection and further supporting the victims of Helene.
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$19.99
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Beloved storyteller and chronicler of Henderson County heritage Louise Howe Bailey (1915, 2009) lives on through her edifying anecdotes.
This new collection of Bailey's ruminations maintains her work of preserving earlier Henderson County history with its abundant assortment of characters, landmarks and natural wonders. Discover why Hendersonville was called the ""dancingest"" town in America and how a troop of young rapscallions rubbed a bar of Octagon soap on the railroad tracks so trains couldn't climb from Melrose to Saluda. Bring your pickaxe up to the top of Glassy Mountain to unearth the buried treasure hidden during the Civil War, and experience the hummingbirds, katydids, Carolina wrens and bullfrogs of the North Carolina countryside as you meander through Bailey's magnetic prose.
Historic Inns of Asheville
9781467120128
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$24.99
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For two centuries, people have traveled through the mountains of North Carolina to the city of Asheville. Early visitors came on foot, driving animals to market down the Buncombe Turnpike. Later, stagecoaches brought wealthy planters out of the heat of low-country summers. The railway brought an influx of visitors from all over the country, including Northerners escaping cold winters and patients looking for health cures. The advent of the automobile made travel even more accessible, and people flocked to the mountain town for scenery and entertainment. Tourism became central to Asheville's growth and industry, with many of the towns' prominent citizens taking part in the hotel trade and building iconic hotels like Battery Park and Grove Park Inn that attracted famous guests from all over the world. From simple hotels to large grand inns, economical boardinghouses, and accessible motels, Historic Inns of Asheville showcases the city's abundant history of accommodation.
Historic Shallow Ford in Yadkin Valley
9781467152907
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$23.99
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Shallow Ford, the natural rock path across the Yadkin River, served as the gateway for pioneers to the western North Carolina frontier and as a stage for history.
The ford was the site of the Battle of Shallow Ford in the Revolutionary War and Stoneman's Raid during the Civil War. The eye of the needle for General Cornwallis in the Race to the Dan, it was also the silent witness to the Great Wagon Road and the trans-Appalachian migration led by local son Daniel Boone. Bypassed for the last hundred years, Shallow Ford faded from view but remains a landmark of another era.
Local historian Marcia D. Phillips recounts the history of a time when safe passage across the river provided the way to reach the American future that lay beyond.
Historic Tales of Cashiers, North Carolina
9781596294349
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$21.99
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In this charming account, North Carolina historian Jane Gibson Nardy recounts a treasure-trove of true stories from her beloved Blue Ridge community, Cashiers.
In addition to several generations of family memorabilia from her personal library, Nardy has also culled the area's public records--deeds, wills, marriage registers and even tombstones--all of which help to create a vivid picture of mountain life in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Some of the tales will amuse and some will sadden, but all will educate you about the wonderful heritage of Cashiers.
Historic Tales of Highlands
9781467149457
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Helen Hill Norris grew up in Horse Cove, perched high in the Southern Appalachians outside Highlands, North Carolina. For a decade starting in 1958, she wrote a weekly column for the Highlander called "Looking Backward." Drawing on her childhood and the tales her elders would tell around the fireplace, Norris conjures a bygone frontier world of covered wagons, gold miners, traveling peddlers and headstrong shopkeepers. Witness a harrowing Civil War encounter with the notorious Kirk's Raiders. Come along as a six-mule wagon carries a Steinway grand piano across the treacherous Chattooga River. Watch two uncles go to extremes to settle an argument over whether moles have teeth. Evocative, richly detailed and often laugh-out-loud funny, these stories reveal Norris to be one of the finest unsung storytellers of the American South.
Historic Tales of Sylva and Jackson County
9781467145756
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$21.99
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Before the coming of the four-lane, Jackson County was an insular community defined by geography-wedged in between the Great Smokies and Blue Ridge escarpment, bisected by thousands of miles of streams. The people who settled the area tended to be tough as pine knots but also tended to be salt-of-the-earth. This book offers tales of a time of transition in the area, when arguments over whether someone should opt to have an electric wire run to their home weren't far separated from quibbling over Internet service providers. Inside are tales from logging camps, fields, gardens and lonesome game trails and stories of challenges faced with the unique sense of mountain humor. Local columnist Jim Buchanan tells tales of bear hunts, cool springs and creatures great and small.
