Hutchins Library
Special Collections & Archives
BANC (Library Catalog) |  Subject Guides |  Electronic Resources |   Full Text Journals |  Berea Digital
Home > Special Collections & Archives > Southern Appalachian Archives > Guide to the Pine Mountain Settlement School Records
 
Guide to the Pine Mountain Settlement School Records, Part B
 

Accession Number: 42
Pine Mountain Settlement School Records, 1911-1983
Selected Photographs, 1864-1984
Online Catalog Record (BANC)


Overview
History
Part A - Selected Records
        Series I - Board Minutes and Reports, 1913-1983
        Series II - Director's Office Files, 1911-1949
            Subseries A - Correspondence, 1916-1949
            Subseries B - Subject Files, 1911-1949
        Series III - Student Records, c. 1919-1949
        Series IV - Library Files, 1911-1983
Part B - Selected Photographs

Part B: Description of the Selected Photographs, ca 1864-1984

From a total of 9,756 original images, 3,685 images were selected for duplication. While the total date range is 120 years, the majority of the images were made between 1913 and 1974.

Images dating through about the mid 1920s record the daily lives, homes, occupations and surroundings of the area population as well as the planning, establishment and activities of the school. The photographs show a close interaction between school and community. Photos from the mid-1920s to the most recent focus more narrowly on the school programs and activities, but include records of some community events. Construction of several campus buildings is well documented in this collection, as are program changes made by the school to meet developing educational needs of the area.

Although each image is marked with the series from which is drawn, in the boxes images are arranged by subject, rather than series. Thus reproduced images having to do with folk arts, for example, may be found together, regardless of the series from which they originated. (See Contents Collection Summary.)

Series I Kendall Basset Album, ca 1927  

This series consists of 106 images chosen from among 127 made by Kendall Basset, a worker at the School, ca 1920. They are dated 1927 and document PMSS environs, logging, and activities of students and local residents.

Series II Buildings and Campus  

The 390 images in this series were selected from 938 original mounted prints. The photographs date from 1913 and extend through the 1970's. This series documents buildings, grounds, recreational areas and surrounding landscapes through various stages of the school's development. Most campus buildings, both past and present, are represented. With changing needs of the school and its programs, some buildings have held several popular names at different times, according to their various uses. Included also are photographs depicting construction progress on Big Log, Hedges Chapel, and the New Laurel House.

Interior views are also included and show a variety of artifacts and furnishings. Most of the furniture depicted in the photographs was made at the school by students, especially the larger pieces. Additionally, the original Creech log cabin was moved to the school campus after William's death in 1918, and converted into a memorial / museum, preserving many of the couple's tools and possessions including, his handmade furniture and her hand-woven blankets, coverlets and clothing. Interiors of this cabin can be found in Series VI: Friends and Neighbors. It is designated in this collection as "Aunt Sal's Cabin".

Series III Campus Life  

This series consisting of 486 images selected from 1244 mounted prints, focuses on student activities, from their beginning in 1913 through 1949. Pine Mountain offered students a total living experience and education. Student labor requirements were interwoven with classroom, dormitory, recreational, health, and nutritional activities. Training and labor assignments in early years included farming, woodworking, food preparation and other kitchen tasks. Also included are views of sewing, sports, games, traditional dancing and music activities, lime burning, print shop operation, and auto mechanics. Evidence of early food preservation can be seen in photographs displaying strings of "shucky beans" or apples hanging from roof eaves and along porches.

Series IV Christmas  

The 47 mages in this series, selected from 117 mounted prints, document Christmas celebrations at Pine Mountain Settlement School, beginning with the first Nativity play in 1917 and continuing through 1984. Other activities depicted include a performance of a minuet and an old English Mummers Play.

Series V Environmental Education  

A selection of 57 images, dated 1972-1983, were made from 177 original mounted prints.that document the Environmental Education Program inaugurated in 1972. Participants included students, elementary through college level, and groups of teachers and other adults. Photographs in this series include classes and trail walks, and depictions of activities relating soil conservation, water and forests, ecology, and geology.

Series VI Friends and Neighbors  

This series consists of 573 images, dated 1972-1983, chosen from among 1102 mounted prints. Predominant dates range from 1913 through the 1940s. Faces, families, homes, occupations, schools and pastimes from the earliest days are shown. The images also document changes in people and their surroundings resulting from decreased isolation. Several families are depicted through three generations. Activities include sorghum making, flax preparation, farming, logging, mining, and construction of the road over Pine Mountain. This series also includes interior and exterior views of mountain homes and schools. Some of the school room pictures show Pine Mountain graduates serving as regular or emergency teachers.

Also of interest are images of people shown with an item or in a setting relating to their occupations. For example, Mrs. Causey, a basket-maker, is always shown holding a small basket; a clergyman is depicted holding his Bible; an itinerant preacher is pictured with his suitcase; and "Fiddler John" Lewis usually holds his fiddle. Photographs of "Aunt Sal" Creech often include a spinning wheel, and her husband, "Uncle" William Creech is shown farming, running a general store, and serving as postmaster.

Series VII Life and Works  

This series consists of 717 images chosen from among 3,318 mounted prints. They provide a comprehensive cross section of school life and activities from the 1940s through the 1970s. Included are portraits and candids of students and staff in the classroom, and views of the play-ground, farm and dairy. There are also views of student industries, health activities, recreation, and buildings and grounds maintenance. Many persons are identified by name. Of particular interest are several images documenting the activities of two early kindergarten programs.

