John C. Campbell Folk School Records, 1928-1988

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Summary

Creator:
John C. Campbell Folk School.
Abstract:

The John C. Campbell Folk School, founded in 1925 by Olive Dame Campbell and Marguerite Butler, was organized on the model of folk and craft schools common in Scandinavia. The original purpose of the School was to preserve the indigenous culture of the southern highlands and to transmit these traditions to young people. Records of the John C. Campbell Folk School relate to maintenance and administration of the School as well as to the activities and programs conducted there. Included is correspondence and other items about day-to-day activities, with a large number of letters describing individual programs and events, including an internship program that brought college students to live and work at the School while working on social, cultural, and environmental issues; proposals for workshops and courses from craftspeople; materials relating to maintenance of the School grounds, construction of new buildings, personnel, food preparation, and other operational topics; reports from meetings of the Board of Directors about general School policies; items relating to the School's relations with outside agencies, including state agencies and colleges and universities in the area; solicitation lists and other fundraising materials; grant proposal materials; general planning materials; and financial records, including auditors' reports, ledgers, and accounting sheets.

Extent:
23,000 items (28.5 linear feet)
Language:
English.
Library Catalog Link:
View UNC library catalog record for this item

Background

Biographical / historical:

The John C. Campbell Folk School was founded in 1925 by Olive Dame Campbell and Marguerite Butler. The School was organized on the model of folk and craft schools common in Scandinavia. The original purpose of the School was to preserve the indigenous culture of the southern highlands and to transmit these traditions to young people. For an extensive history of the John C. Campbell Folk School, see Pat McNelley, The First 40 Years: The John C. Campbell Folk School (1966) and Laura O'Keefe, Growing is the Reason for Being: An Experiment in Education at the John C. Campbell Folk School (1992).

Scope and content:

The records of the John C. Campbell Folk Schoolfolk and craft school relate to maintenance and administration of the School as well as to the activities and programs conducted there. Included is correspondence and other items about day-to-day activities, with a large number of letters describing individual programs and events, including an internship program that brought college students to live and work at the School while working on social, cultural, and environmental issues; proposals for workshops and courses from craftspeople; materials relating to maintenance of the School grounds, construction of new buildings, personnel, food preparation, and other operational topics; reports from meetings of the Board of Directors about general School policies; items relating to the School's relations with outside agencies, including state agencies and colleges and universities in the area; solicitation lists and other fundraising materials; grant proposal materials; general planning materials; and financial records, including auditors' reports, ledgers, and accounting sheets.

Acquisition information:

Received on deposit from Jan Davidson on behalf of the John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, N.C., in September 2000 (Acc. 98767).

Sensitive materials statement:

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Access and use

Restrictions to access:

No restrictions

Restrictions to use:

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

No usage restrictions.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], in the John C. Campbell Folk School Papers #5040, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Location of this collection:
Louis Round Wilson Library
200 South Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
Contact:
(919) 962-3765
wilsonlibrary@unc.edu