Connecting the Docs: True Stories from the Old North State

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Connecting the Docs is a podcast from the State Archives of North Carolina. Our archivists use archival materials to bring you fascinating, true stories from around the Old North State. Sometimes archival records solve a puzzle, and other times, they start one.

  1. 1d ago

    State Symbols: A Carnivorous Curiosity

    The Carolina coast is the home of one of the world’s most fascinating plants, the Venus Flytrap. This carnivorous plant quickly captured the attention of scientists around the world for its unique characteristics and incredibly small natural habitat: a 100-mile radius in the coastal plains and moist sandhills near the border of North and South Carolina. Today, it’s proudly recognized as North Carolina's State Carnivorous Plant.  To celebrate the most wonderful plant in the world and its status as a state symbol, host John Horan along with Podcast Intern Emily Johnson, Correspondence Assistant Annabeth Poe, and Imaging Specialist Erin Templeton will explore the Venus Flytrap’s discovery and journey to becoming a state icon.     Primary Sources:   Arthur Dobbs Papers 1754-1764, Colonial Governors’ Papers, Record ID 380.7.  “Travels through North & South Carolina...” The Travels of William Bartram. Outer Banks History Center Monographs, 33BOK-0-62,  https://appx.archives.ncdcr.gov//solrDetailPages/series/NCA/Series_detail.html?fq=seriesRid:759048https://appx.archives.ncdcr.gov/findingaids/5000_2_3_Outer_Banks_History_Ce_.html#c01_452.  Thomas Addison Emmet Collection 1757-1847, PC.38.  Gardoqui to Floridablanca 12 May 1787, Spanish Records, Record ID 171.1.26.16.    External Primary Sources  Ellis, John, et al. “Venus Flytrap.” Directions for Bringing over Seeds and Plants... Biodiversity Heritage Library, published 1770, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48674418#page/43/mode/1up.  Bartram, William. “Travels through North & South Carolina...” Bartram’s Travels. Documenting the American South, published 1791, p. xx-xxi, https://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/bartram/bartram.html.  Jefferson, Thomas. “Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Hawkins, 13 August 1786,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-10-02-0159.   Darwin, Charles. “Letter no. 2941,” Darwin Correspondence Project, 29 Sept. 1860, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/view/letters/DCP-LETT-2941.  Darwin, Charles. “Dionaea Muscipula.” Insectivorous Plants, Hosted by Darwin Online. London: John Murray, 1875, p. 286, https://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1217&viewtype=side&pageseq=1.    Secondary Sources:  Venus Flytrap Champions, https://www.venusflytrapchampions.org/.  Mogenson, Jackie Flynn. “The Venus Flytrap and the Golf Course.” Mother Jones, 20 Dec. 2023, https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2023/12/venus-flytrap-julie-moore-saccket-supreme-court-endangered-species-act/#:~:text=Plus%2C%20%E2%80%9Ceverybody%20likes%20them%2C,they%20might%20directly%20benefit%20humans.  International Carnivorous Plant Society, https://www.carnivorousplants.org/.

