The Folk Art Center is a museum of

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...

n arts and crafts located at milepost 382 on the

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenand ...

near

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

. It also houses offices for three separate Parkway partners: the

Southern Highland Craft Guild Southern Highland Craft Guild is a guild craft organization that has partnered with the National Park Service for over seventy years. The Guild represents over 800 craftspeople in 293 counties of 9 southeastern states. It operates four retail craft ...

, the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, and

Eastern National Eastern National (also known as EN) is a nonprofit Cooperating Association based in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, that partners with the National Park Service in the United States. It was created by charter in 1948 to "provide quality education ...

(known as EN).Southern Highland Guild - Folk Art Center official website
/ref> The Center, a cooperative effort between the Southern Highland Craft Guild, the National Park Service, and the

Appalachian Regional Commission The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is a United States federal–state partnership that works with the people of Appalachia to create opportunities for self-sustaining economic development and improved quality of life. Congress established A ...

, features many one-of-a-kind handmade crafts and is the most popular attraction on the Parkway, seeing a quarter of a million visitors per year. Opened to the public at its current location in 1980, the Center contains three galleries, a library, and an auditorium, and also houses the Eastern National bookstore and information center. Admission is free. One of the Center's main attractions is the Guild's century-old Allanstand Craft Shop, changing exhibitions in galleries from its permanent collection of 3,500 pieces of craft objects dating back to the turn of the 20th century. The Center also features an exhibition of traditional and contemporary southern Appalachian crafts.

History

Frances Goodrich, a Yale graduate, moved to the

area in 1890 to do missionary work for the local Presbyterian Church. She found a few women who were still weaving traditional coverlets in wool and cotton. Goodrich was then inspired with the idea of a cottage industry that would assist mountain families. She founded Allanstand Cottage Industries in 1897 in

Madison County, North Carolina Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,193. Its county seat is Marshall. Madison County is part of the Asheville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The co ...

. This ultimately became Allanstand Craft Shop. She then moved the business to downtown Asheville in 1908 and from her College Street headquarters she worked with other leaders of the southern Arts and Crafts movement. In 1928 the idea of the Southern Highland Craft Guild was formed. Chartered in 1930, it would grow to become one of the strongest craft organizations in the country. Second in age only to the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts, the Guild now represents over 1000 craftspeople in 293 counties of 9 southeastern states. The Guild has partnered with the National Park Service for more than fifty years and moved their headquarters permanently to the Asheville location in 1980.Alvic, P. 24

References

External links

* {{authority control Museums in Asheville, North Carolina Arts centers in North Carolina Southern art Folk art museums and galleries in North Carolina Contemporary crafts museums in the United States Art museums established in 1980 1980 establishments in North Carolina National Park Service museums