Series VIII Special Events  

Floods, forest fires and construction of a logging railroad through the campus are shown in this brief series. The ways students and staff coped with these events are documented in 32 photographs selected from among 51 mounted prints. Approximate dates for these photographs are from 1929 and 1935 for the flooding and 1931 and 1934 for the forest fires. Dates for railroad construction are from the late teens through the 1920s.

Series IX Students  

This series consists of 56 images chosen from among 100 mounted prints with dates ranging from approximately 1930 to 1961. Included are graduating classes and other group photographs as well as a variety of candid pictures.

Series X Students  

This series consists of 145 photographs chosen from among 239 mounted prints ranging in dates from 1913 to 1983. Staff members are shown interacting among themselves, with students, neighbors and other friends. Events portrayed include neighborhood visits, outings, banquets, "Dogwood Breakfasts," as well as conditions of travel and modes of transportation.

Series XI Pine Mountain Early Days  

This series consists of 518 images chosen from among 816. It depicts a comprehensive view of the Pine Mountain area prior to industrialization. People are shown in daily activities at their homes and in interaction with schoolteachers, medical staff and visitors. Many photographs include identifications of people and places. There is one image (#2612) of "Uncle William" Creech in his Union Army uniform, and one (#2613) of Katherine Pettit, on her first visit to Harlan Town in 1899. Also depicted are the hauling of supplies over Pine Mountain, the construction of Big Log, ballad singing, and local excursions. A particularly notable feature of these images is the extensive documentation they provide of local clothing styles from the 1913-1920 era.

Series XII Helen DeLong's Photographs  

This series consists of 57 images (circa 1914 through the 1920s) chosen from among 73 made by Helen DeLong, a younger sister of Ethel DeLong Zande. They document area residents, scenery, flax preparation, dancing.

Series XIII Arthur Dodd Photographs  

This series consists of 71 images (1943-1946) chosen from among 79 credited to Arthur Dodd, although it is not clear wether as photographer or collector. Dodd taught English, played the organ and visited prospective students. Photographs depict daily school routine and campus views, with emphasis on classroom activities.

Series XIV Harmon Foundation Movie Stills, 1942  

This series consists of 72 images chosen from among 306 views derived from a 1942 promotional film that depicts school activities, students, staff, and school surroundings. Of particular note are photographs concentrating on student labor programs. Interaction between students and staff is shown in views of kitchen chores, housekeeping, dairy and farm work, and the co-op store.

Series XV Little Laurel and Line Fork Extension Center  

This series consists of 75 images chosen from among 126 (1920s-1940s). It documents Little Laurel Extension Center, also known as the Medical Settlement, started in the spring of 1919 and staffed by Harriet Butler and Dr. Grace Huse. The Line Fork Center began in 1920 and was staffed by Isabella McClannan and Martha Van Meter. Activities photographed include medical services, as well as home visits and clinics.

Series XVI Ethel McCullough Photographs  

This series consists of 48 images chosen from among 192 dating primarily from 1914. Ethel McCullough appears to have been associated with the school during its earliest years. Subjects include families, staff, homes, farm-steads, landscapes and transportation.

Series XVII Margaret Motter Photographs  

This series consists of 63 images chosen from among 222 dating mainly from the 1930s. They depict the campus, students and staff, student theatrical productions, individuals and family groups. Margaret Motter came to Pine Mountain in 1928 and stayed for ten years, serving as teacher and principal of the school. She returned in the mid-1940s as a field representative for the school's publicity program.

Series XVIII Katherine True Photographs, 1923  

This series consists of 15 images chosen from among 51 made in 1923. They document an excursion into the Pine Mountain area made by Katherine True and Enid Rutledge. Images consist mainly of landscapes and residents' activities.

Series XIX Scenery  

This series consists of 113 photographs chosen from among 331 dating from 1899 to 1971. Subjects include trails, roads, homesteads, valley and mountain views, creeks, and falls.

Collection Contents Summary

Part B, Selected Photographs, 1864-1984
3,685 photo reproductions in Boxes 15-46

Boxes 15-23

  1. Activities
Box 24
  1. Activities, cont.
  2. Animals
  3. Architecture
Box 25
  1. Architecture, cont.
  2. Artifacts
Boxes 26-29
  1. Campus Buildings & Grounds
Box 29, cont.
  1. Campus Buildings & Grounds, cont.
  2. Ceremonies
  3. Dress
Box 30
  1. Events
Box 31
  1. Folk Arts
  2. Government
Box 32
  1. Industries
  2. Interiors
Box 33
  1. Landscapes
Box 35
  1. Landscapes, cont.
  2. Music
Box 36
  1. Occupations
  2. People
Box 37
  1. People, cont.
  2. Portraits
Boxes 38 - 42
  1. Portraits, cont.
Box 43
  1. Portraits/Staff
Box 44
  1. Portraits/Staff
  2. Special Programs/Outreach
Box 45
  1. Special Programs/Outreach, cont.
  2. Sports
  3. Street Scenes
  4. Studies
Box 46
  1. Theater
  2. Townscapes
  3. Transportation

Home > Special Collections & Archives > Southern Appalachian Archives > Guide to the Pine Mountain Settlement School Records