The Presbyterian Heritage Center Blog
As I was looking at post cards in the Presbyterian Heritage Center years ago, I came upon several real photo postcards of Montreat scenes with initials – AMD – presumably the photographer. A photo historian, I searched the published records and found this entry in the North Carolina Archives: “Alice Margaret Dickinson. active 1908, in… Continue reading Montreat’s “Kodak Girl”
Montreat and its forest primeval is the description often used; except it isn’t true. In the 1890s, a sheep farm occupied the cove where Montreat was eventually created. The valley trees had been previously logged, since trees and sheep don’t work well together. Logging in the Swannanoa Valley had been occurring since the 1870s on… Continue reading Trains, Timbers & Tourists
In the declining years of Presbyterian founder John Knox, he took up his pen to write the history of the Scottish Reformation from 1493 to 1567. But the book was almost lost to eternity. Knox’s invaluable first-person experience in implementing the Reformation was critical and he carefully wrote this primary source in various manuscript sections… Continue reading Knox, Knox. Who’s there? Presbyterianism.
Seventy-five years ago, famed Scottish religious missionary and Olympic sports hero Eric Liddell died in a Japanese internment camp in Weixian, China, in February 1945. With the 2020 Olympics in Japan fast approaching, perhaps it is time to remember Liddell’s story. The son of Presbyterian/Congregational missionary parents in China, Eric grew up deeply religious. He… Continue reading An Olympic Mission
On February 21st, baseball starts its spring training games this year. As fans prepare for another season of America’s Pastime, we remember a rough-and-tumble baseball outfielder from 140 years ago – Billy Sunday. Billy Sunday made a transition from a popular player in baseball's National League during the 1880s to becoming an ordained Presbyterian minister.… Continue reading Batter Up! Baseball and Evangelism
Today is Valentine's Day, so here to celebrate our love of historical finds is Katelyn Powell, Archaeology & Historical Studies Consultant at PHC. An alternate title for this post is "Can You Dig It?" However, this is a bad pun and we strive to provide high quality prose on this blog (but we did consider… Continue reading For the Love of Archaeology
On this day 155 years ago (February 12, 1865), Rev. Henry Highland Garnet delivered a sermon in the U.S. House of Representatives. This marked the first time a Black speaker had preached in the U.S. Capitol. Garnet was an abolitionist and a Presbyterian minister. Born a slave in Kent County, Maryland in 1815, Garnet escaped… Continue reading On this Day: Rev. Henry Highland Garnet
Theodore Roosevelt made several visits to the Atlanta area during and after his presidency. During these visits, he reconnected with his family history, seeing places he had only heard about from his mother. On one occasion, he made a tribute to the legacy of his mother and grandparents. In 1914, he presented the Roswell Presbyterian… Continue reading Teddy Roosevelt’s Gift of Glass
Welcome to our new blog feature! Here, we'll post updates on our events and exhibits, share interesting finds, and offer a variety of perspectives on our collections. To start, here's an image of the museum space in Spence Hall as it looked in 1954. Back then, it was known as the Historical Foundation of the… Continue reading Hello from the Presbyterian Heritage Center!
Art, Facts, and Artifacts 