Madison
County is a rural, agricultural county located in mountainous,
northwestern North Carolina. Throughout its history, the county's rugged
terrain has
prevented easy access to outlying cities such as Asheville or Knoxville.
Winding mountain roads and insular hamlets have meant long bus rides
for school children and extended trips for basic services such as food
and
health care. Twenty-five percent of Madison County's land is federally
owned, which, coupled with a small manufacturing sector, has meant
a minimal local tax base. Historically, the county has had one of the
lowest per
capita incomes and educational levels in the state. Home to small-farm
families growing a diversity of household crops and livestock, and
sustaining a variety of traditional culture forms (
music, foodways, religion, storytelling, handicrafts), Madison was also the
state's
leading producer of burley tobacco.
Interview
with Mars Hill mayor Raymond Rapp about
the prospects for planned development. (November 17, 2000. Approx.
1 1/2 hours. Streaming audio and transcription of interview. Source:
Documenting the American South, Southern Oral History Program,
Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill)
http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/K-253/menu.html
Interview
with Darhyl Boone, Mars Hill, NC, town manager, who
describes Madison County and the changes I-26 may bring. (December
5, 2000. Approx. two hours in streaming audio. Accompanied by
transcription of interview. Source: Documenting the American
South, Southern Oral History Program, Southern Historical Collection,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/K-246/menu.html
|
In the latter part of the twentieth century, like rural counties
across the United States, Madison experienced rapid change. In the
1960s, a significant number of newcomers entered Madison County from
outside the Southern Appalachian region. The earliest of these were
back-to-the-landers and individuals seeking a slower pace as well
as a sense of community and belonging in the mountain culture. Adjustments
in the federal tobacco program and an aging population took a toll on
the
county's
family farms. The majority of Madison residents now work away from
home and their grown-up children are choosing to live elsewhere.
Access to higher-paying jobs has often come with the severing of
deeply-rooted local connections.
|
Interview
with Richard Lee Hoffman, Jr., a real
estate broker who expresses his ambivalence about Madison County
changes. (November 8, 2000. Approx. 1 1/2 hours. Streaming audio
and transcription of interview. Source: Documenting the American
South, Southern Oral History Program, Southern Historical Collection,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/K-505/menu.html
Interview
with Sam Parker, a Madison County Probation/Parole
Officer about his leaving suburbia in the 1960s for rural life
and the transformation of the area. (December 5, 2000. Approx.
1 1/2 hours. Streaming audio and transcription of interview. Source:
Documenting the American South, Southern Oral History Program,
Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill)
http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/K-252/menu.html
|
Since the early 1980s, a steady stream of new residents has arrived,
including retirees and young professionals, with no ties to the area
and, often, with little interest in its past. Tourism plays an increasing
role in the county's economy through river rafting, hiking,
and events such as music and craft festivals. In the early twenty-first
century,
life
in Madison County combines the persistence of established local
networks with the transformations accompanying new technologies,
a diversifying and
more transient population, new money, and the effects of I-26, a
transportation corridor that connects the Ohio Valley with the
Atlantic Coast.
