Reviving Stories: Leicester History Project Aims to Capture Local Narratives
In an effort to document and preserve the rich histories of rural communities surrounding Asheville, the Buncombe County Special Collections is launching a new initiative. Known as the Leicester History Project, this endeavor focuses on the Leicester, Sandy Mush, and French Broad areas.
The project’s inspiration stems from the success of a previous initiative, “Come Hell or High Water,” which collected narratives around Hurricane Helene. Katherine Cutshall, the Buncombe County Special Collections Manager and a Leicester native, explained the project’s goals to BPR, emphasizing its aim to uncover and share stories from Buncombe County’s northwest rural regions.
“We were looking forward to taking a look at our rural communities, because we just simply do not have as much material about rural Buncombe County or rural Western North Carolina,” Cutshall mentioned. The project is structured to incorporate successful elements from the previous initiative, particularly its use of a “digital memory bank.”
The collected materials will primarily be accessible through an online portal, but plans also include creating books and transcripts from the oral histories and photographs gathered. Unlike the previous initiative, many of the Leicester project’s materials remain undigitized, prompting community involvement through scanning days and personal archiving tools available for checkout.
Community members are encouraged to contribute a range of materials, from personal scrapbooks and photographs to interviews detailing local memories. Cutshall highlights the importance of capturing both historical and contemporary stories to reflect the area’s diverse population. “I remember being told when I was at Erwin High School that there were something like 30 different languages and dialects spoken at home,” she recalled. This diversity presents an opportunity to include both long-standing generational stories and those of new immigrants.
To kick off the project, a kick-off event is scheduled for Saturday, May 9, from 2-4 p.m. at the Leicester Branch Library. Prior to this, an online training session on collecting oral histories will be held on Thursday, April 23, from 5:30-7 p.m.
Cutshall emphasizes that the project is about more than just collecting stories; it’s about fostering a sense of community. “I think it’s really important to add that this project is community-led and community-driven,” she stated, highlighting the goal of not merely gathering memories but building community ties through shared histories.
For further inquiries, the Buncombe County Special Collections can be reached via email at packnc@buncombenc.gov or by phone at (828) 250-4740. The Leicester Branch Library can also be contacted by email at leicesterlibrary@buncombenc.gov or by phone at (828) 250-6480.
