The Aikens were kin to, married to, or in business with many of the first families to settle what is now Transylvania County. One Aiken with multiple connections was Julius

William H. Allison, born to Alexander D.B. Allison and Eveline Lister in 1856, grew up on Beechnut Farm, where Straus Park is today. In the early 1900s Allison was given

At the turn of the century, many urban industrialists were drawn to the southern Appalachian mountains as an escape from the stresses of their city lives. In 1906 one such

On January 19, 1906 new advertisements began appearing in the Sylvan Valley News for Southern Stock and Farming Company of North Carolina. The company was owned by B.G. Estes of

Corydon and Thelma Bell Corydon and Thelma Bell moved to Rainey Knob in Sapphire in 1944. The duo partnered on seven children’s’ books: Thelma as the writer and Corydon as

  The construction of the Ecusta Medical Center in February 1951, as published in “The Echo” company magazine. The Ecusta Paper Plant was once a major employer for the region,

Long hunter James Washington Fisher Jr. and his wife Darcus Levisa Fisher in their golden years Untamed and unnamed Transylvania County had a number of men known as “long hunters”

  Westall Vineyard in 1974 One mile east of Penrose, Thad Westall, retired Chief Warrant Officer in the U.S. Army, owned and operated a vineyard from 1964 to the late

  A car show was part of the first White Squirrel Festival in 2004 This year’s White Squirrel Weekend has started a new era for spring downtown events, and so

  The Pisgah National Forest gate in the 1930s Many residents recognize old photographs of the gate that once graced the entrance to the Pisgah National Forest. This photo from