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Designated an Historical District
by the National Register of Historic Places, the Folk School's 27 buildings
are the scene of many services to the community, a variety of special
events, and an internationally recognized crafts instruction program.
The 372-acre campus features fully equipped craft studios where people
from all over the world come to learn pottery, weaving, spinning, dyeing,
blacksmithing, stained glass, basketry, wood carving, woodworking, broom
making, dollmaking, quilting, and many other crafts. In addition to
crafts, the Folk School has been instrumental in preserving mountain
music and dance traditions. A sawmill, meeting rooms, covered outdoor
dance pavilion, nature trail, craft shop, vegetable garden, and rustic
lodgings are scattered across the picturesque campus. While many buildings
are in the style of typical Appalachian farm buildings, some were designed
by a Belgian architect in a Romantic European style, adding to the unique
ambiance and quickly impressing on any first-time visitor that something
special is going on here.
Campbell Folk School and other settlement schools
in the area—Penland School of Crafts and Arrowmont School of
Art & Craft in nearby Gatlinburg, Tennessee—were originally
founded by urban social workers to teach country people city ways.
Ironically, today these schools are in great demand to teach weary
city dwellers the ways of these magnificent mountains.
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History:
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Earlier this century, settlement schools were established
in the mountains of North Carolina as a means of bringing improved education
to the isolated coves and valleys. Farming practices and craft instruction,
for instance, were taught in an effort to elevate the depressed economies
of the region.
The Campbell Folk School in Brasstown grew out of the efforts
of John C. Campbell, his wife Olive Dame, and their friend Marguerite
Butler. At the turn of the century, Campbell and his new bride studied
mountain life from Georgia to West Virginia. While John interviewed farmers
about their agricultural practices, Olive collected mountain ballads and
studied regional handicrafts.
The Campbells were intrigued by an approach to education
in Denmark that had helped transform the countryside into a vibrant and
creative force: the folk school, or "school for life." It was
their hope that this alternative to traditional education, when applied
to the southern Appalachians, would help change the pattern that had developed
that led intelligent young people away from their family farms to work
in the cities. John died in 1919, but Olive Dame and Marguerite Butler
continued to study folk schools in Denmark, Sweden, and other countries.
When they returned to America full of enthusiasm, these
two dynamic women had the wisdom to know that the effective implementation
of such plans had to grow out of a genuine collaboration with the people.
While exploring several potential locations, Miss Butler made a trip to
Brasstown, where she explained the idea to local merchant, Fred O. Scroggs.
Before leaving, she told him she would be back in a few weeks to see if
any interest had been shown. The 200 people who later greeted her at the
local church offered a resounding "Yes!" They pledged labor,
building materials, and other support, including 75 acres of land donated
by the Scroggs family. In 1925, the Folk School began its work.
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Directions: |
From Murphy, travel east on US 64 for 5 miles.
Turn right at Tri-County Community College onto Old US 64. Travel 2
miles to Brasstown Road. Turn right; the entrance is on the left.
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Activities: |
Hiking, dancing, nature walks.
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Facilities: |
Lodging, studios, dance pavilion, craft shop,
meeting rooms.
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Fees: |
There is a charge for classes.
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Closest
town: |
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For
more information: |
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