Historic Washington Park
9780738552958
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$24.99
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Washington Park and its neighborhood are steeped in history. When the Moravians settled in Salem in 1766, the hills to the south were used for hunting and, eventually, farming. In the late 1880s, when it became fashionable to build homes on elevated land, the bluffs became one of the most desirable residential areas to emerge in the early decades of Winston-Salem's boom. The plan for its development, built around the electric streetcar line, was designed by Jacob Lott Ludlow, who was also responsible for the West End plat. The Washington Park neighborhood became home to many of the area's wealthiest families, as well as the burgeoning middle class. Their lives, traditions, and habits helped shape the future of Winston-Salem. Today Washington Park is known for its grand mansions, nestled among the many bungalows, with superb views of downtown high-rises. The park, with its rolling hills and beautiful trails, provides a playground for the young and old alike. With the North Carolina School of the Arts located next door, the neighborhood is eclectic, elegant, and unique. This diversity has attracted a varied group of residents, all of whom share pride in their home, gardens, and noted creativity.
Historic West Salem
9780738543222
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$24.99
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West Salem is located in the southeast corner of Winston-Salem. It has the historical distinction of containing the land that made up the farms and industry of Colonial Salem. While East Salem, the congregational town and village, controlled business and religious interests, West Salem provided the heart, soul, and backbone of the area with the work of its blue-collar residents. The residents produced the food, mills, and industrial interests that allowed the town to function so successfully in its early years. Throughout West Salem's history, it always triumphed over such challenges as wars and the Great Depression. Images of America: Historic West Salem showcases the stories and photographs of the regular folks whose hard work and sacrifice fueled the greatness of our American leaders.
Historic Wilson in Vintage Postcards
9780738515014
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$24.99
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Wilson, North Carolina was formed in 1849 when the villages of Toisnot and Hickory Grove merged together. Named for Mexican War hero Gen. Louis D. Wilson, the new town came to be known for agriculture and education. The Wilson of today holds fast to its roots, offering antique shops laden with treasures from all walks of life and nationally recognized historic districts brimming with remarkable structures, significant styles of architecture, and numerous locations to taste the famed Eastern North Carolina style of barbecue. Historic Wilson in Vintage Postcards is a priceless collection of images that depict, among other views, the Wilson Depot from the late 1800s, local businesses, street scenes, churches, cotton and tobacco, and residential areas. The volume also affords readers postcards of Nash Street when it was considered "one of the most beautiful streets in America," tobacco scenes when Wilson was "the world's largest tobacco market," and the infamous 1911 trial of the Lewis West gang.
Iredell County, North Carolina:
9781596293380
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$21.99
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From the rough trails carved by the Catawba and the Cherokee to the "crossroads of the future," Iredell County has experienced a dramatic and poignant evolution, though its original innovative spirit and agricultural traditions persist to the present day. County native Sandra Douglas Campbell chronicles the area's rich history, drawing from its many renowned sites and from the extensive permanent collections of the Iredell Museums. Iredell County residents will welcome the volume's thorough treatment of their forebears' legacy, much of which can be seen and appreciated in their surroundings, and visitors to the county will appreciate the glimpse into an intriguing North Carolina history.
John F. Kennedy's North Carolina Campaign
9780738592947
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$24.99
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On September 17, 1960, Sen. John F. Kennedy, the Democratic nominee for president, flew to Greenville for a campaign rally on the campus of East Carolina College. Kennedy's ECC rally was part of a marathon daylong blitz that continued statewide through Greensboro and Charlotte. The campaign intended to go as far west as Asheville but due to inclement weather concluded with dinner at the governor's mansion in Raleigh and a rally at Reynolds Coliseum. With photographs as key primary sources, John F. Kennedy's North Carolina Campaign explores what happened that day, why it happened, and its significance in North Carolina's political history. While the book focuses on the East Carolina College rally, which was the first of the day, Kennedy's subsequent rallies ultimately bore statewide and national significance, making it impossible to examine only one stop without contextualizing it in relation to the remainder.
Johnston County Revisited
9781467123624
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$24.99
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Created in 1746, Johnston County is located along the fall line between North Carolina's Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions. Smithfield, on the Neuse River, has been the county seat since 1771. In 1856, Johnston County became part of the Fertile Crescent along the east-west North Carolina Railroad, which spawned the thriving towns of Princeton, Pine Level, Selma, and Clayton. In the 1880s, a north-south rail line, eventually known as the Atlantic Coastline, brought Kenly, Micro, Four Oaks, and Benson into existence. Johnston County boasts film legend Ava Gardner, bootleg kingpin Percy Flowers, Vicks VapoRub, and other local claims to fame. It is still a farming county, although recent growth from the Research Triangle region has brought marked changes to the rural landscape. In recent years, Wilson's Mills and Archer Lodge have gained corporate status. These historical images tell a story not only of the extraordinary people who have called Johnston County home but also of the ordinary, everyday individuals who have left their mark.
