The Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University announces the opening of a new exhibit on natural history explorer William Bartram. Bartram’s Journey: The 1775 Journey of William Bartram to Western North Carolina traces the life of this fascinating individual and his keen observation of not only plant life, but of the people and places he encountered throughout his travels in the southeastern United States.
This southeastern region was the scene of a great deal of excited plant collecting in the early to mid-18th century, with its lush, beautiful, and largely undescribed flora. Frenchman André Michaux, Scotsman John Fraser, and Englishmen Thomas Walter and Mark Catesby were among the notable collectors who traveled in the region. In this tradition, William Bartram and his father, John Bartram, were renowned as purveyors of seed and stock of North American plants. The legacy of the Bartram family in horticulture and botany is considerable: more than 4,000 species were propagated at their Garden in Philadelphia, and more than 200 species were first introduced into the horticultural trade through their efforts.
Eventually, William's observations were published in 1791 under the title now known as Travels. Bartram’s Travels is recognized as a classic of early American travel writing, influencing numerous naturalists as well as Romantic thinkers of the 19th century such as Henry David Thoreau, William Wordsworth, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Bartram’s Journey: The 1775 Journey of William Bartram to Western North Carolina was created as part of a three-way collaboration between the Mountain Heritage Center, the Highland Biological Station, and the Cashiers Historical Society. The Highlands Biological Station recently debuted its “William Bartram Trail” featuring some 30 mountain and piedmont species with Bartram connections. The Cashiers Historical Society also recently held a three-day symposium exploring the travels of Bartram to Western North Carolina.
Bartram’s Journey will remain on display at the Mountain Heritage Center from May 30 through September 30, 2007. The Mountain Heritage Center is located on the first floor of the HFR Administration Building on the WCU campus. For more information please call 828-227-7129.