Black Mountain College and Black Mountain, NC: Where ‘Town’ Meets ‘Gown’

A myth that has long persisted in the lore of Black Mountain College, an experimental college that operated in the mountains of western North Carolina from 1933-1957, is that the school, which attracted a number of famous artists from around the globe, was isolated from the local community. However, interviews and other primary documentation from former students, faculty, and local residents reveal that there was far more interaction between the college and the local community than previously thought. Students and faculty shopped in town, taught in local schools, and hiked and camped with local guides. For many, the western North Carolina landscape, people, and culture became central to how they experienced the college. Often, being at the college was their first experience with undeveloped wilderness (in the positive) and the culture of the Jim Crow South (in the negative). And it was being immersed in a place so starkly different than their hometowns that colored their worldview long after they left - perhaps more so than even their time on campus. Some made their home in the area long after the college closed its doors. Though many locals steered clear of the “weirdos” at the college, others embraced the new opportunities for arts exposure that the college provided by attending concerts and other performances at the school. After watching an avant-garde dance performance in the college’s dining hall, one local woman remarked to a student, “I don’t know what you were doing up there, but I was with you all the way.” This poster was created based on an exhibit mounted by the author in 2018 for the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center