Kings Mountain
9780738597973
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$24.99
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A gold rush in the 1790s brought people to an area in North Carolina known as White Plains. With the promise of prosperity from the gold rush and an abundance of land suitable for farming, the area was soon settled by Scotch-Irish and German pioneers. As the railroad was being built, officials asked the local postmistress to name the new railroad station. She chose Kings Mountain, after the Revolutionary War battle fought eight miles south. Over time, Kings Mountain has flourished with industries, churches, education, and cultural institutions while the friendly, hardworking residents have found success in the mines and textile mills. Kings Mountain looks back over 100 years of the city's residents as they work, study, worship, play, and celebrate their heritage.
Kings Mountain and Cowpens
9781596298293
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$21.99
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From the rocky slopes of Kings Mountain to the plains of Hannah's Cowpens, the Carolina backcountry hosted two of the Revolutionary War's most critical battles
On October 7, 1780, the Battle of Kings Mountain utilized guerilla techniques - American Over Mountain Men wearing buckskin and hunting shirts and armed with hunting rifles attacked Loyalist troops from behind trees, resulting in an overwhelming Patriot victory. In January of the next year, the Battle of Cowpens saw a different strategy but a similar outcome: with brilliant military precision, Continental Regulars, dragoons, and Patriot militia executed the war's only successful double envelopment maneuver to defeat the British. Using firsthand accounts and careful analysis of the best classic and modern scholarship on the subject, historian Robert Brown demonstrates how the combination of both battles facilitated the downfall of General Charles Cornwallis and led to the Patriot victory in America.
Kirk's Civil War Raids Along the Blue Ridge
9781625858467
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$21.99
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In the Southern Appalachian Mountains, no character was more loved or despised than George W. Kirk.
This inured Union officer led a group of deserters on numerous raids between Tennessee and North Carolina in 1863, terrorizing Confederate soldiers and civilians alike. At Camp Vance in Morganton, Kirk's mounted raiders showcased guerrilla warfare penetrating deep within Confederate territory. As Home Guards struggled to keep Western North Carolina communities safe, Kirk's men brought fear and violence throughout the region for their ability to strike and create havoc without warning. Civil War historian Michael C. Hardy examines the infamous history of George W. Kirk and the Civil War along the Blue Ridge.
Lake Junaluska
9780738585659
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Religion spread swiftly across our new nation with the help of camp meetings where families, taking a break from farm labor, gathered for inspiration and socializing. The late-19th-century religious experience expanded the concept by adding educational and recreational opportunities. Permanent campgrounds appeared, the most renowned being Chautauqua in New York. In 1913, Southern Methodists created their own institution with the first conference at Lake Junaluska in western North Carolina. Capitalizing on the beauty of the Appalachian Mountains, Lake Junaluska Assembly, a conference center of the United Methodist Church, became an attraction for inspiration, instruction, relaxation, and recreation. Renowned preachers such as Billy Graham and speakers like Eleanor Roosevelt have filled its iconic round auditorium. Approximately 200,000 annual visitors join a residential community to make Lake Junaluska a destination in its own right amid the attractions of nearby Asheville, Waynesville, Blue Ridge Parkway, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Lake Junaluska
9780738585994
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$7.99
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Lake Junaluska boasts a rich history.
Lake Lure
9780738598437
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$24.99
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Lake Lure, North Carolina, is known as the ""Gem of the Carolinas,"" surrounded by majestic mountain cliffs and fed by the idyllic Rocky Broad River.
Twenty-five years after Dr. Lucius Morse and his brothers Hiram and Asahil purchased Chimney Rock in 1902, their dream of creating Lake Lure and the town of Lake Lure was realized. A popular tourist destination, Lake Lure hosted famous figures through the years, including Franklin D. Roosevelt and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Also significant in film history, it provided the backdrop for Dirty Dancing and Last of the Mohicans. Lake Lure showcases the rich community, tourism, and recreational history of this mountain community.
Legendary Hunters of the Southern Highlands:
9781596297036
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$21.99
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From the heyday of the Cherokee Nation and on through the twentieth century, the Great Smoky Mountains have nurtured some of the most celebrated hunters in American history. Predicting changes in weather and almost telepathically sensing animal behavior, these outdoorsmen were linked inextricably with the land that sustained them. Local author Bob Plott lovingly recalls the tales- rife with characters like Honest John, the bear whose habit of killing only enough livestock to eat at one sitting granted him a reputation at once chivalrous and menacing, and 'Little George' Plott, a legendary marksman turned World War II hero- that linger among the region's hardwood forests and misty foothills. Rediscover an era of self-sufficient mountain living, when folks labored in logging camps, brewed moonshine, hunted for survival and fought for what they believed in.
