December’s read is Bloodroot: Reflections on Time and Place by Appalachian Women Writers edited by Joyce Dyer. Kirkus reviews said, “A broad sampling of deeply impressive writings–essays, memoirs, poetry, letters, stories by ...

February's read is Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina, a 304-page guidebook containing more than 150 color photos, seven maps, and a wealth of information about the people and places ...

March's read is A Parchment of Leaves by Silas House. From the publisher, "It is the early 1900s in rural Kentucky, and young Saul Sullivan is heading up to Redbud Camp ...

Hikers on the 2nd segment of our Valley History Explorer Hiking Series will explore an old Cherokee pathway that hugs the banks of the Catawba River and ends at the base of ...

April's read is The Last Castle: The Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation's Largest Home by Denise Kiernan. From the publisher, "A New York Times bestseller with an "engaging ...

This event is at capacity. Email info@swannanoavalleymuseum.org to be added to the waitlist. You are also welcome to arrive the morning of and see if there are any no shows. ...

On Saturday, April 27th the Museum will host our 2nd annual spring tea at "Far Horizons," the Weatherford home in Blue Ridge Assembly. The tea will include sweet, savory, and ...

Filmmaker Rebecca Williams and Museum Director Anne Chesky Smith stand in front of a Beacon blanket. In honor of May Day, known around the world as International Workers' Day, we ...

May's read is Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver. From the publisher, "Flight Behavior is a brilliant and suspenseful novel set in present day Appalachia; a breathtaking parable of catastrophe and denial that ...

Our May film is "Artus Moser of Buckeye Cove" (1985). Joan Moser, daughter of Mr. Moser, will speak briefly about her father's work.  From the Appalshop Website: "Artus Moser, 'a ...

Join us on Monday, May 20 at 10:30am for a presentation by John Corkran, son of Black Mountain College professor David Corkran. John will share his experiences of growing up ...

June’s read is Bearwallow: A Personal History of a Mountain Homeland by Jeremy B. Jones. From the publisher, "Across the Blue Ridge Mountains stretches a world both charming and complicated. ...

Our June film selection from Appalshop is "Quilting Women" (1976). In addition to the film, museum representatives will also display quilts from SVM's collections.  From Appalshop's website: "Quilting Women traces ...

Join us on Monday, June 24 for a presentation by Presbyterian Heritage Center Director Ron Vinson on the World War II detention of Axis diplomats, businessmen, and their families at ...

July’s read is Carl Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories. Published in 1922, Rootabaga Stories is a children's book of interrelated short stories. The whimsical, sometimes melancholy stories, which often use nonsense language, were originally created ...

The Museum will be open late tonight for members and volunteers from the Black Mountain - Swannanoa Valley Chamber of Commerce to see our 2019 exhibits in style. Our current ...

Our July film selection from Appalshop is "Peace Stories" (1991).   From Appalshop: "In Peace Stories, three men from the South recount their war experiences and discuss it’s effects on their ...

Sarah Gudger's oral history from the 1930s Federal Writer's Project Slave Narratives is the only written, personal eye witness account of a person who was enslaved in Buncombe County. Katherine ...

Donate to the Museum’s fiscal year end Rummage Sale today! To donate items please contact Yolanda Smith at (828) 669-1679 or chicgrandma96@yahoo.com. Please do not bring donations to the museum. Gently-used household goods, kitchen items, collectibles, books, children’s ...

August’s read is The French Broad by Wilma Dykeman. From Kirkus Reviews, "An interesting and proud contribution to the Rivers of America, this is an account of a major waterway, ...

Riceville is named after Joseph Marion Rice, who settled in the valley in the 1780s. We'll carpool to the trailhead and along the way view several points of historic interest.  ...

Our last film of the summer season will be "Ready for Harvest: Clearcutting in the Southern Appalachians" (1993). Museum staff will chronicle the history of timbering in the Swannanoa Valley ...

Join us for a presentation by Montreat College history professor, Lisa Toland, on the philanthropic work of Black Mountain's Franklin S. Terry. Between 1920 and 1924, Franklin S. Terry built ...

September's read is Above the Waterfall by Ron Rash. From the publisher - "In this poetic and haunting tale set in contemporary Appalachia, New York Times bestselling author Ron Rash illuminates lives ...

