Curator’s Corner: Throwback Junaluska Heritage Association
Here's a throwback to 2016, when we collaborated with our friends in Boone at the Junaluska Heritage Association and community members of the Junaluska neighborhood in Boone to bring about "A Town Within A Town: History of the Junaluska Community."
The Appalachian Mountains are the oldest in the world. Come here, and you'll find yourself in an area that is saturated with history. If you've traveled to the top of Howard's Knob to see the beautiful view across the town of Boone, you've been on Junaluska Road, and you may not have known that you passed by one of the oldest, most historic African American communities in western North Carolina: Junaluska, the "town within a town."
Much of Boone's African American history was not thoroughly recorded until after 1900, making it difficult to trace earlier lineages and events. We do know, however, that African Americans have lived in the North Carolina mountains since the 1700s, and many current Junaluska residents have ancestors that go back several generations (from the Horton's and Hagler's to the Folk's and Grimes').
While farming was a common way to earn a living, most slaves and free blacks assisted with non-agricultural work, from mercantile operations to real estate and mining. By 1849, Watauga County had 3,242 whites, 29 free blacks, and 129 slaves.
African Americans in Boone lived in a tight-knit area that is today known as Junaluska. Even after desegregation and amidst all the bustle and growth of the twenty-first century, Junaluska has remained a predominantly black community.
Today, the Junaluska Heritage Association works to preserve the cultural heritage and assist in community growth. You can learn more about the JHA by visiting their website at https://junaluskaheritage.org.
Image Credits: Installation views of "A Town Within A Town: History of the Junaluska Community," at the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum, Blowing Rock, NC. Photographs by Ashley Warren.