Discover the rich history and heritage of Mitchell County through our collection of articles, stories, and historical accounts.
The McBee Museum in Bakersville, home to the collections of the Mitchell County Historical Society, has been a fixture for over 130 years.
Bakersville native Billy Joe McKinney was killed during a routine training flight in 1953. This is his story.
Mitchell County has a mixed history when it comes to African-American children’s education. We invite you to learn more about those efforts.
Charles Lewis Radcliffe was born 10/30/1926 in Roanoke Rapids, Halifax County, NC. His parents were Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Radcliffe; his father worked as an electrician at Rosemary Manufacturing Company. Charles had a brother and 2 sisters. When Charles was 7 years old, he was playing tag, ran into the street, and was struck by […]
Dorothy Lee Anderson was born in Bakersville on November 15, 1929. She was the youngest daughter of Lee and Dora Masters Greene. She grew up in Bakersville and was a graduate of Bowman High School. In 1950 she married Milton A. Anderson Jr. According to an Asheville Citizen-Times article from July 2, 1950, their wedding […]
In the early 1900’s, Americans were gaining great mobility with the invention of the automobile. In 1906, North Carolina’s State Geological and Economic Director, Joseph Hyde Pratt, had a vision of bringing visitors to the North Carolina mountains to experience views “never to be forgotten”. Colonel Pratt was a leader in the Good Roads Movement […]
The legendary basketball coach announced his retirement on April 1, after 48 years of coaching. Roy Williams was born on August 1, 1950. His family lived in Spruce Pine at the time of his birth, however he was born in Marion Hospital as Spruce Pine would not establish a hospital until 1955. When Roy was […]
Early Medical Practice in Bakersville Over 40 physicians, 25 of whom served Bakersville and the northern end of the county, have been identified as having practiced in Mitchell County from 1867 to the beginning of three major health related institutions: the Bakersville Community Medical Clinic, the Spruce Pine Community Hospital, and the Toe River Health […]
Mary Elizabeth Whitson Byrd was born 11-27-1882 in Tipton Hill, and except for 2 years, she lived in that Mitchell County community her entire life. She was the daughter of David Clingman Whitson (1858-1948) and Nancy Levisa Tipton (1856-1941). Other children born to “Vicie” and D.C. Whitson were Garrett Monroe Whitson, Nelson Whitson, Clayton Whitson, […]
According to the Cherokee, a river is referred to as the Long Man with his head in the mountains and his feet in the sea. The North Toe River’s head is at Sugar Gap in the mountains of Avery County and the South Toe’s head is in the Black Mountains near the Blue Ridge Parkway. […]
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 garners attention today. The railroad reached Spruce […]
Mary Wright was born about 1836 according to her death certificate, but most census records show her as being a few years younger, born perhaps about 1839. Her parents, Solomon and Hannah Hughes Wright, were living in the Red Hill community of what was then Yancey County. Some accounts say that Solomon Wright and his […]
Waightstill Avery Anderson was a Mitchell County revenue officer. Anderson married Nora Bowman, the daughter of J.W. Bowman and Mary Garland. Anderson had the reputation as a man who “possessed many enemies because he was active in running down the moonshiners who infested the mountains as thick as grasshoppers in Kansas.” One instance recorded Anderson […]
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 human endeavor… But just as this tide is at its flow, the dominant political […]
In Appalachia, a Herb Doctor is a therapist who heals with herbs. Other labels for such practitioners, often but not always female, are “granny women,” “wise women,” or “conjurers.” One of these herb doctors from Buladean was Roxanna “Roxaner” Bowman Putman. Roxanne Bowman was born 12/8/1883 in the Buladean community of Mitchell County. She was the […]
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 was created by migrating deer, elk, and buffalo years before the first […]
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 their distillery partner, Kit Byrd. The Whitson brothers, along with, Byrd operated […]
In 1870, the Mitchell County census listed three people as miners by profession or occupation. The 1880 census lists 81 people as being associated with mines and mining. At the center of this dramatic economic development, the heart of which was to become the well-known mica boom, was Thomas Carlton Greene. Thomas was born 13 […]
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 students. The Spruce Pine Presbyterian Church was instrumental in establishing a […]
Robert George Young was born 6/19/1926 in Mitchell County, the son of Frank B. Young (1894-1986) and Isabella Wilson Young (1897-1982). His great- grandfather was Greenberry Young (1822-1898), an early resident of the Young Cove community in Mitchell County. Robert’s nickname was “Bob;” he had older siblings Grace Young Buckland and Warren Glenn “Bill” Young. […]
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, Yancey, and Buncombe Counties, as well as Tennessee, to his […]
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 prayer meetings at their houses. Over the next […]
Nina Silver was born 2 August 1920 to Fred Edwin and Edna Mae Jarrett Turbyfill in the Bandana Community of Mitchell County. She attended the Bandana Elementary School and graduated from Bowman High School, entered Lee’s McRae College, and graduated from the in 1942. In October of that year she joined the Army, taking a […]
Many Mitchell County natives have gone on to successful lives in far-away lands, but few are held in as great esteem in their adopted homes as Dr. Nelson Gales Blalock of Walla Walla, Washington. He was a skilled student and attended school in the Spruce Pine area, though the school’s location is unknown. Blalock married […]