The Parkway in Little Switzerland: Not Always Serene

By Walter Kulash, June 2010
Looking at how the Blue Ridge Parkway showcases the Little Switzerland peaks, you would think that it was always a "natural" for being located here. Knowing the affection that Little Switzerland residents now hold for the Parkway, you would also think that it was well loved from the beginning.

In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

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Mining History of Little Switzerland

By Alan Schabilion, May 2010
The minerals of the Little Switzerland area have attracted interest since the first inhabitants came long ago. Indians have used local mica for ornamentation and grave-sites for untold centuries. Though common here, mica is rare in many places and local Indians traded mica across many states. Discoveries of our local mica in the Hopewell Tribe mounds in Ohio show that this mineral has been mined here and traded for almost 2,000 years!

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Heriot Clarkson & Little Switzerland in Black & White

By Ann Kernahan, March 2010
"It's so easy to sweep parts of history aside." That's what my niece told me when I revealed to her that I would be writing a local newspaper column about Judge Heriot Clarkson and the making of the town I now live in called Little Switzerland, NC. Cyndi is a Social Psychologist teaching the issues of racism and racial privilege at the University of Wisconsin. I asked her for some advice and that's what she told me.

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Harriet Morehead Berry and the Professors of Laurel Lane

By Stanley W. Black, February 2010
One of Little Switzerland Founder Judge Heriot Clarkson's close associates in his work as legislative chairman of the North Carolina Good Roads Association was Harriet M. Berry. She was born in Hillsborough in 1877 and worked for the State Geological Survey from 1901. She became acting director of the Good Roads Association in 1917. Together with Clarkson, she helped pass the landmark Highway Act of 1921 to create the State Highway System. In 1928, Ms. Berry built a house on Laurel Lane, which she occupied in summers, while living in Chapel Hill. Her sisters Margaret Berry Strout and Mary Berry Brown were frequent visitors, along with her brother John Berry's family. John Berry's daughter Mary Berry Barnes fondly recalls visiting with her family in the 1930's.

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You Don't Find Little Switzerland, Little Switzerland Finds You

By Elaine Percival, January 2010
"You don't find Little Switzerland, Little Switzerland finds you." I wish I could take credit for these words, but they were spoken by a friend as we were having lunch at the Switzerland Café. As was her custom, she was enjoying a month-long vacation here and was quick to recognize the charm that infuses the Little Switzerland community.

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