Above: The Monteith Farmstead is on the right in this photograph taken circa 1930. This photo and others from the Monteith Farmstead, as well as Craft Revival era photos by Doris Ulmann, are on display through March 14 at the Historic Hooper House in Sylva.

Faculty and students from Western Carolina University are part of an effort to restore the historic Monteith Farmstead in Dillsboro.

The first of several planned projects in support of the farmstead’s restoration is a free exhibit of photographs on display through March 14 at the historic Hooper House in downtown Sylva. The exhibit, “Shaping Culture: Appalachian Women in the Early 20th Century,” offers a window into the lives of people who participated in the Appalachian craft revival, a period of nationwide renewed interest in quality handmade items that unfolded over the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Residents of Western North Carolina participated in the revival by producing work including weavings, carvings and baskets. People from beyond the region who arrived in capacities such as teachers and missionaries often eventually encouraged craft production by establishing shops or cottage industries. Some documented craft activity, including Doris Ulmann, an independently wealthy photographer from New York. “Shaping Culture” is a selection of photographs from Ulmann’s collection.

A small number of photographs related to the Monteith Farmstead also will be on display, including photos of the Monteith sisters, Edna and Edith, the last people to live on the farm. (Pictured at right is, from left, Edna Monteith, born 1908, and Edith Monteith, born 1915, in Craft Revival era photos by Doris Ulmann.)The Monteith women did not participate in the craft revival, said Tim Osment, a graduate student in Western’s public history program and executive director of the Cashiers Historical Society. However, he said, “Together they witnessed and experienced the cultural impact the 20th century had on their community.” Changes during the span of their lives included improved transportation and increased mobility, fading of the agrarian economy and better access to education.

The photo exhibit is intended to raise public awareness about efforts to restore the Monteith Farmstead, which is located just past Harold’s Supermarket as one enters Dillsboro from Sylva on U.S. Highway 23. The town of Dillsboro purchased the farmstead in 2003 with the intention of developing the 16-acre site into a public facility. Plans include renovating the main house as the Appalachian Women’s Museum. The farmstead restoration already has received two grants, and members of the Monteith Farmstead Restoration Committee are working to identify other funding sources. Ultimately, the committee hopes to list the farmstead on the National Register of Historic Places.

Western faculty involved with the project are Cynthia Deale, director of the hospitality and tourism program; Anna Fariello, leader of the Craft Revival Project; and Scott Philyaw, director of the Mountain Heritage Center and an associate professor of history. Philyaw also serves on the restoration committee. Several current and former graduate students from Western’s history program, as well as a number of undergraduate students, also are involved.

Deale’s students are involved with the Monteith farmstead as part of a larger project to assist the town of Dillsboro in building sustainable tourism. “Community involvement makes education real,” Deale said. “It helps students get hands-on experience with textbook concepts like marketing and development that are neat and clean on paper but more interesting in practice.” Community involvement also connects students to generations outside their peer groups and generates new ideas, she said. Such partnerships are in the spirit of a plan Western has developed – part of an effort to earn reaccreditation – to enhance education by connecting student experiences both in out of the classroom.

Upcoming events in support of the Monteith Farmstead restoration include an Easter hat parade and the Appalachian Growers Fair on April 5.

The Hooper House, 773 W. Main St., is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information about the Monteith Farmstead, contact Emily Elders, Dillsboro assistant town clerk, at (828) 586-1439.

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Last Modified: Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008