  2. Oct 14

    State Symbols: Pitch, Pine, and Poetry

    How much do you know about the history of North Carolina's nickname, ‘The Tar Heel State’? We’re covering this history and more in today’s episode as we branch out to discuss a classic symbol of the Old North State, the Long Leaf Pine, and its deeply rooted impact on our economy, geography, and culture. Reference Archivist Katie Crickmore will explain the state’s naval stores industry, Microfilm Specialist Erin Templeton will walk us through the adoption of the State Toast and the State Tree, and Correspondence Associate Annabeth Poe will explore the origins of the prestigious Order of the Long Leaf Pine, all led by host John Horan. Thanks for sticking with us through our State Symbols series!    Primary Sources:  “State Toast and Song.” General Statutes of North Carolina: 1957 Cumulative Supplement, vol. 3b, p. 346. North Caroline Digital State Publications Collection, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/general-statutes-of-north-carolina-1957-cumulative-supplement-v.3b/5602530?item=5605170.    Archibald S. McMillan Collection, 1779-1906. Private Collections, PC.1676.    Account of Naval Stores Imported [into Britain. n.d.], 1717-1720. British Records: ADM 49 Selections, Prices of Stores. ID: 21.123.8.1.    Martin, Leonora and Mary Burke Kerr. “A Toast.” Our State, 9 Aug. 1958, vol. 26: no. 5, p. 12-13, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/state/978018?item=978074.    Clark, Walter. “Our State Motto and its Origin.” North Carolina Booklet: great events in North Carolina history, Jan. 1910, vol.9: no. 3, p. 182, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/north-carolina-booklet-great-events-in-north-carolina-history-1910-january-v.9-no.3/413740?item=455474.    Order of the Long Leaf Pine. Governors Papers: Governor Sanford, Miscellaneous Subject Files 1961-1965, Box 3.    Secondary Sources:  Butler, Carroll B. Treasures of the Longleaf Pines: Naval Stores. Tarkel Publishing, 1998.    Outland, Robert B. “Slavery, Work, and the Geography of the North Carolina Naval Stores Industry, 1835-1860.” The Journal of Southern History, vol. 62, no. 1, 1996, p. 27–56. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2211205.     Leonard, John W. “Martin, Leonora Monteiro.” Woman’s who’s who of America: a biographical dictionary of contemporary women of the United States and Canada, 1914-1915, pub. 1976, p.544,  https://archive.org/details/womanswhoswhoofa00leon/page/n5/mode/2up.    “Origin and History.” Order of the Long Leaf Pine Society, 2026, https://longleafpinesociety.org/order-of-the-long-leaf-pine/.

  3. Sep 17

    State Symbols: Food Fights

    Things are heating up at Connecting the Docs as we start off our seventh podcast season with an episode all about some of North Carolina’s most controversial food-related state symbols. Pull up a seat at the table as we discuss North Carolina barbeque, our hotly debated state fruit(s), and the strange history of legislature-approved symbolism. At the mics today is host John Horan, Correspondence Assistant Annabeth Poe, Reference Archivist Katie Crickmore, and Microfilm Specialist Erin Templeton.   Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more State Symbols episodes!   Primary Sources:  Grimes, J. Bryan, “The Great Seal of the State of North Carolina.” 1909, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/great-seal-of-the-state-of-north-carolina-1666-1909/2148975?item=2226324.  “Draughan, James. Bertie Co., 1750, 1751.” Secretary of State Records, Land Office (Colonial), Granville Proprietary Land Office, Granville Land Entries, Warrants, and Plats of Survey, Bertie County. SR.12.8.3.004.  “Barbecue Presbyterian Church History, 1928, 1965.” Church Records, Presbyterian, Harnett County. CHR.192-192.1.  “Kenelm H. Lewis Papers, 1834-1907.” Private Collections, PC.162.  “Among the Long-Leaf Pines, seat of the Turpentine Industry, of North Carolina, 1891 (Cooking Meat, Barbeque Style).” Original Prints, OP.10.  “An Act to Adopt the Lexington Barbecue Festival as the Official Food Festival of the North Carolina Piedmont Triad.” General Assembly Session Records, 2007, HB: 433.    Secondary Sources:   Mooneyham, Scott, “Official pizza could fatten a budget.” Wilson Daily Times, 3 May 2005, p.10.  “A National Garland: How Women Led the Movement to Declare State Flowers.” Smithsonian Learning Lab, 16 Aug. 2020, https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/a-national-garland-how-women-led-the-movement-to-declare-state-flowers/mAFroO4vbPlJakiE.  Waggoner, Martha, “Eastern v. Western: Students enter the Barbecue Debate.” Wilson Daily Times, 27 May 2005, p. 5.  “Polluting the Pig.” The Robesonian, 11 Feb. 2005, pg. 3.  Leonard, Robert, “Letter to the Editor: Lexington barbecue’s reputation is undeserved.” Wilson Daily Times, 5 Mar. 2005, p. 10.  “Lexington synonymous with barbeque tradition since the turn of the century.” Rocky Mount Telegram, 19 Sept. 1994, p. 2.  “House Bill 382.” General Assembly of North Carolina, 2001, https://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/SessionLaws/HTML/2001-2002/SL2001-488.html.  Kramer, Jaclyn, “US fresh strawberry production expands with newer varieties.” Economic Research Service, USDA, 19 May 2021, https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/charts-of-note/chart-detail?chartId=1011560.  Cline, Bill, “NC Blueberry Statistics.” NC State Extension, 11 Feb. 2025, https://blueberries.ces.ncsu.edu/blueberries-nc-blueberry-statistics/.

