The marching band and dance team had over 10,000 kids participate, 1977-2019, including a few who’ve started their own performance groups.
Residents share memories of local historic African American sites
To commemorate Black History Month, Xpress asked longtime Asheville residents to share their memories of the three historic African American sites.
Bill and Alice Hart Collection bolsters UNCA’s historical holdings
The expansive personal library has deepened the Harts’ connection to Western North Carolina, and will now do the same for scholars and the general public.
Asheville Archives: City confronts nursing issues, 1923
In 1923, a nursing shortage inspired plenty of discussion in multiple editions of The Asheville Citizen.
Early traffic woes spark updates to Asheville’s trolley system, 1923-24
As the popularity of automobiles grew in Western North Carolina, traffic issues soon followed. One of the earliest problems involved drivers parking their cars on the trolley lines. By 1923, residents and city officials alike began seeking answers to the conundrum.
Q&A: Travis Rountree on the history of the LGBTQ+ community in WNC
Since 2019, Travis Rountree, assistant professor of English at Western Carolina University, has worked to help archive Western North Carolina’s LGTBQ+ community.
Pack Square revitalization has been a constant for decades
For decades, officials have been looking for ways to revitalize historic Pack Square in the heart of downtown Asheville. With yet another reimagining under way, we take a look back at key some of the key changes that have transformed the city center since the 1960s.
Year in Review: Historians consider local historical events from 2022
Reparations, the Vance Monument and the future of Pack Square Plaza are on the minds of local historians, as 2022 comes to a close.
‘Barrier Breakers: The Pilgrimage’ spotlights historic Black churches
The Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina’s multimedia project includes Asheville’s St. Matthias.
Library’s special collections suffer from funding snag
Although an $870,000 trust fund exists to support the Buncombe County Public Libraries’ historical archives, manager Katherine Cutshall says she’s been locked out of accessing that money for years due to the county’s legal confusion.
Q&A: Mary Crowe on the community effort to rename Clingmans Dome
Mary Crowe shares her experiences in a community-based effort to restore Clingmans Dome to Kuwohi.
Conabeer Motor Building sports an unusual history
Built in 1928 and designed by the architectural firm of Beacham and LeGrand, the three-story space at 162 Coxe Ave. has been home to Well Played Board Game Café since summer 2022.
Council to consider historic designation of Walton Street Pool
The nearly 75-year-old facility was identified as a potential historic resource through the city’s African American Heritage Research Survey.
Asheville Archives: The literal and fictional death of a milliner, 1884
Despite her failing health, Cynthia Hill Wolfe owned and operated the Millinery and Notion Store during the final years of her life in Asheville. Though her death in 1884 did not inspire an outpouring of grief by members of her community, aspects of her life and personality were revived by Thomas Wolfe in his 1929 novel, Look Homeward, Angel.
Q&A: Robin Lake on her quest to uncover her late father’s military service records
Xpress sits down with Robin Lake to discuss her and her sister’s journey to uncovering her father’s military records and the subsequent honor their late father received.
Local author reexamines his youth in Asheville, 1960-80
Dan Lewis, an accomplished local musician, recently put down his guitar in order to pen his memoir, Growing Up In Asheville, North Carolina: How Music and Art Spurred a Renaissance In a Sleepy Southern Town.
Asheville Archives: Local residents adjust to wartime daylight savings, 1941-45
“Clocks all over Asheville, Western North Carolina, and the state will be turned up an hour at midnight tonight, or tomorrow morning, as this state goes on daylight saving time for the remainder of the summer, as a national defense measure,” The Asheville Citizen reported in its July 27, 1941, edition.
Around Town: Buncombe County Special Collections blog opens to community posts
The Buncombe County Special Collections blog opens up to community submissions. Plus, local multimedia artist puts on augmented reality show, author chronicles history of the Toe River Valley, and photographers express experiences of queerness through visual autobiographies.
Midwives and doulas, past and present, in WNC
On Monday, June 20, historian and educator Kelly Dunbar and doula Cindy McMillan will present African American Women’s Midwifery and Doula Work in Buncombe County: Then and Now.
New book explores the legacy of George Masa
Brent Martin’s book includes 75 of Masa’s photos alongside essays that contextualize the imagery through a modern-day lens.
The 400 Years Project celebrates Indigenous photographers
The collaborative project archives historical work by Indigenous photographers and helps contemporary Native people committed to the craft.