History
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...
Toecane ~ The Commercial Center of Mitchell County
Indigenous people came through the area where Cane Creek meets the Toe River at least four thousand years ago on their way to their hunting camp up Cane Creek near Sandy Branch. In 1540, de Soto came close to the area on his way to his overnight camp at Webb then on...
Robert B. Phillips – Educational Giant and Farmer
Robert Blalock Phillips was born 10/30/1902 in the Snow Hill community of Mitchell County. He was the son of W.S. (Woodfin Squibb) Phillips (1874-1952) and Sophia Blalock Phillips (1876-1906). He had 4 older siblings, and his mother gave birth to another child prior...
Local Residents Enjoyed Spruce Pine Club House for Decades
In July of 1946, the Spruce Pine Chapter of the American Business Club dedicated the Spruce Pine Club House. According to the Asheville Citizen Times “The clubhouse with its entertainment facilities constitutes one of the most modern recreational centers in this...
The First Electric Lights for Bakersville and Toecane
Bill Masters is credited with bringing the first electric lights to Toecane and Bakersville from energy generated by his water wheel in a 3-story mill in Toecane. According to living relatives, Bill was a voracious reader with a table in his home piled with stacks of...