  4. Jul 29

    The War of Independence: Fighting for the Crown

    As the United States continues to celebrate its 250th anniversary, the nation has spent a lot of time remembering the success and strength of the Patriots who fought for their freedom from tyranny. From where we stand today, it is difficult to imagine opposing such a righteous cause, but those who fought for the British Crown were just as diverse and complex as their rebellious counterparts. In this episode, we’re dissecting some of the varied reasons why supporting independence in 1776 was not the obvious choice that it is now.    Joining our host John Horan for this discussion of controversy and loyalty is Reference Archivist Katie Crickmore, Information Management Archivist Michelle Witt, and Imaging Specialist Erin Templeton.      Primary Sources:  Halifax Resolves. Secretary of State, Revolutionary War Records, Fourth Provincial Congress, SR.12.13.3.006.    Josiah Martin Proclamation – 1776. British Records, Loyalist Claims, Record ID: 21.3.15.17.    “Diplomacy talks with Cherokee.” Secretary of State Records, SR.12.13.3.11. https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/continental-congress-records-diplomacy-talks-with-the-cherokee-nation-and-the-muskogee-nation-april-15-1776/433430?item=433436.    “Letter from General Rutherford to the Council of Safety about the expedition against the Cherokees, July 5th, 1776.” Secretary of State, Council of Safety, SR.12.13.3.00511. https://docsouth.unc.edu/csr/index.html/document/csr10-0275.    Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation. The Virginian Gazette, 25 November 1775, p. 3, Container ID: NSP.5.    “Joseph Hart ordered to take the Oath of Allegiance or Exit North Carolina.” Granville County, Miscellaneous Records, CR.044.928.26.    “Article concerning the departure of loyalists.” NC Gazette, New Bern, 25 July 1777, Container ID: 18Cen-2.    Confiscation – Cornell v. Spyers Singleton – 1786. District Court Records, New Bern District, Miscellaneous Records, SR.398.6, Box 39.    “Petition to the General Assembly from Mary Lewellin, John Llewelyn’s wife.” GASR, Nov-Dec 1777: Senate Joint Resolutions, Record ID: 66.8.10.9.2, Box 1.    “Narrative of Colonel David Fanning, Written by himself, Detailing Astonishing Events in North Carolina, from 1775 to 1783.” David Fanning Paper collection, PC.489.    “An Act of Pardon and Oblivion.” GASR, Session Laws, 1783, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/acts-of-assembly-of-the-state-of-north-carolina-1783-april/3691863?item=4230279.    “The Proceedings of the Long Island of Holston River with Cherokee Nations; Avery Treaty, 1777.” Governor’s Office, GO.132, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/proceedings-of-the-treaty-of-the-long-island-of-holston-river-with-cherokee-nations-avery-treaty/6153047.    Allen MacDonald – 1784. British Records, Loyalist Claims, Record ID: 21.3.6.2.    William Hooper Papers. PC.1141.      Secondary Sources:  “From Regulators to Revolution: The War of Regulation.” Connecting the Docs, 15 January 2025, https://connectingdocs.podbean.com/?s=regulators.     Morrow, Megan. “Thomas Peters: Black Loyalist, Politician, and a Founding Father of Sierra Leone.” ANCHOR. Library of NC. February 2025, https://www.ncanchor.org/anchor/thomas-peters.     Kassa, Kemisa. "The Black Pioneers Loyalist Company." ANCHOR. Library of NC. 2024, https://www.ncanchor.org/anchor/black-pioneers-loyalist.

