by Michael C. Hardy (Author)
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.