Nestled in the mountains of western North Carolina, Mitchell County was
created in 1861 and was named for Dr. Elisha Mitchell, a University of
North Carolina professor who died in 1857 while remeasuring the mountain
that now bears his name. Although the appropriately named mountain lies
in adjacent Yancey County, Mitchell County has no shortage of claims to
fame; it is well known for the Clinchfield Railroad, the Carolina
Theater, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Penland School, and the infamous
Frankie and Charlie Silver murder case. There is also much more to
Mitchell County than its best-known sites and figures. Mica and feldspar
mining, the orchard at Altapass, churches, the Wing Academy,
Bakersville, and Spruce Pine all have their own unique histories. Within
the pages of this book are images of the famous and the ordinary, the
routine and the remarkable, the lasting and the transitory. The
photographs come from all over Mitchell County and celebrate the area's
unique Appalachian culture.