by mcncdmin | May 29, 2021 | History, People
Billy Joe McKinney was born Sept. 27, 1931 in Mitchell County, the son of James Nathan McKinney (1905-1983) and Vergie Mae Masters McKinney (1906-2993). His paternal grandparents were Moses and Laura Lewis McKinney; his mother’s parents were Hoke and Lockie Garland...
by mcncdmin | May 29, 2021 | Heritage, History, Icons
Ruth Lawrence, state supervisor of Negro Elementary Schools, reported, after a visit to Mitchell County in 1950, that she observed 7 boys and girls “learning their lessons” in a church at the foot of an unidentified mountain. She reported that this was the only black...
by mcncdmin | May 2, 2021 | Economics, History
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...
by mcncdmin | May 2, 2021 | Economics, History, Places
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...
by mcncdmin | Mar 19, 2021 | Economics, History
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...
by mcncdmin | Mar 9, 2021 | History, People
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...
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