This hike focuses on the history of Montreat, which was founded in 1897 by Rev. John Collins. The remnants of the Montreat hydroelectric facilities that were constructed in 1913 and in use until 1947 ...

In the Spring of 2019, teams of students in Dr. Ellen Holmes Pearson's Digital History class at UNC-Asheville worked together to create digital history projects that made slices of Western ...

Shop all things Beacon Blankets while visiting the Museum's exhibit about the textile mill in Swannanoa that was once the largest in the world! Jerry and Kathy Brownstein will be ...

October’s read is Real NASCAR by Daniel S. Pierce. From the publisher, "In this history of the stock car racing circuit known as NASCAR, Daniel S. Pierce offers a revealing new ...

​This year, ​our annual Historic Haunted House Tour will take guests back in time to discover the ghostly, spooky, and fun parts of downtown Black Mountain’s history. ​Participants will enjoy snacks and ...

​This year, our annual Historic Haunted House Tour will take guests back in time to discover the ghostly, spooky, and fun parts of downtown Black Mountain’s history. ​Participants will enjoy snacks, drinks, ...

Join Warren Wilson College professors Jeff Keith and Kevin Kehrberg as they present on the musical legacies extending from the late nineteenth century construction of the Swannanoa Tunnel.  Part song ...

November’s read is Divine Right's Trip by Gurney Norman. From the NY Times: Gurney Norman’s “Divine Right’s Trip” — a hippie, druggie road-trip-novel-cum-lifestyle-manifesto — first appeared “episodically” as a series of ...

After serving seven terms as Board Chair, Wendell Begley has stepped down from the board to, like those before him, pass on leadership of the board to the next generation. ...

The community is invited to the official unveiling of 10 new Swannanoa Valley Treasured Trees on Saturday, November 9.   At 10:00am, there will be a brief ceremony followed by ...

December's read is The Birds of Opulence by Crystal Wilkinson. From the publisher, "A lyrical exploration of love and loss, The Birds of Opulence centers on several generations of women in a bucolic ...

Tonight the Museum's hike leaders will meet at the Museum to go over the 2020 schedule and sign up as leaders for hikes on the 2020 schedule.  

Exploring the Community and Connections of Oteen The Western Regional Archives is located in a former Veteran’s Administration Hospital Nurses dormitory and part of the Charles George VA National Historic ...

The Swannanoa Valley Museum Winter Workshop series is a short-run series of workshops focused on the craft and music traditions of Southern Appalachia. For three consecutive Saturdays from March 7th ...

Come enjoy a workshop on Southern Appalachian ballads, or “story songs,” brought over from the British-Isles and passed through oral tradition in the Southern Mountains. Ballad singer Saro Lynch-Thomason will ...

  THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT. THE MUSEUM HAS A RUNNING WAIT LIST FOR THE CLASS. IF A MINIMUM OF 10 PEOPLE SIGN UP, THE CLASS WILL BE HELD ...

Canceled- The Swannanoa Valley Museum has canceled this event in cooperation of the social distancing policy mandated by Governor Roy Cooper. We are making every effort to ensure the safety ...

Join us Monday, April 20th for our webinar Book Club presentation and discussion on Whistling Woman by C.C. Tillery! Cyndi and Christy, the Tillery Sisters, will talk about researching their ...

In this hour-long webinar, Warren Wilson professor David Moore will discuss the historic encounter between Native peoples and Spanish Conquistadors at the town of Joara, near what is present-day Morganton ...

A webinar on the ecology, botany, and identification of spring wildflowers in Southern Appalachia! Hosted by Joe Standaert, local historian and member of the Western Carolina Botanical Club. Our virtual ...

Join us Monday, May 11th for our webinar Book Club discussion of Living Stories of the Cherokee, edited by Barbara Duncan. The museum will be hosting this event via Zoom ...

In this hour-long webinar, UNCA professor Trey Adcock will explore the history of the Snowbird Day School, a federally run school for Cherokee students in WNC, and discuss efforts to ...

In this presentation, folklorist Saro Lynch-Thomason will present and discuss the music produced by textile mill workers in the heyday of North Carolina’s textile industry. In the early decades of ...