ATTENTION WALK-IN VISITORS:
Due to COVID-19, the MCHS Office is closed until further notice.
HOWEVER – we will still be answering email and phone calls. Please contact the office at mitchellnchistory@gmail.com or call (828) 688-4371 with your questions. We answer the phones during business hours and check e-mail regularly.
The Corona Times
MCHS Documents the
Corona Virus Pandemic
Inez McRae
Memorial Scholarship
Application Deadline
Now May 15th
Vendor Applications
Now Being Taken
SAVE THE DATE: October 17, 2020
The History & Heritage of
Mitchell County, NC
The Mitchell County Historical Society is committed to the preservation of the history, heritage, and culture of Mitchell County, North Carolina. We hope you enjoy your visit and stop by often for updated stories, photos, and videos.
Donate to MCHS
The Mitchell County Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which means your donations are tex-deductible under the limitations of tax law. Your contributions help us continue our work.
Please consider making an online donation by clicking the button below.
Penland Cemetery Project
MCHS is seeking help with an important project we have undertaken. The historic Penland Cemetery in Bakersville has suffered from years of neglect, with vandals overturning tombstones and the plot becoming grown-over with trees and underbrush. We have begun efforts to repair the road to the cemetery and restore it so visitors and researchers have easy access. Learn more about the Penland Cemetery project and how you can help..
The 2020 Christmas Ornament
The 2020 Mitchell County Historical Society Christmas Ornament honors the Good Will Free Library, constructed by Dr. Charles H. Wing who retired to Mitchell County after a distinguished academic career. He made it his mission to bring education to residents, providing vocational training and opening a library filled with many of his own books that he loaned throughout the county. It was during its time the largest public library in North Carolina.
MCHS Membership & Newsletter
Big changes are coming soon for members of the Mitchell County Historical Society in 2020
Discounts on merchandise purchased from the MCHS store are but one of the many goodies for members of MCHS. In fact, we have a preview of one of the new features available right now: our redesigned newsletter, the Quarterly Review. Download a copy (PDF file – opens with the free Adobe Reader software) and see what members will be receiving beginning in the new year. Plus, you will get advance notice (and input) on our 2020 presentation series, opportunities to volunteer to help preserve our history, and access to online resources to research topics and genealogy in our office located in the Historic Mitchell County Courthouse.
Not a member? Join today!
What’s New on the Site
Here are our latest posts about Mitchell County’s history. We welcome suggestions for topics to add. Please use our contact page to submit your ideas to us!
Places
Interesting stories
North Carolina Rhododendron Festival: Roots and Twigs
The beautiful Rhododendron flower is celebrated worldwide. These celebrations include festivals in Port Logan, England; Edinburgh, Scotland; Muroji, Japan; Taranaki, a bit south of New Plymouth, New Zealand: Florence, OR; Me, CA; Plymouth, MA; and tad closer to home,...
People
Significant Individuals
Mrs. Nellie Stewart Buchanan and the Stewart Family
The following story was written by the late Jack L. English in February 2009. It is used with permission from his family. My great grandmother was Nellie Stewart born May 11, 1877. She married Doss Buchanan. They had the first telephone in the county and the rising...
History
Happenings of note
An Early History of the Bakersville United Methodist Church
Critically important pieces of Mitchell County History are the stories of our churches. Some works of note such as Lloyd Bailey, A History of the Methodist Church in the Toe River Valley, from which the current story draws significantly and James Oliver Young, A...
Communities
Unique locales in Mitchell County
Mitchell County and the May Fresh of 1901
David Crockett described the flood of the Nolichucky in 1791 as “the second epistle to Noah’s fresh.” Most likely, since the Toe River feeds the Nolichucky and Cane Creek feeds the Toe River, the folks in what’s now Mitchell County also had to deal with high water....
Icons
These define Mitchell County
Helen McBee: Teacher, Philanthropist, and Woman of Some Mark
Helen McBee was born 1/10/1909 in Los Angeles, CA to John Calhoun and Margaret Chambers Thomas McBee. Her father served in Company B of the 16th Infantry and had spent most of the Philippines-American War in the islands where Helen’s brothers Paul Thomas (1905) and...
Economics
Making a living in Mitchell County
Got Milk? The Carnation Dairy Plant in Spruce Pine
When the Carnation Dairy receiving station opened in Spruce Pine on September 4, 1941, the Asheville Citizen reported that a large crowd was in attendance to hear speeches by state and corporate officials. An open house was held prior to the speechmaking, and “iced...
Upcoming Events
Check out the upcoming events from the Mitchell County Historical Society. Click or tap on a date that is highlighted for information on what’s happening.
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| April 26, 2020 | April 27, 2020 | April 28, 2020 | April 29, 2020 | April 30, 2020 | May 1, 2020 | May 2, 2020 |
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| May 31, 2020 | June 1, 2020 | June 2, 2020 | June 3, 2020 | June 4, 2020 | June 5, 2020 | June 6, 2020 |