John C. Campbell Folk School

Since 1925, the John C. Campbell Folk School has invited people to explore their creative potential in the serene setting of Brasstown, North Carolina. Those pursuits began with education, agriculture, and traditional Appalachian crafts, including wood carving and blacksmithing. One hundred years later, the school expanded into more than 50 subject areas, from cooking and clay to shoemaking and stained glass. Friends and cofounders Olive Dame Campbell and Marguerite Butler were influenced by the Danish folkeh jskole, or "folk high school," and set out to create a similar opportunity in Appalachia where learning would be noncompetitive and meals would be communal. The folk school has provided the foundation for the internationally recognized Brasstown Carvers, created a music and dance program with regular offerings for concerts and contras, and now welcomes thousands of students while holding over 800 weeklong and weekend classes per year.

It continues to be, as Olive once described, "an experiment in adult education" that seeks to enliven and enlighten the world.

Kitty Taylor served as the programs development manager and creative program advisor for writing. She selected photographs and materials from the Fain Archives to provide a glimpse at the John C. Campbell Folk School's first 100 years.