'Walk Through History' with the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center
Monthly tours explore the often unknown significance of local sites
The Valley Echo
March 23, 2022
The first of five walking tours that will be part of the 2022 Walk Through History series will take place in the Grovemont community of Swannanoa, April 13. The group will examine the site that was once home to Lake June, a popular destination in the early 20th century. Photo courtesy of the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center
Many local residents are aware of the historical significance of Swannanoa’s Grovemont community, developed in the 1920s by entrepreneur, hotelier, real estate magnate and philanthropist, E.W. Grove. Centered around Grovemont Park, which remains in use nearly a century later, the project was marketed as a model for future planned communities in the region, but stalled with the stock market crash of 1929, and the death of Grove only a couple of years prior.
While the unique layout of the Grovemont streets serve as one of many lasting reminders of America’s first planned communities, an unassuming lot just west of the park marks what was once among its most popular destinations. When the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center’s Walk Through History tours return at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, April 13, the 2022 series will begin with the obscured remains of Lake June.
The museum will host monthly walking tours through September, with a break in July, as each presentation examines familiar locations with fascinating stories. The groups will visit local destinations, which include a Native American archeological site, historic hospital and lakes currently in use, and others lost to time.
Lake June was a man-made lake that was once part of the Grovemont-On-Swannanoa development. Once a popular recreation spot, by mid-century the lake had drained away while the land gradually gave way to invasive species like kudzu, english ivy and multiflora rose. The tour, led by Swannanoa Community Council Board Chair Alan Dye, will unearth the ruins of a lakehouse and stone pillars that were once part of the development surrounding the lake, as well as a more mysterious site that has been dubbed “The Spring House,” which may be the last remnants of a homestead of unknown age.
As the tour moves through the 2.35-acre site, guides will point out the ways in which the land, the historical remains, plants and animals tell a story of change and resilience and the hidden history that often lies in plain sight.
Some tour sites, such as the Oteen Veterans Hospital, are easily recognizable landmarks with a storied past, while others, such as Lake June, and the Pisgah Village archaeological site at Warren Wilson College, are lesser-known spots waiting to have their stories told.
The final tour in the SVM’s 2022 Walk Through History series will focus on the south side of the Tabernacle Cemetery in Black Mountain, and will be led by Robert Goodson, Jamie Lautner and Joe Tyson. Photo courtesy of SVM
The Walk Through History tours are conducted by local experts, researchers and academics who intimately know the history of the individuals and communities who once traversed the Valley.
Tickets are $25 for museum members who use their member promo code, and $35 for general admission, and some fees apply. Museum members may purchase full series tickets at a $25 discount, for a total of $100, until Sunday, April 10.
Members can email the museum to purchase the full series. More details and registration information for the series can be found at swannanoavalleymuseum.org/walk-through-history-series, or by calling museum staff at 828-669-9566.
A complete list of tours scheduled for the 2022 SVM Walk Through History series can be found below:
● Lake June, with Alan Dye, chair of The Swannanoa Community Council: Wednesday, April 13, 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
● Lake Tomahawk, with SVM Executive Director LeAnne Johnson: Wednesday, May 11, 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
● Oteen Hospital and the Western Regional Archives, with Jeff Futch and Heather South: Wednesday, June 8, 10:30 a.m.- 12 p.m.
● The Historic Pisgah Village at Warren Wilson, with Dr. David Moore: Wednesday, Aug. 3, 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
● Tabernacle Cemetery- South Side, with Robert Goodson, Jamie Lautner and Joe Tyson: Wednesday, Sept. 14, 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.