Thanks to our partners at Southwestern Community College and Macon County Public Library, as well as funding from the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), we are excited to announce that new editions of The Franklin Press and Highlands Maconian are now available on our website!

Nestled in the mountains of western North Carolina along the Appalachian Trail, Franklin is a small town known for its gorgeous waterfalls and gem mines. These issues, dating from 1964 to 1974, cover a range of topics, including local elections, FFA competition scores, and local weather.

Taking advantage of the town’s precious stone industry, the Franklin Chamber of Commerce created the Macon County Gemboree as a way to boost tourism. The event first ran from Thursday, July 21 to Sunday, July 24, 1966, complete with a gem and mineral show, guest lecturers, and a “Miss Ruby” contest. The first Gemboree was a roaring success for the “Gem Capital of the World,” with over 2,500 people in attendance. Dealers and visitors traveled from across the country to attend the event, where they indulged in lectures and sparkling exhibitions. According to the July 28, 1966, edition of The Franklin Press and Highlands Maconian, the dealers estimated that the value of all gemstones on display was over four million dollars, or almost forty million dollars in today’s economy.

The event is still held to this day, with the next Macon County Gemboree slated for July 25-27, 2025.

To learn more about Southwestern Community College, visit their website linked here.

For more information about Macon County Public Library, visit their website.

To browse more newspapers from across the state, view our newspaper collection here.

Thanks to our partners at the Transylvania County Library, new editions of The Transylvania Times are now available on our website! These new editions cover the years 1997 and 2005-2017, addressing life in the small town in southwestern North Carolina.

One exciting story was the addition of the new library. The Times followed the construction and subsequent opening of the facility, reporting on all aspects of the building’s journey. The $7.5 million project included not only the new library but also an amphitheater and a community room, complete with a kitchen, movie screens, and seating for 200 people.

One fun way the library involved the community in the move was through the “Hand-to-Hand” event. On April 22, volunteers formed a human chain from the old library to the new one to help move 1,000 books from the children’s section of the old library to the new one. The new library opened on May 13 with a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony, with the location’s first day of business being May 15.

According to The Times, construction on the new library had begun exactly two years and one week before the library’s grand opening. Hundreds of people packed the auditorium on May 13, eager to see the new facilities. This move was the fourth one in 90 years, each building increasing in size to accommodate the growing demand for books and space.

To learn more about the Transylvania County Library, please visit their website.

To view all issues of The Transylvania Times, please click here.

To view more newspapers from around North Carolina, please click here.

Thanks to our partner, the Bessemer City History and Art Society, four new volumes of the Bessemer City Record are now available on our website!

These editions, covering the period from 1990 to 1994, detail local news, including weddings, funerals, and various events. The 1993 newspaper included a special spread on Bessemer City’s Centennial celebrations. The small town turned 100 in March 1993, and the Bessemer City Record printed three “Limited Collector’s Editions” to commemorate the occasion.

These editions were released on March 3, 1993, in anticipation of the March 6th celebrations. The first edition contained some of the regular town news, such as obituary notices, advertisements for a thrift store sale, and fire safety information from the fire department. However, the edition also teases the upcoming Centennial celebration events, such as a time capsule dedication and a large ceremony at Square Park, complete with a 100-shot salute, cake, and contests.

The second edition highlights the historic buildings in Bessemer City and the people who founded them. The paper also delves into Bessemer City’s past, examining important moments like the smallpox outbreak and ghostly encounters. Splashed between the pages are advertisements from local businesses thanking B-City for 100 years of service.

The final edition of the Centennial celebration continues to report on Bessemer City’s landmark events. The paper reports on the weather conditions during the city’s charter, the great fire of 1918, and the founding of the first Black church, among other happenings. Advertisements from Bessemer City institutions are also woven throughout the edition.

Bessemer City was more than just a place to live; it was a home. These three special edition papers illustrate the small town’s strength and beauty, telling stories of resilience and growth.

To view all digitized issues of The Bessemer City Record, please click here.

To learn more about the Bessemer City History and Arts Society, view their contributor page linked here.

To browse more North Carolina newspapers, view our newspaper collection here.

Thanks to funding from a community contributor and nominations from the State Archives of North Carolina and Red Springs Historical Museum we are pleased to announce that nearly 800 new issues of The Red Springs Citizen are now available on our website!

These new papers, ranging from 1950 to 1964, capture life in Robeson County. Red Springs, NC, named for the red pigment in the local mineral springs, became an agricultural hub in the southern part of the state. Farmers planted a variety of fruits and vegetables that were sold both locally and across the United States.

Several issues of The Red Springs Citizen from the summer of 1960 highlight Red Spring’s Produce Center. Located on Raeford Road, the Center hosted farmers who brought in their produce for grading and packaging before shipment. Most of the produce was cucumbers which sold for $1 a bushel.

The Produce Center, part of the Farmers Cooperative of Red Springs, sold its cucumbers to a company in Philadelphia, where they were processed into pickles and sold along the eastern seaboard. The co-op sold 15,428 bushes of cucumbers for a total of $14,332.80 in June alone. The Farmers Cooperative was an extremely successful venture, selling a variety of produce to support local farmers.

To learn more about Red Springs, visit the town website here.

To explore more materials from North Carolina Community Contributors, visit their contributor page here.

To view more newspapers from across the state, visit our North Carolina Newspaper Collection linked here.