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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Edneyville
Black families in Edneyville have farmed in the area since before the Civil War. http://hendersonheritage.com/black-history-in-edneyville/ ...
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An Early Electrician
Robert Quinn wired local theaters and churches in the 1930’s. This interview with his wife was done in 1939 through ...
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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 ...
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Greenbook Guest House
The Landina Guest House was one of many Black-owned businesses that served the Black community in the days of segregation ...
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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 ...
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