The history and rugged beauty of Roan Mountain, on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, is well documented in manuscript materials, photographs, recordings, and books housed in the Archives. The following is a brief description of the more significant materials available for research on the history and legends of this mountain.
Photo by Larry Smith

Browse our Suggested Reading List for books of interest.

Manuscripts

D. R. Beeson, Sr. Papers
Architectural account books; albums with photographs and journals of hiking trips in western North Carolina and East Tennessee in the early 1900s and autobiography of D. R. Beeson, Sr., architect and civic leader in Johnson City, Tennessee. One of the hiking journals describes a hiking trip over Roan Mountain in the summer of 1913.

Burton-Manning Collection
Contains several recordings with individuals from the Roan Mountain area discussing such topics as folk beliefs and customs, folk medicine, traditional music, and regional history. Restriction: Recordings may not be duplicated without the permission of the donor.

Carolina, Clinchfield, and Ohio Railway Company Records
Railway formed in 1908 to provide a route from the Virginia and Kentucky coal fields to the Atlantic Coast; the railway carried passengers and freight between Elkhorn, KY, and Spartanburg, SC. Records (1899-1979) contain correspondence, minute books, annual reports, engineering files and blueprints, accident and personal injury files, and line and topographical survey maps. Of particular interest are a map and file concerning J. C. Campbell Iron Ore Co. in Roan Mountain.

East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad and Motor Transportation Company Records
Railroad originally chartered in 1866 to carry iron from Cranberry, NC, to Elizabethton, TN. Narrow gauge track eventually ran from the lumber mills in Saginaw, NC, to Johnson City, TN. Records (1868-1966) include correspondence, financial ledgers, and minute books of the railroad and transport company. These records would likely contain scattered information relating to Roan Mountain.

Elizabethton Star Negatives
Negatives of photographs taken by the staff of the Elizabethon Star newspaper (1956-67). Subjects include news and sporting events, church and school activities, community organizations, building and street scenes, and rural scenic views.

James A. Goforth Collection
Includes 174 black and white negatives and prints of railway construction and views of North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Southwest Virginia taken by H. M. Deadrick (1906-15) for the Carolina, Clinchfield, and Ohio Railroad. Also includes 3 line maps and 2 architectural drawings.

Charles Gunter, Jr. Collection
Includes an interview with store-owner Harry Heaton of Roan Mountain, Tenn. regarding the hardware business there (c. 1940s-70s).

Johnson City Press Newsclippings
Contains newsclippings collected (1975-89) and maintained by the newspaper for background research. Clippings provide information on local businesses, organizations and social issues; special events and festivals; local governments; news events; and a variety of human interest topics. The files included topics such as the Rhododendron Festival, the Roan Mountain State Park, and general features on the community.

Murrell Family Collection
Consists of black and white photographs, newsclippings, cassette audiotapes, receipts, and 2 restaurant menus documenting the history of the Cloudland and Colonial Hotels, the Snyder House, Roan Mountain, and the Murrell family.

Roan Mountain Folklife Survey Project
The survey was carried out by Dr. Thomas Burton's American Folklore class (ETSU) in the spring of 1992. Students recorded and transcribed interviews, performed fieldwork at several locations, photographed and videotaped local citizenry, and produced short essays about their experiences. The project resulted in information gathered regarding the history of Roan Mountain and various aspects of the area's folklore.

Appalachian Photographic Archive

The Appalachian Photographic Archive has slides of scenic views taken near the summit of Roan Mountain.

Appalachian Vertical Files

These files on Roan Mountain include programs from the Rhododendron Festivals, a vegetation study of the mountain published in 1941, a published collection of ghost stories, the "Case Statient" and newsletters of the Southern Appalachian Highland Conservancy, and a number of pamphlets and photocopied newsclippings or magazine articles. Stories and legends of the mountain also are kept in a file under the subject "Legends." These particular legends were collected by the late Charles Faulkner Bryan, formerly a music professor at Tennessee Technological University.

Suggested Reading from Special Collections

Information on Roan Mountain can be found in books on Carter County, Tennessee, and East Tennessee. The following is a list of selected titles focused largely on Roan Mountain and surrounding communities. For a complete listing, consult Sherrod Library Online Catalog.

Matthews, Martin Taylor. Experience-Worlds of Mountain People; Institutional Efficiency in Appalachian Village and Hinterland Communities. 1937.

Wilson, Jennifer Bauer. Roan Mountain: A Passage of Time. 1991.

Young, Malone. Latchpins of the Lost Cove. 1987.