WCU Stories      August 5, 2024

Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center is hosting “WNCRR and Incarcerated Labor: A North Carolina Story” Thursday, Aug. 15, at the Jackson County Public Library Complex Community Room  in Sylva from 6-7:30 p.m.

The presentation, which is free and open to the public, is the first in a series of public programs associated with the exhibition, “Shadows of Incarceration: The Cowee 19 Story,” currently on display at the Mountain Heritage Center. The exhibition examines the tragic story of 19 men and boys who drowned building the Cowee Tunnel on the Western North Carolina Railroad in Dillsboro in the winter of 1882.

“This type of discussion allows us to build upon themes and draw out connections beyond the scope of the exhibition,” said guest curator and WCU graduate student Danielle Duffy. “My goal is always to make history more approachable.”

Duffy will discuss the role of incarcerated laborers and the convict leasing system on the expansion of railroad infrastructure.

Following her presentation, local historian Bob Plott, co-author of “Smoky Mountain Railways” with his son Jacob Morgan Plott, will talk about the history of the WNCRR and how its creation impacted the region.

“There are few, if any, events in Western North Carolina history more important – or more tragic – than the building of the WNCRR, more commonly known as the Murphy Branch,” Plott said.

The Murphy Branch was a 128-mile marvel of engineering from Old Fort to Murphy that took 20 years to complete. Ultimately, it connected rural mountain communities to railways across the nation, allowing for a tremendous increase in tourism and industry.

“This talk kicks off fall programming inspired by the exhibition,” said Amber C. Albert, MHC director. “More educational events (on and off campus) will highlight recent archeological research along the Tuckaseegee River, plus conversations that compare and contrast trends of postbellum incarceration with the criminal justice system today.”

Through the lives, and untimely deaths, of those who perished, “Shadows of Incarceration” examines the convict leasing system, the daily lives of individuals sentenced to hard labor and the economic benefits brought to Western North Carolina by the railroad. The exhibition is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and will be open until Dec. 13. The Mountain Heritage Center is in Hunter Library on the WCU campus, opposite the university steam plant. Groups are welcome with advance reservation. Admission is always free.

The Mountain Heritage Center sponsors include North Carolina Arts Council, Jackson County Arts Council, Western Carolina University and the Jackson County Public Library. Additionally, the Mountain Heritage Center received a grant from North Carolina Humanities to support “Shadows of Incarceration: The Cowee 19 Story.” North Carolina Humanities is a statewide nonprofit and the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For more information about the Mountain Heritage Center, visit www.wcu.edu/engage/mountain-heritage-center.