Asheville History
2 months ago
Tombstone Tales: Edward Lindsay Shuford, Asheville’s beloved veterinarian

At Calvary Episcopal Churchyard in Fletcher, the grave of Dr. Edward Lindsay Shuford, DVM, bears the words “He loved all creatures great and small,” honoring a life devoted to the care of animals.

Asheville History
2 months ago
Strangeville: The murder, the ballad and the ghost of Tom Dula

Explore the true story behind North Carolina’s infamous Tom Dula murder case, the folk ballad it inspired, and the lingering ghostly legend that still haunts the backroads of Wilkes County.

Asheville History
2 months ago
Tombstone Tales: Carrie Cone Long, Jewish community leader

Carrie Cone Long, sister of textile magnates Moses and Ceasar Cone, became a leader in Asheville’s Jewish community through her work with Beth Ha-Tephila and the North Carolina Association of Jewish Women.

Asheville History
2 months ago
Tombstone Tales: The life and death of Ben Addison, Eagle Street merchant

Ben Addison, a respected Black merchant on Asheville’s historic Eagle Street, was gunned down in 1906 during a desperado’s rampage that also claimed two police officers. His grave at Riverside Cemetery bears a haunting inscription: “Killed by a Desperado.”

Asheville History
2 months ago
13 haunted places and ghost stories in Asheville & Western North Carolina

Step into the haunted side of the mountains with 13 ghost stories, legends, and mysteries from Asheville and Western North Carolina. From eerie cemetery tales to mountain folklore that refuses to fade, discover the chilling places and tales that still haunt the region today.

Asheville History
3 months ago
Strangeville: Why Asheville’s Chicken Alley is one of the city’s strangest ghost sites

Chicken Alley in downtown Asheville is known for ghost stories, an eerie mural, and the legend of a murdered doctor no one can prove ever existed.

Music
3 months ago
Blue Ridge blues: The musical history of the Black Mountain Blues Festival

Western North Carolina is just a week away from the 2nd annual Black Mountain Blues Festival, a celebration of storytelling, blues music and Appalachian history. In addition to blues music, the festival will spotlight the history of the tradition, which has long ties to Black Mountain.

Asheville History
3 months ago
Tombstone Tales: The gentlewoman and philosopher of Hendersonville

Henrietta “Hennie” Whitted Price (1864–1923) was a Hendersonville native, poet, and composer whose life took her from the Blue Ridge to Chicago before returning to rest in Oakdale Cemetery.

Asheville History
3 months ago
Strangeville: The Cherokee legend of U’lag‘û, the great yellow-jacket

Long before the Nantahala was a playground for rafters, the Cherokee told of U’lag‘û — a giant yellow-jacket said to be as large as a house. The legend explains the origin of yellow-jackets and marks the land with names still known around Franklin and the Nantahala Gorge.

Asheville History
3 months ago
Tombstone Tales: Before the Science Guy, there was Bill Nye the Humorist

Before there was “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” another Bill Nye made America laugh. Edgar Wilson Nye, a 19th-century humorist and journalist, found his final resting place in Fletcher. His memorial and grave at Calvary Episcopal Churchyard still draw visitors curious about the man once known as “Bill Nye the Humorist.”