This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities; this finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.
Size | 2.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 2500 items) |
Abstract | John A. (John Augustus) Blakemore (1894-1986) of Washington County, Va., was co-founder and business manager of the White Top Folk Festival, held on White Top Mountain, Grayson County, Va., 1931-1936 and 1938-1939. The festival featured traditional singers, musicians, and dancers. The collection includes correspondence, lists of performers and visitors, clippings and printed material, legal and financial papers, writings, photographs, and other material relating to the White Top Folk Festival. Correspondents include performers Annabel Morris Buchanan (born 1888), John Powell (1882-1963), and Richard Chase (1904-1988). Also included is material relating to a visit to the festival by Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) in 1933. |
Creator | Blakemore, John A. (John Augustus), 1894-1986. |
Language | English |
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
John A. Blakemore (1894-1986) of Washington County, Va., was co-founder and business manager of the White Top Folk Festival, held on White Top Mountain, Grayson County, Va., 1931-1936 and 1938-1939. The festival featured traditional singers, musicians, and dancers.
Back to TopThe collection includes correspondence, lists of performers and visitors, clippings and printed material, legal and financial papers, writings, photographs, and other material relating to the White Top Folk Festival. Correspondents include performers Annabel Morris Buchanan (born 1888), John Powell (1882-1963), and Richard Chase (1904-1988). Also included is material relating to a visit to the festival in 1933 by Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962).
Back to TopArrangement: chronological.
The correspondence chiefly regards John A. Blakemore's efforts in the production and management of the White Top Folk Festival, and contains letters to and from event organizers, musicians, singers, dancers, and spectators. The most frequent correspondent is co-organizer and performer Annabel Morris Buchanan, and there are also letters from John Powell and Richard Chase. Subjects include information requests, registration of performers, obtaining judges and prizes, equipment rentals, hiring workers, concessions, lodging, requests for tax-exempt status, recording and broadcast of performances, funding, and the history of the festival.
Folder 1a |
Original finding aid #04189, Series: "1. Correspondence, 1929-1980." Folder 1a |
Folder 1 |
1929 #04189, Series: "1. Correspondence, 1929-1980." Folder 1 |
Folder 2-9
Folder 2Folder 3Folder 4Folder 5Folder 6Folder 7Folder 8Folder 9 |
1931 #04189, Series: "1. Correspondence, 1929-1980." Folder 2-9 |
Folder 10-21
Folder 10Folder 11Folder 12Folder 13Folder 14Folder 15Folder 16Folder 17Folder 18Folder 19Folder 20Folder 21 |
1932 #04189, Series: "1. Correspondence, 1929-1980." Folder 10-21 |
Folder 22-38
Folder 22Folder 23Folder 24Folder 25Folder 26Folder 27Folder 28Folder 29Folder 30Folder 31Folder 32Folder 33Folder 34Folder 35Folder 36Folder 37Folder 38 |
1933 #04189, Series: "1. Correspondence, 1929-1980." Folder 22-38 |
Folder 39-46
Folder 39Folder 40Folder 41Folder 42Folder 43Folder 44Folder 45Folder 46 |
1934 #04189, Series: "1. Correspondence, 1929-1980." Folder 39-46 |
Folder 47-57
Folder 47Folder 48Folder 49Folder 50Folder 51Folder 52Folder 53Folder 54Folder 55Folder 56Folder 57 |
1935 #04189, Series: "1. Correspondence, 1929-1980." Folder 47-57 |
Folder 58-64
Folder 58Folder 59Folder 60Folder 61Folder 62Folder 63Folder 64 |
1936 #04189, Series: "1. Correspondence, 1929-1980." Folder 58-64 |
Folder 65-77
Folder 65Folder 66Folder 67Folder 68Folder 69Folder 70Folder 71Folder 72Folder 73Folder 74Folder 75Folder 76Folder 77 |
1938 #04189, Series: "1. Correspondence, 1929-1980." Folder 65-77 |
Folder 78-90
Folder 78Folder 79Folder 80Folder 81Folder 82Folder 83Folder 84Folder 85Folder 86Folder 87Folder 88Folder 89Folder 90 |
1939 #04189, Series: "1. Correspondence, 1929-1980." Folder 78-90 |
Folder 91-103
Folder 91Folder 92Folder 93Folder 94Folder 95Folder 96Folder 97Folder 98Folder 99Folder 100Folder 101Folder 102Folder 103 |
1940 #04189, Series: "1. Correspondence, 1929-1980." Folder 91-103 |
Folder 104 |
1964-1971; 1980 #04189, Series: "1. Correspondence, 1929-1980." Folder 104 |
Arrangement: alphabetical by type of material, and chronological within type.
