History Café lectures return for third year
Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center explores local history and culture with monthly series
The Valley Echo
March 4, 2022
Josef Albers, right, interacts with students at Black Mountain College, which will be among the topics covered in the March 21 return of the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center’s History Café. Photo courtesy of Western Regional Archives of WNCDCR
Who are the remarkable people who shaped the Swannanoa Valley we know today?
That answer will be one of many explored by the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center’s History Café which returns for its third year at 6 p.m., Monday, March 21.
The lecture series focuses on the unique culture, conflicts and communities that have contributed to the Valley’s history, answering questions including: Who were the remarkable people who shaped the valley? What did Native and colonial life look like here, and how did industries like tourism develop? When catastrophe has struck, how have the communities here banded together to continue on?
This year, local experts and researchers will examine these questions with monthly lectures on topics ranging from the history of early Cherokee towns, to African-American doula and midwifery work in Buncombe County, to the history of great floods in the Valley.
The Swannanoa Valley, which stretches nearly 20 miles, east to west, is shaped in part by the Swannanoa River, which flows through the valley to join the French Broad River at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. In the last few centuries, the valley’s beauty has attracted a variety of communities and institutions, from faith-based conference centers to sanitariums and hospitals, to grand hotels and noted colleges.
The first History Café presentation will take a closer look at what perhaps has been the Valley’s most eclectic and experimental community: Black Mountain College. Heather South, lead archivist for the Western Regional Archives, a branch of the State Archives of N.C., will share photographs from the collection that highlight the college’s short but influential history, and discuss the ongoing fascination with the college today.
Though only in existence from 1933-1957, Black Mountain College had a deep impact on the humanities. Many of the students and instructors who spent time at the school became highly influential artists in the latter half of the 20th century, including Willem and Elaine de Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, Josef and Anni Albers, Jacob Lawrence, Ruth Asawa, Buckminster Fuller and more.
Subsequent lectures will include an April 11 presentation on the historic 15th century Cherokee town on the banks of the Swannanoa, provided by Dr. David Moore of Warren-Wilson College, and a May 23 exploration of Early Drovers’ Roads and Stagecoach Roads in Western North Carolina with Peter Koch of the Mountain Heritage Center.
Swannanoa Valley History Café Series lectures take place Monday evenings from 6:00-7:15 p.m., March through November, in the Education Room of the Black Mountain Public Library (105 N. Dougherty Street).
Each presentation ends with a Q&A discussion bringing the topic matter into context with contemporary issues. These lectures are free for members of the Swannanoa Valley Museum, who can use a code provided by the museum to receive their discount.
General admission is $5 (some fees apply). All attendees are asked to register ahead of time on the museum’s website.
Attendees are highly encouraged to wear masks over the nose and mouth while in the Education Room. If circumstances do not allow for meeting in person, the event will be moved to an online format and registrants will receive a Zoom link.
For a complete listing of 2022 History Café presentations, visit history.swannanoavalleymuseum.org/historycafe.