  5. Jul 15

    Spirit of ‘76: Remembering the Bicentennial

    In 1976, the United States marked 200 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence—but it wasn’t just about fireworks and parades. On a national level, the Bicentennial celebrated famous leaders and events from 1776. As the country grappled with foreign and domestic issues, citizens reflected on what freedom meant. People in communities throughout North Carolina used the Bicentennial to share their own stories. Join America 250 NC Educator Alana Gomez, Correspondence Assistant Annabeth Poe, podcast intern Emily Johnson, and host John Horan as they reflect on the 1976 Bicentennial and this year's 250th commemoration of the United States of America.    Learn more at https://www.america250.nc.gov/.    Primary Sources:  North Carolina American Revolution Bicentennial Committee Record Group, SR.60: Series 3, Committee Minutes File, 1969-1976; Series 10, North Carolina Bicentennial Committee Project File, 1968-1976; Series 18: Publications File, 1971-1976 .        News and Observer Negative File, Tuscarora Protest Photos, 1973. NO.8Apr1973.2, News and Observer Negative Collection, State Archives of N.C., https://appx.archives.ncdcr.gov/findingaids/PHC_NEWSOBSERVER_News_and_Obser_.html. Copyrighted by the N&O.      External Primary Sources:  Daly, Christopher B. “The Peoples Bicentennial Commission: Slouching Towards the Economic Revolution.” The Harvard Crimson, 28 April 1975, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1975/4/28/the-peoples-bicentennial-commission-pif-you/.    Sluder, Rick. “All-American Bicentennial Home Oozes with Patriotism,” News and Observer (Raleigh, NC), 12 January 1976, https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=EANX-NB&t=&sort=YMD_date%3AD&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=rick%20sluder%20oozes&docref=image/v2%3A142AF7DDEFE5AB9C%40EANX-NB-15747E95EE882247%402442790-1570AB882C395BDE%409-1570AB882C395BDE%40.     Wood, Ernie. “Blacks Protest at Halifax Event,” News and Observer (Raleigh, NC), 13 April 1976, https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=EANX-NB&t=&sort=YMD_date%3AD&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=blacks%20protest%20event%20at%20halifax&docref=image/v2%3A142AF7DDEFE5AB9C%40EANX-NB-1570DF18349B57A9%402442882-156DFB9DC8404844%401-156DFB9DC8404844%40.     Secondary Sources:   Gordon, Tammy. The Spirit of 1976 Commerce, Community, and the Politics of Commemoration, 2013. University of Massachusetts Press, https://www.umasspress.com/9781625340436/the-spirit-of-1976/.     NC listings in the National Register of Historic Places, N.C. State Historic Preservation Office, https://www.hpo.nc.gov/survey-and-national-register/national-register-historic-places/nc-listings-national-register-historic-places.    “Spirit of ‘76 in North Carolina.” America 250 NC, https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/083aedd5fb824e4bacc0289867930269.    Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, North Carolina Museum of History, Tar Heel Junior Historian, Fall 1976, v.16: no.1, North Carolina Digital State Publications Collection, Library of North Carolina, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/tar-heel-junior-historian-1976-fall-v.16-no.1/3704586?item=4498450.      Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, North Carolina Museum of History, Tar Heel Junior Historian, February 1975, v.14: no.3, North Carolina Digital State Publications Collection, Library of North Carolina, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/tar-heel-junior-historian-1975-february-v.14-no.3/3704570?item=4498368.    Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, North Carolina Museum of History, Tar Heel Junior Historian, Fall 1975, v.15: no.1, North Carolina Digital State Publications Collection, Library of North Carolina, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/tar-heel-junior-historian-1975-fall-v.15-no.1/3704583?item=4498540.     Wines, Larry. “The Story of the 1975 – 1976 American Freedom Train.” (n.d.), https://www.freedomtrain.org/american-freedom-train-home.htm .    Wolford, Taylor. “Tuscarora Protest of 1973.” News, NC State University Libraries, North Carolina State University, 2023, April 17,  https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/news/special-collections/tuscarora-protest-1973.    Special thank you to those who shared their Bicentennial memories with us, including:   Kevin Brice  Elizabeth Hayden  Michael Sagar   Karen Thornton  Steve Tracey  Katharine Kennedy

  6. Jul 8

    America 250: An Interview with Professor Kathleen DuVal

    Connecting the Docs is back for a short commemorative series focused on the 250th anniversary of American independence! To start things off, we are joined by Professor Kathleen DuVal of the University of North Carolina. Professor DuVal is a Pulitzer Prize winning author of Native Nations: A Millennium in North America and a Carl W. Ernst Distinguished Professor of History in the College of Arts and Sciences at UNC. Along with host John Horan, Correspondence Associate Annabeth Poe, Imaging Specialist Erin Templeton, and podcast intern Emily Johnson, Professor DuVal reflects on the impact of the American Revolution and highlights the documents that transformed an idea into a movement.     Primary Sources:  “Constitution of the United States as Approved by North Carolina.” 1789. Federal and State Constitutional Materials, VC.47.5, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/constitution-of-the-united-states-as-approved-by-north-carolina-1789/788120 .    “State Constitution of 1868.” 1868. Federal and State Constitutional Materials, VC.47.6, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/state-constitution-of-1868/788179 .    “John Adams, Thoughts on Government.” 1776. Treasures Collection: Founding Documents, VC.1.2, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/john-adams-thoughts-on-government/411653 .       Secondary Sources:  DuVal, Kathleen. Independence Lost. Random House, 2016.    Brundage, W. Fitzhugh et al. Foundations of American Democracy: A Critical Documents Reader. UNC Department of History, 2025.    “Government and Heritage Library Card.” Library of North Carolina, https://library.nc.gov/search-library/access-materials-and-resources/government-and-heritage-library-card.

