Neighborhood encounter, late 1890's. NC Collection, Pack Memorial Library, Asheville, NC

1880 - 1900
6.5 Trace the rise and decline of Populism and Progressivism and judge their effectiveness as economic, social, and political movements.

The Progressive Movement highlighted education for both practical and enlightenment purposes and was an integral part of late 19th-century America. Fueled in part by the education of women who had few job opportunities due to sexism in the workplace and culture, a number of these educated women made their way to WNC to begin various social service programs.

In the 1870’s, Mr. and Mrs. L.M. Pease, a White couple from New York City, started a school for Black children in an abandoned livery stable on Beaucatcher Mountain. In 1887 it was gifted to the Woman’s Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church and sent the first Superintendent, Miss Alsie Dole. Thus began Allen School which continued to teach Black youth (later only women) through 1973. It is likely that the women that Edward Stephens referred to in his letter to Mr. McNamee were teachers at the school.

By the dawn of the 20th century, African Americans in Buncombe County, despite diminishing legal rights and increased segregation, opened thriving businesses, developed strong social institutions, and sought advancement through increased educational opportunities.

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