- to honor the families of NC’s mountains by recounting our history;
- to build a museum so our children can learn about our past;
- for millions of visitors to appreciate our complex history;
- to appreciate how different cultures have lived together in our mountains;
- to build a museum focused on the region’s cultural and natural heritage for all people who love WNC!
Help us ensure the future of WNC’s past!
The Project
Our history begins with our people–indigenous peoples and new settlers, both free and enslaved, who not only brought old traditions to our region, but also created new traditions together to help them survive and thrive in our beautiful, biodiverse, and often treacherous mountains.
We urge the state to create a regional museum that represents the cultural and natural history of our mountains and keeps with the excellent facilities in central and eastern NC operated by NC Division of State History Museums.
Step One
The first step is creating a comprehensive plan to gather data and produce complete details for economic impact, feasibility, site location, size of structures, strategic planning, and preliminary architectural layout.
The Need
Eastern and central NC are well served with six regional museums. The only museum dedicated to the cultural and natural history of the NC mountains is the Mountain Gateway Museum in Old Fort, designated to provide historical information for 38 counties in WNC. Of the approximately $10 million currently budgeted for the state museum system about $325,000 (or .03%) supports the operation of WNC’s only state museum. One small museum is insufficient to preserve and promote the depth and breadth of our history here in NC’s mountains.
Our Team
We are a nonpartisan 501c3 nonprofit organized to promote and facilitate the development of a state-funded museum of WNC’s cultural and natural history.
- John Ager, Chair, farmer, former state representative
- Becky Anderson, Vice Chair, Board of Blue Ridge National Heritage Area
- Anne Chesky, Treasurer, Executive Director, Presbyterian Heritage Center
- Kelly Coffey, Senior Planner, High Country Council of Governments
- Dr. Joseph Fox, CEO of Fox Management Consulting Enterprises
- Barbara Groome, Secretary, member of the NC Historical Commission
- Dr. Sam McGuire, Associate Instructor of History, Western Carolina Univ.
- Dr. Dan Pierce, Professor of History at UNC-Asheville
- Nathan Ramsey, Executive Director, Land-of-Sky Regional Council
- Ray Rapp, retired Dean and Professor, Mars Hill University
- Stephanie Swepson-Twitty, CEO of Eagle Market St. Development Corp.
The proposed museum would:
- embody the region’s rich and diverse history, by serving as a repository of the region’s collective memory and bringing together artifacts and other materials related to the history and heritage of WNC to assist people in understanding how the past influences the present.
- help advance ALL our region’s museums, historic sites and cultural attractions by including a visitor-orientation center with a Heritage Tourism focus where visitors can explore the rich heritage and natural resources found across WNC.
- provide new and unique visitor experiences that enhance and promote existing attractions, provide an indoor activity during inclement weather and colder months, complement current regional marketing strategies, and encourage visitors to stay longer and return to the area.
- be equipped with first-class exhibits that are both entertaining and educational and are designed to be of interest to diverse audiences from within and outside the region. The museum will serve as a community resource center and much needed resource for students and teachers from regional K-12 schools giving educators new in-person learning opportunities.
- provide an opportunity for collaborations that will enhance the interest in and the viability of the museum. To meet wider community needs, it will be important for the museum to seek out opportunities for collaboration. (See graphic.)
Recent Highlights
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Kelly Coffey Joins Board
Coffey is active on various committees and boards in the region, including the Blue Ridge Conservancy Land Protection and Stewardship… Read More