Legendary Locals of Mooresville
9781467100038
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$24.99
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The rumble of trains carrying people, cotton, and freight to and from Moore's Siding was the song of a vibrant community. People worked to build homes, schools, and churches as early as 1760. They got a town, Mooresville, in the bargain. James Elbert Sherrill, George C. Goodman, and the Turner brothers supported the growing economy. Love of community led Winnie Hooper and Elizabeth Matheson to champion recreation. Shaw Brown saw people in need and worked to establish a Christian mission. Mayor Joe Knox and Rep. Robert Brawley embraced change and led a mill town toward a technological future. Success at home led to success far away for artist Selma Burke, Mooresville Moors pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm, New York Parties author Punky Brawley, and Reynolds Tobacco president S. Clay Williams.
Legends, Secrets and Mysteries of Asheville
9781467135917
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$21.99
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Beyond the beaten path of local landmarks, residents and tourists can find curious secrets, lost mysteries and fascinating legends.
The famed Hope Diamond once found itself, and its mysterious curse, buried in an Asheville girl's sandbox. Elvis once handed a cherished guitar to a local man at an Asheville concert, and he held on to it for forty years. At a flea market, an Asheville attorney paid a few bucks for an old tintype likely of Billy the Kid, and it may be worth millions. Native author Marla Hardee Milling recounts odd, but true, stories hiding behind Asheville's picturesque beauty.
Lewisville
9780738566290
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$24.99
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In 1859, Lewis Case Laugenour invested his wealth, which he acquired during the California Gold Rush, into establishing a town called Lewisville in Forsyth County. In the late 1700s, the surrounding area was visited by frontiersmen, Colonial soldiers, and pioneers journeying down the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road. Travelers often stopped at Shallow Ford on the Yadkin River to camp until the river was safe to cross with wagons, horses, and livestock on their way to a new home, to war, or to trade in nearby Moravian settlements. Over time, this area of rolling hills, rich bottomland, streams, and abundant wildlife was settled. By the late 1800s, Lewisville became a bustling stopover for travelers who utilized campgrounds, the tavern, and the trading post to rest for the journey on to Winston and Salem. Today, in the emerging Yadkin Valley wine region, Lewisville is a community-oriented village surrounding a town square with plentiful sidewalks, parks, churches, small businesses, schools, and a public library.
Lexington
9780738542607
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Lexington, North Carolina, heralded as the "Barbecue Capital of the World," is located in the heart of the Triad, just 30 miles from High Point, Winston-Salem, and Greensboro. Along with barbecue, the town enjoys a rich history in the furniture business and textile industry. Legend claims that the European families who made Lexington their home in the early 1700s named it after a battle of the American Revolution. On April 19, 1775, the brave soldiers of Lexington, Massachusetts, armed themselves and courageously fought the British, losing seven American lives. News of their courage reached North Carolina, and it was decided to name the town in honor of the place where one of the first known British resistances occurred.
Linville Gorge Wilderness Area
9780738568515
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$24.99
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Famed as "the Grand Canyon of the East," the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area is a rugged tract of more than 12,000 acres located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. Native Americans once referred to the Linville River as Eeseeoh, or "River of Cliffs," a name that accurately describes the river as it twists its way through the gorge under sheer rock faces and distinctive craggy peaks. Since the Native American ambush of the William Linville hunting party in 1766, the gorge has continued to make headlines with everything from movie filming to fatal accidents and forest fires. Today visitors flock to the natural attraction and enjoy a seemingly pristine, unexplored forest canyon. But the Linville Gorge has much more to offer than just breathtaking scenery. Its rich history has been documented by photographers since the 1870s, and it is through these old photographs that adventure seekers of the past are linked with nature enthusiasts of the present.
Little Switzerland
9780738586151
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$24.99
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This is the place. As Heriot Clarkson sat on his mule atop Grassy Mountain in June 1909, he looked out over a sea of mountains extending to the horizon in every direction, his dreams before him. Here was the spot for a retreat from the summer heat of the piedmont and coastal plain where simple living and nature's beauty would combine to create an idyllic community. But the story doesn't begin there. Hardy Scotch-Irish settlers moved into these same mountains some two centuries earlier, admiring the same views and putting down permanent roots. Images of America: Little Switzerland documents the unique interactions between native and summer residents in working together to build this remarkable community. The social, economic, historical, and spiritual fabric that makes Little Switzerland unique among resort communities is presented, along with the personalities and places that provide its character.
