WNC History Café Series to open third season
Swannanoa Valley Museum will explore the history of the area
The Valley Echo
April 22, 2021
As the WNC History Café returns for its third year, April 26, the first installment of the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center’s series will focus on Julia Wolfe, mother of author Thomas Wolfe. Photo courtesy of SVM
A Swannanoa Valley Museum & History series exploring the people and communities who shaped the area will return for its third year at 10:30 a.m., Monday, April 26.
The WNC History Café, which meets virtually the fourth Monday of each month from April through October, will traverse over 200 years of history, from the colonization of the Swannanoa Valley in the early 1800s to the founding of Black Mountain College and mid-20th century urban renewal projects in Asheville.
The series is an opportunity for both natives and newcomers to the area to dig deeper into the historic legacy of local communities and institutions, according to SVM event coordinator Saro Lynch-Thomason.
“This series is a way to answer the questions that come up for a lot of people living in Asheville and the Swannanoa Valley. How old are the communities here? What did enslavement look like in Western North Carolina? What has segregation looked like in Asheville? Who has influenced our arts scene or our architecture?” Lynch-Thomason said.
The 2021 WNC History Café, July 26, will examine the 100-year history of the Black Mountain Fire House, which was once home to the town’s fire department and is now the site of the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center. Photo courtesy of SVM
Topics for this year’s Café series include the impact of Black Mountain College on the Swannanoa Valley, the Negro Motorist Green Book in WNC, the history of Riceville, digitizing Asheville’s African American history and more.
Of special significance to the museum is a lecture celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the Black Mountain firehouse- a building now home to the nonprofit museum. This July lecture will explore the history of Black Mountain’s fire department and its use of the building, located on the main thoroughfare of State Street.
The series first took place in 2019, with attendees filling the main exhibit hall of the museum to enjoy the Monday morning lectures. When COVID-19 struck in 2020, the museum transitioned its series to an online format using Zoom.
“Hosting our café events online created the unexpected benefit of allowing us to reach more people in the region who normally weren’t able to attend our lectures in person,” Lynch-Thomason said. “It helped us realize how many people wanted to engage in local history if they had the right accessibility.”
The museum plans to eventually return to in-person lectures while continuing to livestream or film the events in order to keep up engagement with a broader local audience.
The September lecture for the WNC History Cafe series from the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center will focus on the impact of Black Mountain College on the local community. Photo courtesy of SVM
The first Appalachian Experience lecture will be hosted by Kayla Seay, Assistant Site Director of the Thomas Wolfe Memorial.
Seay will discuss the life, personality and accomplishments of Julia Wolfe, a native of the Swannanoa Valley best known for being mother to North Carolina’s most famous author, Thomas Wolfe. Born just before the onset of the Civil War, Julia spent much of her life running “The Old Kentucky Home” boarding house in downtown Asheville, all the while pursuing a passion for buying and selling real estate.
Although at times criticized for prioritizing her business goals over her family’s needs, Thomas wrote his mother was “a very strong, resourceful, and courageous woman, who showed great character and determination in her struggle against the odds of life.” Those interested in attending can learn more at www.swannanoavalleymuseum.org/event/juliawolfe/.
All lectures in the series will take place on Zoom the fourth Monday, with the exception of the August lecture, set for Thursday, Aug. 26. Presenters will conduct a question and answer session with the audience following the each lecture.
Registration for individual presentations is $8 for museum members and $12 for nonmembers, and Zoom links will be provided upon registration. Recordings of each event will be made available on YouTube for registrants.
Registration and event details can be found at swannanoavalleymuseum.org/history-cafe. Any questions about the series can be directed to Saro Lynch-Thomason at svmvolunteer@gmail.com or by calling 828-669-9566.
WNC History Café series dates and topics are as follows:
● Monday, April 26th, 10:30am-11:45am- Julia Wolfe: Remarkable Woman of the Swannanoa Valley (online)
● Monday, May 24th, 10:30am-11:45am- Digitizing WNC’s African-American History (online)
● Monday, June 28th, 10:30am-11:45am- A History of Riceville (online)
● Monday, July 26th, 10:30am-11:45am- 100 Years of the Black Mountain Fire House (online)
● Monday, September 27th, 10:30am-11:45am: Black Mountain College in the Community (online)