Work Life
Photo Credit: James Roberts, Skyland Hotel Cook, 1930
Courtesy of the Baker Barber Collection
Work Life
Black-owned Businesses
Henderson County’s Black middle class, through diligent efforts, made an independent living through their own enterprises and stand out for their ...
Black-owned Businesses 1865-1900
Farming was by far the preferred way to gain financial stability for Blacks during the antebellum period. Only eight people prior ...
Black-owned Businesses 1900-1950
By 1910, 46 Blacks owned at least 30 acres of land with three of these farmers owning 100 acres or ...
Black-owned Businesses 1950-1970
The period from 1950 through 1965 brought change to Henderson County. The transition from the injustices of segregation to the equal ...
Flat Rock Blacksmith
John Markley and his sons were well-known African-American blacksmiths in Flat Rock from 1877 until the early 1900’s. https://www.blueridgenow.com/article/NC/20130217/News/606022456/HT ...
Edneyville
Black families in Edneyville have farmed in the area since before the Civil War. http://hendersonheritage.com/black-history-in-edneyville/ ...
An Early Electrician
Robert Quinn wired local theaters and churches in the 1930’s. This interview with his wife was done in 1939 through ...
Freed Slaves in Flat Rock
Many of the slaves owned by wealthy Charleston planters chose to remain in Flat Rock after the Civil War. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41446547?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents ...
Greenbook Guest House
The Landina Guest House was one of many Black-owned businesses that served the Black community in the days of segregation ...
Chauffeurs and Merry Garden Casino
Henderson County’s licensed chauffeurs included several African Americans like Fred Potts. The Merry Garden Casino in Flat Rock attracted nationally ...