This series consists of lists of performers and visitors to the White Top Folk Festival, press releases and other festival-related materials. The lists of performers include information such as instruments played and songs performed. The lists of visitors consist of names and addresses of those who drove automobiles to the festival grounds. There are also lists of newspapers and magazines contacted for publicity. The additional festival-related materials are chiefly memoranda concerning food supplies, menus, arrangements for Eleanor Roosevelt's visit in 1933, police officers, gatekeepers, concessions, and other aspects of festival production.
Arrangement: alphabetical by type of material, and chronological within type.
Materials in this series include clippings, handbills, brochures, and other printed items relating to White Top Folk Festival, White Top Mountain, and other Southern musical events. Many of these items are in the oversize paper folders.
The papers are chiefly insurance policies, business agreements, income tax returns, and lists of receipts and expenditures of the White Top Folk Festival.
Arrangement: topical.
Fiction, poetry, and essays written about the White Top Folk Festival.
Pictures include black and white photographs chiefly of views of the White Top Mountain area, along with buildings, performers and spectators, and Eleanor Roosevelt's visit to the festival in 1933.
Image P-4189/1-10
P-4189/1P-4189/2P-4189/3P-4189/4P-4189/5P-4189/6P-4189/7P-4189/8P-4189/9P-4189/10 |
Performers and spectators, White Top Folk Festival, 1939 and undated #04189, Series: "6. Pictures, 1926-1939 and undated." P-4189/1-10 |
Image P-4189/11-14
P-4189/11P-4189/12P-4189/13P-4189/14 |
Elenear Roosevelt's visit to the White Top Folk Festival, 1933 #04189, Series: "6. Pictures, 1926-1939 and undated." P-4189/11-14 |
Image P-4189/15-22
P-4189/15P-4189/16P-4189/17P-4189/18P-4189/19P-4189/20P-4189/21P-4189/22 |
White Top Mountain area buildings and other structures, 1926 and undated #04189, Series: "6. Pictures, 1926-1939 and undated." P-4189/15-22 |
Image P-4189/23-58
P-4189/23P-4189/24P-4189/25P-4189/26P-4189/27P-4189/28P-4189/29P-4189/30P-4189/31P-4189/32P-4189/33P-4189/34P-4189/35P-4189/36P-4189/37P-4189/38P-4189/39P-4189/40P-4189/41P-4189/42P-4189/43P-4189/44P-4189/45P-4189/46P-4189/47P-4189/48P-4189/49P-4189/50P-4189/51P-4189/52P-4189/53P-4189/54P-4189/55P-4189/56P-4189/57P-4189/58 |
White Top Mountain area views, 1926-1927 and undated #04189, Series: "6. Pictures, 1926-1939 and undated." P-4189/23-58 |
Image P-4189/59-60
P-4189/59P-4189/60 |
Other subjects #04189, Series: "6. Pictures, 1926-1939 and undated." P-4189/59-60John Powell addressing the Hot Springs, Va., Chamber of Commerce, undated; "Tent School" pupils and teachers, Lansing, N.C., 1934 |
Original processing and finding aid creation by Lyn Wolz, 1980.
Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007
Updated by: Adam Fielding, Kate Stratton, and Jodi Berkowitz, February 2011
This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.
Back to Top