Appalachian Cultural Museum Exhibits

With the help of our many Museum supporters, founders, and designers, the Appalachian Cultural Museum strives to foster an understanding of the people and places of the Appalachian mountains. The permanent exhibit area, TIME AND CHANGE, features thousands of objects ranging from fossils to Winston Cup race cars to the Yellow Brick Road, a section of the now-closed theme park, The Land of Oz.

"Artine Artinian Collection of North Carolina Self-Portraits" - In our Museum we have an extraordinary collection of self-portraits by North Carolina artists. These works, ranging in media from pencil sketches and watercolor paintings to ceramics, woodcarving, metal-work, weaving, and marquetry, show the incredible diversity of citizens and artists of our region. The collection has been gathered and endowed by Dr. Artine Artinian, retired professor of French literature at Bard College, and a seasonal resident of Boone. We hope that when you visit us you will take time to marvel at these varied views of Who We Are.

A Garden of Eden - the formation and early history of the Appalachian mountains

Flights of Fancy - an exhibit of artifacts showing different aspects of the relationship between the people of the Appalachian region and their environment.

Native People - artifacts from Native Americans in the Appalachians prior to the coming of the early settlers.

Land of Opportunity - the early settlers, including the role of Daniel Boone.

A Free-Singing Rider in a Lost Dream - drawings and paintings by James Daugherty, whose depiction of Daniel Boone created the image that most of us have of him.

The Family Reunion - painted wooden models showing the members of an extended family at a reunion.

Blacks in Appalachia - a profile of the descendents of an African-American ex-slave from Wilkes County, NC.

Cabins in the Laurel - quilts, clocks, and log cabins: living in the mountains.

A War Between the States - the special perspective that people in the Appalachians had of the Civil War.

Moonshine - an authentic 100-year-old moonshine still.

Mountain Furniture - the everyday furniture of Appalachian homes, including some certified Watauga County items.

Weaving in the Mountains - spinning wheel, weasel, and a variety of hand-looms, demonstrating the labor-intensiveness of the making of fabric.

The Handicraft Revival - the schools in Western North Carolina (Biltmore Industries, Penland School, Tryon Toymakers, and Alnwick Bedspreads) that were established as part of the Craft Revival in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Mountain Music - traditional musical instruments of the Appalachians plus an Edison phonograph; victrola; and two reed organs; and a profile of Scotty Wiseman and his wife, Lulu Belle, prominent country singers from the 1930s into the 1960s.

Compliments of John Ward - a portion of John Ward's General Store, in Watauga Falls, vintage 1911.

The Mountain Utopia - the development and growth of mining, logging, and the resort industry in northwest North Carolina in the late 1800s.

The Most Visionary Thing: The Blue Ridge Parkway - construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.

Old Handed Down Tales - in the museum, a video of Ray and Stanley Hicks, award-winning story-tellers from Banner Elk, talking about story-telling in general, and Jack Tales in particular.

The Land of Oz Theme Park - in the museum, a video and display showing the development and demise of The Land of Oz, a theme park on Beech Mountain in the 1970s.

Blue Ridge Skiing - display and discussion of the development of the ski industry in northwest North Carolina.

Junior Johnson and NASCAR Racing - in the museum, a video on the life and career of Junior Johnson, premier NASCAR driver of the 1960s, and two authentic NASCAR cars, driven by Cale Yarborough and Terry Labonte.