  7. 12/23/2025

    Black Mountain College: Experimental Education in the Mountains of North Carolina

    One of the nation’s most significant experiments in education and community took shape right outside of Asheville, North Carolina, and it started during the Great Depression. When a small group of students and teachers renounced their old university to begin building an educational community in Black Mountain, NC, they couldn’t have realized that it would attract and produce some of the world's best minds in avant-garde visual art, poetry, architecture, and music (including people like Buckminster Fuller, Charles Olson, William and Elaine de Kooning, Ruth Asawa, Ray Johnson, Jacob Lawrence and Gwendelyn Knight Larence, Arthur Miller, Josef and Anni Albers). What they did know is that the traditional American education system was failing, and that they could counter the nation’s problems with a new type of learning.     Today, podcast intern Amelia Gantt explains to host John Horan, Correspondence Assistant Annabeth Poe, and Microfilm and Imaging Specialist Erin Templeton that this experiment developed from the Great Depression to post-war anti-communism. Listen along to understand why many, including Eleanor Roosevelt, suggested ‘progressive education’ as the only path towards a better version of America, and how that promise for a better future lived on even after the College closed.       Primary Sources:  Roosevelt, Eleanor, “My Day.” March 21, 1936. North Carolina Museum of Art, Black Mountain College Research Project print collection, Western Regional Archives. Record ID 61.12.2, Box 10.    “Education in Wartime.” Black Mountain College Bulletin Newsletter, vol. 3, no. 7, July 1945. North Carolina Museum of Art, Black Mountain College Research Project print collection, Western Regional Archives. Record ID 61.12.6. https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/black-mountain-college-bulletin-newsletter-iii-no-7-1945/3657369?item=3657505 .    Adamic, Louis. “Education on a Mountain: The Story of Black Mountain College.” Theodore and Barbara Loines Dreier print collection, Western Regional Archives. Record ID PC.1956.74.    Adamic, Louis, Correspondence 1934-1937.  Black Mountain College Records print collection, Western Regional Archives. Record ID 506.2.1.6.    [“Artistic approach to life…” letter from Adamic to Rice]     Black Mountain College Digital Collection, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/spotlights/bmc .    Western Regional Archives Flickr Photo Collections https://www.flickr.com/photos/133487183@N07/albums/ .    Straus, Erwin, “Education in a Time of Crisis.” Black Mountain College Bulletin, vol. 7, April 1941. North Carolina Museum of Art, Black Mountain College Research Project print collection, Western Regional Archives. Record ID 61.12.6. https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/black-mountain-college-education-time-crisis/3657509?item=3657766 .    Black Mountain College Bulletin Newsletter print collection, Western Regional Archives, Record ID 506.2.26 and 506.2.27.     Albers, Josef, “Address for the BMC Meeting at New York.” Black Mountain College Bulletin Newsletter, June 12, 1940. North Carolina Museum of Art, Black Mountain College Research Project print collection, Western Regional Archives. Record ID 61.12.2, Box 12.    “Education for democratic citizenship...” Black Mountain College Bulletin Newsletter, vol. 1, no. 3, pg. 1, April 1943. North Carolina Museum of Art, Black Mountain College Research Project print collection, Western Regional Archives. Record ID 61.12.6. https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/black-mountain-college-bulletin-newsletter-i-no-3-1943/3657360 .    Gisela Kronenberg (Herwitz) Letters print collection, Western Regional Archives. Record ID PC 7073.    Charles P. Boyce interview by Mary Emma Harris, North Carolina Museum of Art, Black Mountain College Research Project print collection, Western Regional Archives. Record ID 61.12.3, Box 27.    Released Interviews [Paul Francis Williams, Stuart Atkinson, Leonard D. “Knute”, Betsy Anne Weinrib (Williams), Thomas Scott Cutshaw], North Carolina Museum of Art, Black Mountain College Research Project print collection, Western Regional Archives. Record ID 61.12.4, Box 37.    “100 Things You Should Know About Communism,” 1951. State Bureau of Investigation: Organized Crime Control Division, North Carolina State Archives. Record ID 136.2, Box 3.    Kraft, Kathy, “On Education.” Radish, February 1969. State Bureau of Investigation: Organized Crime Control Division, North Carolina State Archives. Record ID 136.2, Box 8.    Clayre, Alasdair, “The Rise and Fall of BMC,” The Listener, March 27, 1969. North Carolina Museum of Art, Black Mountain College Research Project print collection, Western Regional Archives. Record ID 61.12.2, Box 12.    “A North Carolinian Writes From New York City.” Winston-Salem Journal and Sentinel, January 11, 1942. North Carolina Museum of Art, Black Mountain College Research Project print collection, Western Regional Archives. Record ID 61.12.2, Box 12.     “Louis Adamic Says Civilization is Botched, Fumbling and Blind”, The Cincinnati Times, March 24, 1936. North Carolina Museum of Art, Black Mountain College Research Project print collection, Western Regional Archives. Record ID 61.12.2, Box 10.      External Primary Sources:  The Mary Emma Harris and Black Mountain College Project: Oral History collection, Appalachian State University. https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/1629 .      Secondary Sources:  Progressive Education in the 1940s, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opXKmwg8VQM .    Church, Robert. Education in the United States. New York Free Press, 1976.     Silver, David. The Farm at Black Mountain College. Atelier Éditions, 2024.    Eliston, John, “FBI investigation of Black Mountain College revealed in newly released file,” Carolina Public Press. August 5, 2015. https://carolinapublicpress.org/23088/fbi-investigation-of-black-mountain-college-revealed-in-newly-released-file/ .    Enyeart, John P. “Revolutionizing Cultural Pluralism: The Political Odyssey of Louis Adamic, 1932-1951.” Journal of American Ethnic History, vol. 34, no. 3, 2015. https://doi.org/10.5406/jamerethnhist.34.3.0058 .    Doberman, Martin. Black Mountain: An Experiment in Community. Northwestern University, 1973. https://archive.org/details/blackmountain00anch .

