The Junaluska Story

Junaluska’s Impact at Appalachian State University

The relationship between the Junaluska Community and Appalachian State University (ASU) has evolved significantly over time. Despite the close proximity of the Junaluska neighborhood to the campus, for much of ASU’s history, Black people were not allowed to be students. In 1964 the first Black student, Patricia Ferguson Beane, enrolled at ASU. Eventually, the population of Black students at ASU grew, and included many people from Junaluska.¹

Of course, attending classes as students is not the only way the Junaluska community has impacted Appalachian State University. Many people from Junaluska worked at ASU over the years, helping to make the college experience of many students more rich. For example, Hallie Bell Hatton Horton worked at ASU as a cook.² Peggy Horton worked at ASU in housekeeping.³ Gene Ray worked in housekeeping at ASU for thirty-two years.⁴ Folks in Junaluska also have fond memories of accessing the ASU campus in their free time. Jonita Lynn Clayborn remembered that when she was young, ASU opened their swimming pool to the public in the summer. She and her friends often had fun playing at the pool and then stopped at a store for a snack when they walked back home to Junaluska.⁵

Once ASU began admitting Black students as part of their student body, more Junaluskans enrolled in the school. Lynn Jackson Patterson transferred back home to ASU after leaving Boone to attend NC State University for a year. Patterson ended up graduating from ASU and today she works in the library as an administrator.⁶ One ASU graduate from the Junaluska community, Brittany Ball, chose to attend ASU for the “comfort of home.”⁷ Another Junaluskan, Alana Patterson, noted the financial aspect of the decision to attend App State over other out of state colleges, stating “Do I really want that much debt when I graduate?” In regards to her decision to attend App State over Clemson.⁸

Despite the impact folks from Junaluska have had at ASU, many students at the university do not realize that there are any Black people native to Watauga county. Alana Patterson remembered hearing her classmates at ASU say “there are no Black people here.”⁹ Appalachian State has attempted to help increase awareness of the Junaluska community among its students by selecting Junaluska Oral Histories of a Black Appalachian Community edited by Dr. Susan Keefe with the assistance of the Junaluska Heritage Association, as the Common Reading Program book for the 2022–23 school year. All students entering ASU in 2022 received a copy of the book and first-year seminar professors incorporated the oral histories into their classes. Additionally, ASU hosted events to celebrate the Junaluska community.¹⁰

Members of the ASU faculty have also advocated for the Junaluska neighborhood over the years. In the 1990s, ASU faculty members supported the effort to preserve the Boone Methodist Episcopal Church building.¹¹ Though these efforts were unsuccessful, other partnerships between Junaluska and ASU faculty have led to positive outcomes. Dr. Alice Wright of the ASU Anthropology department led efforts to identify the locations of unmarked graves on the Black side of the Old Boone Cemetery, and her students partnered with the Junaluska Heritage Association to lay headstones to mark each grave.¹² Similar work is underway at the Clarissa Hill Cemetery, another burial ground in Boone used by the Junaluska community after the Old Boone Cemetery closed to new burials. Dr. Kristen Baldwin Deathridge and her students developed the JHA website (junaluskaboone.org). Additionally, Dr. Andrea Burns and her students created a Junaluska exhibit at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum.

Appalachian State University and Junaluska began as two separate entities, but today they are more connected. Junaluskans have impacted ASU as both employees and students over the years. Currently, members of the university faculty have many valuable partnerships with the Junaluska neighborhood and with the Junaluska Heritage Association.

Dr. Susan Keefe’s collection of oral histories from the Junaluska community was ASU’s selection for its Common Reading Program in 2022-23.

Volunteers from ASU worked with the Junaluska Heritage Association to place grave markers on unmarked graves in the Old Boone Cemetery.

Photo Courtesy of The Appalachian, Evan Bates, https://theappalachianonline.com/historic-black-cemetery-given-long-absent-recognition/

Bibliography

“African American History Timeline.” Appalachian State University Special Collections. https://collections.library.appstate.edu/collections/university-archives-records-management-services/timelines#africanamerican.

Becker, William. “Historic Black Cemetery Given Long-Absent Recognition.” The Appalachian Online. November 1, 2022. https://theappalachianonline.com/historic-black-cemetery-given-long-absent-recognition/.

Keefe, Susan, ed.. Junaluska: Oral Histories of a Black Appalachian Community. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2020

Keefe, Susan and Manross, Jodie. “Race, Religion, and Community: The Demolition of a Black Church.” Appalachian Journal. Spring Vol. 26, No 3. (1999): 252-263.

Stump, Jessica, ed. “Junaluska: Oral Histories of a Black Appalachian Community selected for 2022-23 Common Reading Program. Appalachian Today. March 23, 2022. https://today.appstate.edu/2022/03/23/junaluska.