Buried deep within the hills and hollers of North Carolina's majestic Appalachian Mountains are stories, traditions and a proud cultural heritage unlike any other. Hidden History of the Western North Carolina Mountains reveals the people, customs and folklore of the region, exploring bygone traditions, fascinating real-life characters and tales so tall they rival the peaks that shape the landscape. What was life like for workers in the gristmills? Was Abraham Lincoln actually born in Bostic in Rutherford County? Who was Amos Owens, and why was he known as the "Cherry Bounce King"? Journey through the mountains with North Carolinian Alice Sink as she investigates these and other questions, unveiling the history of life in western North Carolina that traditional accounts have overlooked.

The ancient hills of Western North Carolina have cradled a culture that encompasses Cherokee heritage, pioneer legacies and urban visions. For those who visit and those who make the region their home, there is something captivating about the mountains of Western North Carolina. We meet Lillian Exum Clement, the first female legislator in the South; and Nina Simone, the African American singing prodigy from Tryon. We get to view controversial elements of the Civil War in Western North Carolina from multiple points of view and draw our own conclusions. We comprehend the variety of people who have created the region as it exists now--alive with traditions, contradictions and promise. Instead of merely reciting historical fact, and with a warm, accessible style, Asheville Citizen Times writer Rob Neufeld helps readers understand the history of the mountains by allowing us to walk in the shoes of the Native Americans, farmers, soldiers and others who preceded us. More than an enlightening read, this book illuminates the progression of frontier life that we have come to know as Western North Carolina history. By linking the lives and experiences of the land's various inhabitants, Neufeld captures the spirit of Appalachia within this volume.

Located just seconds from the winding Tennessee border, the remote mountain settlement of Lost Cove, North Carolina was once described as where the "moonshiner frolics unmolested." Today, Lost Cove is a ghost town accessible mainly to hikers hoping to catch a glimpse of the desolate settlement. In this first historically comprehensive book on Lost Cove, the author paints a portrait of an isolated yet thriving settlement that survived for almost one hundred years. From its founding before the Civil War to the town's ultimate decline, Lost Cove's history is an in-depth account of family life and kinship in isolation. The author explores historically relevant interviews and genealogical findings from railroad documents, old newspaper articles, church records and deeds. Also included are oral histories that provide authentic, conversational accounts from families in the cove.

The mountains of western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina are a hikers paradise--rich with human history and home to some of the greatest biological diversity in the world. This guide includes 57 day hikes ranging in length from 2 to 13 miles, with destinations including the waterfalls of DuPont State forest; the Blue Ridge Parkway's beautiful Craggy Gardens; the ruins of George Vanderbilt's palatial Buck Spring hunting lodge on Mt. Pisgah; the summit of Cold Mountain, and more. Each entry covers everything you need to know to enjoy your hike: maps and detailed directions, mileage, elevation gain, trail highlights, fees and hiking regulations, films and novels set in each location, and more.

Before it became home to generations of skiers, Gunstock Mountain began as a Works Progress Administration recreation project during the Great Depression that transformed the small farming community of Gilford into one of central New Hampshire's most renowned skiing resorts. Join local ski historian Carol Anderson as she takes on the triumphs and defeats of four high-altitude jumps and the history of the snowy trails of the Gunstock Mountain Resort. Approaching its seventy-fifth anniversary, Gunstock has molded the careers of champion skiers and Olympians, including two-time silver medalist Penny Pitou, ski icon T. Gary Allen and the ski jumping sensation Torger Tokle. Anderson pays tribute to those individuals who have worked, skied or played a part in this iconic mountain of the Lakes Region.

Mining in Western North Carolina played an important economic role in the state's history, but little has been recorded about the industry. The history books are filled with articles about frontier life, trade with Native Americans, railroad and road construction, the Civil War, and large mining operations, but history has taken individual mines for granted, and most records that still exist are found in land records. This book tells the story of how North Carolina miners and mines have arrived at where they are today.

Nineteen-year-old Cowney Sequoyah yearns to escape his hometown of Cherokee, North Carolina, in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. When a summer job at Asheville's luxurious Grove Park Inn and Resort brings him one step closer to escaping the hills that both cradle and suffocate him, he sees it as an opportunity. The experience introduces him to the beautiful and enigmatic Essie Stamper—a young Cherokee woman who is also working at the inn and dreaming of a better life. With World War II raging in Europe, the resort is the temporary home of Axis diplomats and their families, who are being held as prisoners of war. A secret room becomes a place where Cowney and Essie can escape the white world of the inn and imagine their futures free of the shadows of their families' pasts. Outside of this refuge, however, racism and prejudice are never far behind, and when the daughter of one of the residents goes missing, Cowney finds himself accused of abduction and murder. Even As We Breathe invokes the elements of bone, blood, and flesh as Cowney navigates difficult social, cultural, and ethnic divides. Betrayed by the friends he trusted, he begins to unearth deeper mysteries as he works to prove his innocence and clear his name. This richly written debut novel explores the immutable nature of the human spirit and the idea that physical existence, with all its strife and injustice, will not be humanity's lasting legacy.

Western North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains are some of the oldest on earth, boasting old-growth forests, pristine streams, and ancient heath balds with stunning views. This guide includes 72 great day hikes ranging from 1 to 13 miles, with destinations like the stone tower of Hanging Rock State Park, Max Patch on the Appalachian Trail, the "Opera Box" at Chimney Rock State Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway's Craggy Gardens, the waterfalls of Linville Gorge, and Gregory Bald in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Each entry includes complete driving and hiking directions, maps, trailhead GPS coordinates, elevation gain, trail highlights, and related historical anecdotes, plus books and movies set in each locale.