On May 25, 1919, the Berry Municipal Band performed its first live set in Asheville. The ensemble played a series of free outdoor shows throughout the summer in an effort to expand the city’s appeal to tourists.
News in brief: 2019 living wage, Henderson County school history program
Local nonprofit Just Economics increased its living wage rates for 2019. For those employees not offered employer-sponsored health insurance benefits, the new hourly rate is $13.65; for those offered health insurance, the new hourly rate is $12.15.
Asheville Archives: The John Robinson Circus comes to town, 1891
On Oct. 25, 1891, the John Robinson Circus arrived to Asheville, wowing citizens with its trapeze artists, menagerie and musical acts.
Asheville Archives: Top views for 2018
See what historical events captured readers’ attention throughout 2018.
Year in review: Evolving race relations in Asheville
Asheville has gotten whiter over the past two decades. The proportion of African-American residents in the city dropped from 17.6 percent in 2000 to 12.3 percent in 2016, a change city officials attribute to a combination of white influx and black exodus. For the people of color who remained in Asheville, 2018 proved a mixed bag.
Past meets present: Asheville discusses Confederate monuments, lynchings and Native American history
The history lessons and talks of 2018.
Asheville Archives: Sermons preached in Asheville, 1938-42
In the late 1930s and early 1940s, The Asheville Citizen featured a weekly Monday column titled “Excerpts From Sermons Preached Here Sunday.”
Historian Travis Sutton Byrd’s latest book explores 1930s labor strife
In his latest work, ‘Tangled: Organizing the Southern Textile Industry, 1930-1934,’ historian Travis Sutton Byrd explores the region’s labor movements that would help lead to a nationwide textile worker strike.
Asheville Archives: The city’s inaugural Rhododendron Festival attracts thousands
In 1928, city officials, business owners and residents came together to launch the inaugural Rhododendron Festival.
Asheville Archives: The city celebrates its specialty shops, 1890
Between 1880 and 1890, Asheville’s population grew by over 350 percent. With an influx of new blood came plenty of new businesses as well.
Asheville Archives: The former 1892 city hall building comes down
In March 1926, demolition on the 1892 city hall building began.
Asheville Archives: An ode to the Red Cross nurses, 1918
“When all the wounds of war are healed/And hate’s grim sorrows fade/With pulsing heart we’ll read the part/The Red Cross Nurses played,” reads a poem in the Nov. 23, 1918 publication of The Oteen.
Asheville Archives: Patriotic residents forego turkey on Thanksgiving, 1918
World War I ended on Nov. 11, 1918. That Thanksgiving some local residents celebrated with nontraditional dishes.
Asheville Archives: The Asheville-Hendersonville Airport finally arrives, 1928
Broken promises and false starts plagued the city’s early hopes of developing an airport.
Asheville Archives: Residents debate city roosters, 1912-23
In 1912, the owner of a raucous rooster was taken to court by his very tired neighbors.
Asheville Archives: The 1918 influenza changes social norms
In October 1918, in the midst of a worldwide influenza pandemic, Asheville residents opted to wear medical masks as opposed to Halloween costumes.
Asheville Archives: Construction begins on U.S.A. General Hospital No. 19
In March 1918, construction began on a new hospital in Asheville. The facility was specifically built for World War I soldiers infected with tuberculosis.
Charles George VA Medical Center celebrates its centennial
On Friday, Oct. 26, the Charles George VA will celebrate its centennial at its grand reopening of building No. 9, known today as the Hope and Recovery Center.
Annual conference will spotlight regional African-American history
The African Americans in Western North Carolina and Southern Appalachia Conference will take place Oct. 18-20 in Asheville. The theme this year is “Making the invisible visible.”
Asheville Archives: The great jewelry heist of 1912
In the summer of 1912, self-proclaimed clairvoyant Mme. Nina Lester arrived in Asheville for a brief stint. By late July she would flee the city with hundreds of dollars worth of stolen jewelry.
Asheville Archives: Flames finish off the original Battery Park Hotel, 1923
In the fall of 1923, a demolition crew began tearing down the original Battery Park. Later that year, flames would consume parts of the remaining property.