Broad Valley Institute, Penrose The first schools in Transylvania County were private subscription schools. Parents paid a fee for their children to attend. The tuition could be cash or produce

The railroad helped open up Western North Carolina in the mid to late 1800s. It provided faster and more comfortable travel to and from the region and helped expand tourism.

In today’s world of cell phones, text messaging and email, instant communication is the expectation. It was not too long ago though that letters, delivered through the U.S. Postal Service,

Cover from Brevard Board of Trade tourism brochure, circa 1912-1915. Since the mid-1800s the mountains Western North Carolina have attracted those escaping the heat, humidity and disease of the lowlands