From Ballads to Bluegrass: A Musical History of Wilson Creek

Special Music and History Event Takes Place Saturday

Story by David Brewer

Glen Bolick will be just one of several musicians participating in From Bluegrass to Ballads: A Musical History of Wilson Creek this Saturday, May 16.

This Saturday, May 16, the Friends of Wilson Creek will host a unique musical event entitled From Ballads to Bluegrass: A Musical History of Wilson Creek. The event will take place at the Wilson Creek Visitor Center beginning at noon.

Musicians slated to participate in the event include Deal, Glen Bolick, George Bowman, Suzette Bradshaw, Rick Everhardt, Clyde Ferguson, Pop Ferguson & Friends, Mike Fox, Bob Henson, Bob & Roberta Kogut, Randy Miller, “Hobo” Bill & Kristin Morris, Gary Saunders and Richard Shook.

From Ballads to Bluegrass will feature a vast array of local and regional musicians performing songs from throughout the area’s long and rich musical history. Between performances, participants will offer anecdotes, stories and historical facts to entertain and educate those in attendance.

“We try to hold events during the summer just to get people to come and visit the area that might like to learn more about the gorge,” said Deal, a Friends of Wilson Creek board member and musician. “Part of our mission is to preserve the water of Wilson Creek, but it’s also to preserve the cultural heritage of that area. We’re doing something sort of unique in that we’re combing music and entertainment with education.”

Participating musicians will perform more than 40 songs that filled the cabins, homes, barns and hotels from the early 1800s to the 1940s. Songs, stories and dance will trace the area’s musical heritage with performances representing musical influence of the old country, early mountain tales, minstrel songs, Civil War songs, CCC camp songs, barn dances, early radio and records, and early bluegrass.

“Several of us on the board are musicians. We’ve been going up there and playing on the porch and people like that, so we thought we’d just expand that,” said Deal. “The program traces the history of the music of that area from the 1850s to the 1940s.”

Deal also stressed that From Ballads to Bluegrass is far from a bluegrass-heavy event.

“We’ll only be doing three bluegrass songs at the end,” Deal said.

Food and concessions will be available for purchase at the event. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs.

Wilson Creek has a full and vibrant history. The area was once used as summer hunting grounds for the Cherokee Indians. Shortly after 1750, pioneers settled here and began logging the dense forests. Mortimer, the largest community, was the site of the Ritter Lumber Company sawmill and a small textile mill, which provided jobs for the community’s 800 residents. Substantial logging took place between Wilson and Steel Creeks, and the trees were hauled to the mill via narrow-gauge railroad.

In 1916, a fire burned from Grandfather Mountain to Wilson Creek, and was immediately followed by a flood, which destroyed the logging railroad. In 1925, a second fire swept through, this time from Upper Creek to the south. The railroad, which had been rebuilt, was lost again. When a second flood hit the area in 1940, it washed away both the sawmill and the textile mill. The foundation of the textile mill can still be seen from the road.

During the late 1930s, early 1940s, Mortimer was the site of one of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps, which operated across the United States. The main structure still stands serving as a Forest Service work center. The old CCC camp at Mortimer is eligible for listing on the Nation Register of Historic Places.

For directions to the event or for more information on Wilson Creek, click to www.FriendsofWilsonCreek.org or call Deal at 828-758-9448.

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