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Piecing together the past
When Ross and Kevin stopped by the Cafe last week seeking help, we decided the best assistance we could give them would be an introduction to our community of loyal readers.
The two are in the folk studies program at Western Kentucky University and have been employed by TRC Garrow archaeological firm to unearth as much information as they can about Ravensford (Floyd Bottoms), the property recently acquired by the Eastern Band of Cherokee from the National Park Service.
Ross Fuqua, left, and Kevin Murphy are researching the history of Ravensford (Floyd Bottoms) near Cherokee. Kevin recently received a master’s degree in folk studies, and Ross is currently enrolled in WKU’s graduate folk studies program.
To accomplish their task, Kevin and Ross need the help of anyone who remembers a time when there was a Civilian Conservation Corps nursery (from the 1930s until 1946) on the site or who have heard about the tree-growing operation from older friends or relatives. They also hope to talk to people who might have knowledge of or heard stories about the thriving community that grew up around a sawmill that was in operation at Ravensford during the early 20th century.
Kevin and Ross are conducting an impact study to make sure Ravensford’s history is recorded before anticipated school construction begins and traces of its early uses are erased.
“We’d like to talk to people who may have been involved with the nursery or heard stories about the logging, which ended in 1927,” Ross said.
“People we interview don’t have to have firsthand experience,” Kevin said. “It’s fine with us if they can repeat stories their parents or grandparents told them.”
Ross is originally from Ft. Collins, Colo., and Kevin hails from Cumming, Ga. The lure of WKU’s folk studies led them to Bowling Green, where they met Michael Ann Williams, who was once a folklorist at Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center. Their summer job, uncovering Ravensford’s past, came about because a Garrow associate, Paul Webb, was familiar with Williams’ book, Homeplace, which stressed that in gathering local history the physical record is not enough.
“You have to talk to people,” Kevin said.
Webb did some preliminary interviews, but Ross and Kevin are trying to take the research a step further – to re-interview those contacts and make a permanent record of their findings.
Ravensford was initially the site of a sawmill, school, store, houses and a church. The church, Oconaluftee Baptist, is still standing and is occasionally used for homecomings. Kevin and Ross would like to speak with anyone familiar with the church and its former members.
After the area became part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Ravensford continued to be used as a nursery until midway through the 20th century. Trees grown there were used to replant forests in the Smokies that were decimated by logging.
As they conduct interviews, Ross and Kevin will make recordings, so that both a written and oral record of Ravensford’s past will be preserved. Recordings and transcripts of their finished research will be available at the Cherokee Museum and at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s archives.
To contact Ross and Kevin, call (270) 991-1456 or (270) 393-8422 and leave a message. Ross can be reached via e-mail at joshua.fuqua@wku.edu .
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