Neighborhood Clubs Served Multiple Purposes

Community map of the Dunn's Rock area from the
Dunn's Rock Community Club 1955 scrapbook.  A
corresponding list identifies who resided at each
numbered location.

The Scrapbook Collection in the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room at the Transylvania County Library contains approximately 150 Community Center, Home Demonstration Club, and 4-H Club scrapbooks. 

In the 1950s rural neighborhoods organized community clubs to bring people together for educational, civic, and social purposes.  Each community club was encouraged to create an annual scrapbook featuring the people and places within their community through newspaper articles, photographs, and other memorabilia.  These scrapbooks have proven to be a wonderful record of life in Transylvania County from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. 

The scrapbooks were scanned by community volunteers.  A few communities decided to leave their books at the Library to be stored, while others took them back to their centers.  Only a small number are available online.  Sixteen Little River Community Club scrapbooks can be viewed at DigitalNC.org.  The others can be viewed at the Library with advance notice.

Photograph of Fortnightly Club members, circa 1920s, from a
Fornightly Club scrapbook.

Women’s Clubs and Garden Clubs also used scrapbooks as a way of recording their activities in the community.  Some of these groups have also donated their photograph albums, minute books, and other supporting materials to the Library to preserve a record of their organization and its work.  The AAUW, Fortnightly Club, Mathatasian Club, Waightstill Avery Chapter DAR, Wednesday Club, Sylvan Valley Garden Club, and Transylvania Garden Club are among those who have some records preserved in the Local History Room.

Changing lifestyles have led to less involvement in community and civic clubs throughout the United States.  Transylvania County is fortunate to still have several active community centers and clubs that connect us to our community and to have these records showing past activity.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.