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The Southern Appalachian Archives

Please see Contact Us & Arrange a Visit for hours of operation.

The Southern Appalachian Archives is a rich storehouse of manuscripts and collections that document regional history and culture. Notable among the treasures held in the Southern Appalachian Archives are:

• the Bascom Lamar Lunsford Collection, which includes an , photographs, sound recordings, , and instruments;
• the , which includes over 3,000 photographs documenting western North Carolina agriculture from the 1920s to the early 1950s and a vast array of materials from the Farmers Federation and the Lord’s Acre Initiatives, including recordings of several Farmers Federation Picnics;
• a variety of collections featuring western North Carolina mountain musicians: the ; the Jackie Ward Collection featuring selected materials from the ¸£ÀûƬ²¨¶à Dance and Folk Festival and Shindig on the Green; the Bascom Lamar Lunsford Festival Collection; the Obray Ramsey Memory Collection; the Tommy Hunter Memory Collection; and the with recordings available through .

Other special collections include:

• the Southern Appalachian Photographic Archives;
• the Gertrude M. Ruskin Collection of Cherokee Indian artifacts and materials;
• the Evelyn Underwood Collection of important Madison County early documents, photographs, and oral histories;
• and the university archives, including papers and photographs relating to the history of Mars Hill University. Interviews about the history of the school can be found through the .

In addition to the non-circulating special collections, other Appalachian-related materials can be accessed through the  catalog and are available for circulation. More information about the archives can be found on the .

An endowment in support of the Ramsey Center’s Southern Appalachian Archives has been made possible by a major grant from the :  Exploring the human endeavor.