  8. 11/26/2025

    Unto These Hills: Behind the Scenes

    North Carolina is known as the birthplace of the American outdoor drama. One of its longest running outdoor productions, Unto These Hills, celebrated its 75th anniversary this year. To capture the spirit of that diamond anniversary, Connecting the Docs host John Horan, podcast interns Chris Deitner and Amelia Gantt, and producer Danielle Shirilla had an opportunity to travel west to watch the show and interview Communications & Development Director Chelsey Moore and Delegate at the Oconaluftee Indian Village, as well as Props Lead for the show, Devon Cucumber, about the drama, its history, and its longevity.    Special thanks to the Cherokee Historical Association and the cast and crew of Unto These Hills for letting us use original audio from a live production in this episode.    Primary Sources:  Backstage at “Unto These Hills” by John H. Hemmer, North Carolina. Dept. of Conservation and Development Records, ConDev8273A, State Archives of North Carolina, https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/backstage-at-unto-these-hills./344166.    Dorothy Eugenia Richardson Collection, PC.2172, State Archives of North Carolina.     Unto These Hills Performance, Governor's Papers -- James Grubb Martin (11 December 1935 --) [First and Second Administrations], Record ID: 373.4.27.23, State Archives of North Carolina.       Secondary Sources:  Faulkner, Ronnie W., et al. “Outdoor Dramas.” NCPedia, 2006, https://www.ncpedia.org/outdoor-dramas.      Gaison, G. "We're still here": Eddie Swimmer on Cherokee History, Life, and Outdoor Drama in the Appalachian Mountains. North Carolina Literary Review, (19), 46-59, 2010.    “Outdoor Dramas to Enjoy Under the Stars in North Carolina.” VisitNC, https://www.visitnc.com/list/outdoor-dramas-enjoy-under-stars-north-carolina.     “Unto These Hills.” Wikipedia, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unto_These_Hills.

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Connecting the Docs is a podcast from the State Archives of North Carolina. Our archivists use archival materials to bring you fascinating, true stories from around the Old North State. Sometimes archival records solve a puzzle, and other times, they start one.

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