History
Tragedy at Berry Gap
The coming of the Clinchfield Railroad to the region in the early 1900s was a boon for the area and opened up the isolated mountain region to the outside world. The building of the railroad through the mountains was an arduous task and an engineering marvel that still...
J.J. Britt: Defender of Freedom
On 19 October 1899, J.J. Britt, presiding over the North Carolina Republican Party meeting in Statesville opposing the suffrage amendment, the Campaign for Freedom In North Carolina, said: “We have entered upon a period of unparalleled prosperity in every line of...
Our Earliest Highway: Bright’s Trace and the Yellow Mountain Road
Most of us journey up US Highway 19E to Avery County not realizing we’re traveling over millions of hoofprints, footprints, wagon tracks, and finally automobile tracks that have preceded us by hundreds if not thousands of years. An ancient path across the mountains...
The Bakersville Riot: The Greatest Battle In America since the Massacre of Little Big Horn
In 1893, an event known as the Bakersville Riot launched Bakersville across the front pages of newspapers worldwide.The events leading up to the riot occurred eleven years earlier. In 1882 Will, Dick, and Tom Whitson, three brothers of the Red Hill Community, murdered...
A Very Special Six Months in Buladean
For many years, churches in our community served dual roles as centers of religious and social activity on Sundays, and also during the week,as schools for students of all ages. The Presbyterian Church played a pivotal role in the early education of Mitchell County...
The Greenlee House Once Stood Proud on Grassy Creek
James Greenlee (1740-1813) of Morganton bought a 640-acre tract of land on Grassy Creek from John Carson, owner of large acreage in Burke County. The tract of land in what is now Mitchell County passed from James Greenlee, who also owned land in Burke, McDowell,...
Rock Creek Revolution: Forming a Mountain Church
The Rock Creek Church of the Lord Jesus Christ has a history that expands for over eighty years in the Fork Mountain community. The birth of the church occurred on January 1, 1936. On that date, the first members of the pre-established church began taking turns having...
November Rain: Remembering the Flood of 1977
On November 6, 1977, the mountains of North Carolina saw one of the worst natural disasters to hit the area in nearly sixty-one years. On Friday, the 4th, heavy rain began to fall and continued throughout the weekend. A flash flood watch went into effect on Saturday....
N.C. Women’s Suffrage: The Mitchell County Connections
North Carolina women began their efforts to be recognized as full participants in the political process in 1863 at the convention to write a constitution for the State with no positive results. In 1884, the National Woman Suffrage Association held a convention in...
The School Beneath the Roan
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Mitchell High School class of 2020 took part in a historic graduation at Lavonia Crest. As they rolled through their parade on their way to becoming alumni of MHS, the graduates may have noticed the old gray building on the...