Long-Ago Stories of the Eastern Cherokee
9781596290310
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$17.99
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Tragically, relatively little of this flourishing nation and its rich culture has survived. Its stories, however, live on today.
In this priceless and engaging collection, native Cherokee and professional storyteller Lloyd Arneach recounts tales such as how the bear lost his long bushy tail and how the first strawberry came to be.
Lost Attractions of the Smoky Mountains
9781467144124
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$23.99
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The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is among the most visited national parks in the country, and countless attractions around its borders have tried for decades to siphon some of those valuable tourist dollars. From ersatz western towns and concrete dinosaurs to misplaced Florida-type attractions and celebrity theaters, you will find them all preserved in this book. Author Tim Hollis showcases those businesses that no longer exist, from Hill-Billy Village in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg's theme parks on the Tennessee side to the motels of Cherokee and Ghost Town in the Sky on the North Carolina side.
Lost Restaurants of Asheville
9781467142311
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$23.99
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$24.99
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Although the City of Marion's motto, "Where Main Street Meets the Mountains," was chosen to describe the present-day city, it is also an apt description of Marion's past. Founded in 1844 at a rugged crossroads at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Marion was hewn out of the land by the hard work and determination of its citizens. Mountaineer mingled with businessman, and a unique community took shape, colored across time by triumph, tragedy, and progress. In Marion, the community's rich history is brought to life in over 200 vintage images. Drawn from small private collections as well as from public archives, many of these photographs are published for the first time. Historical images show Marion's early days when horse and wagon struggled to navigate the muddy ruts of Main Street, the aftermath of the disastrous fire of 1894, gatherings and public events at the dawn of the 20th century, the beginnings of industry, and glimpses of everyday life. The city's three mill villages are also featured: Clinchfield, Cross Mill, and East Marion.
McDowell County, North Carolina 1843-1943
9780738514765
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$24.99
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McDowell County is unique culturally and topographically. Formed by legislative action in 1842 from Burke and Rutherford Counties, McDowell's northern and western borders trace the towering heights and rugged terrain of the Blue Ridge, while its eastern and southern borders incorporate broad river bottoms and lower hills of the Piedmont. Showcasing more than 220 images, this volume is a mosaic of McDowell County's first century and covers the towns of Marion and Old Fort, as well as smaller communities like Brackettown, Crooked Creek, Dyartsville, Glenwood, Greenlee, Little Switzerland, Montford's Cove, Nebo, and North Cove. Views of waterfalls on the Catawba River and Tom's Creek, along with those of the eerie limestone formations of Linville Caverns, attest to nature's bounty. Aging photographs, many of which are published for the first time, draw attention to families, churches, schools, memorable personalities, and historic sites. This collection also brings to life the county's defining events: the arduous construction of two railways through the mountains, the destruction of Marion by fire in 1894, the disastrous flood of 1916, the textile strike of 1929, and the patriotic response by the citizenry to national crises. Photographs of selected homes, commercial sites, churches, and schools testify to the diverse architectural style and levels of economic and social well-being found in the county.
Mint Hill
9780738518152
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$24.99
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Like the Native Americans who once camped here, Mint Hill's early settlers were attracted to the Rocky River area by the many creeks and streams that cross the land. Rich soil, a mild climate, and the availability of large tracts of land made this an ideal place to live. The area grew as an agricultural community where early farmers had to rely on their industrious and self-sufficient natures to supply their basic needs. As the population increased, blacksmiths, tanners, and wheelwrights became common. With the invention of the cotton gin and the convenience of the Allen railroad station, farmers in the area found cotton to be a rewarding crop. The years have brought many changes to this once-rural farming area. While opening its arms to diversity and growth, Mint Hill continues to retain its country charm.
Mitchell County
9780738567112
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$24.99
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Nestled in the mountains of western North Carolina, Mitchell County was created in 1861 and was named for Dr. Elisha Mitchell, a University of North Carolina professor who died in 1857 while remeasuring the mountain that now bears his name. Although the appropriately named mountain lies in adjacent Yancey County, Mitchell County has no shortage of claims to fame; it is well known for the Clinchfield Railroad, the Carolina Theater, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Penland School, and the infamous Frankie and Charlie Silver murder case. There is also much more to Mitchell County than its best-known sites and figures. Mica and feldspar mining, the orchard at Altapass, churches, the Wing Academy, Bakersville, and Spruce Pine all have their own unique histories. Within the pages of this book are images of the famous and the ordinary, the routine and the remarkable, the lasting and the transitory. The photographs come from all over Mitchell County and celebrate the area's unique Appalachian culture.