Celebrating 100 years of Singing Behind the Plow
It began with a trip to the mountains over one hundred years ago. A place many considered a mission field, a fertile land for both agriculture and cultural experiences.
Olive Dame Campbell accompanied her husband, John C. Campbell, into the lush landscape of Appalachia, and, like many visitors, they fell under the magical spell of the mountains and her people. An inquisitive couple, John interviewed preachers and teachers while Olive focused on the workmanship and crafts of Appalachians while also collecting ballads. The couple left the area excited. They had decided to create a school that would offer educational opportunities to the rural residents, many of whom weren’t furthering their education because of family obligations. The Campbells had no intention of forcing their ideas on mountain people, instead, they would offer a collaboration, a partnership for those who were intimately familiar with plowing up a new ground while looking at the back end of a mule.
Singing perhaps. Yes, they thought, singing and classes that sharpened basic skills while also celebrating the incomparable craftsmanship found exclusively in the mountains.
Celebrating 100 years of Singing Behind the Plow
Olive Dame Campbell and John C. Campbell. Photo courtesy Southern Appalachian Digital Collections
But John C. Campbell’s sudden death delayed the couple’s vision. However, Olive had formed a new friendship with Marguerite Butler, a teacher at the Pine Mountain Settlement School in Harlan, Kentucky. The ladies spent 18 months immersing themselves in the study of singing, dancing, and the business side of craftsmanship in areas across the pond Appalachians refer to as their “Mother Country.” For you see, someone born in Western North Carolina may have never been to Europe, or Ireland, or even Scandinavia like Olive and Marguerite had. Highlanders are born with the ways of their people knitted tightly in the strand of their DNA. With Marguerite’s love of dance and music, and Olive’s adventuresome spirit and inquisitiveness, the women simply could not fail. After their time abroad, the women returned to the mountains determined to establish a school which would finally provide an answer to the question nagging Olive since 1909, “How shall we keep an enlightened, progressive, and contented farming population on the land?”
In 1925, a lady without a husband had a hard row to hoe, but the people of Brasstown, North Carolina, embraced Olive in ways she could only imagine. Marguerite had discussed the idea of building a new kind of school with local storekeeper, Fred Scroggs, who was instrumental in garnering local support. This new school would be like none other, where no tests were taken, no grades earned. The Folk School would be a place where students could become experts in fields of study, support their family, and celebrate their heritage. It would seem Olive inherently knew that developers would one day see the mountains not as place rich with heritage and culture that should be protected and celebrated, but instead, would view the land as something to be carved into plots and sold for profit. The ladies held out hope the community would support them. Imagine their surprise when 200 residents pledged their support at their first meeting. Then, Lucius and Lillie Scroggs donated twenty acres. Others made donations of cash and labor, and materials.
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Celebrating 100 years of Singing Behind the Plow
Marguerite Butler and Olive Dame Campbell.
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Celebrating 100 years of Singing Behind the Plow
One of the original cabins at the John C. Campbell Folk School before restoration in 2025. Renea Winchester photo
Public health, history, literature, folk dancing, folk singing and gymnastics were among the first classes offered as a part of the curriculum. One hundred years later, The Campbell’s initial vision has expanded into 800 weeklong classes spanning 50 subject areas on a sprawling 270-acre campus.
With classes designed to offer something for everyone, tuition includes lodging, RV camping, or tent camping. Located two hours from Atlanta, Knoxville, and Chattanooga, the Folk School can arrange airport pick up services in Atlanta. The Folk School also offers a 25% discount tuition and guaranteed availability space to their North Carolina neighbors who reside in Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties. In Georgia, Fannin, Gilmer, Rabun, Towns and Union County residents also enjoy this discount, as well as residents of Polk County, Tennessee. Military veterans, teachers, and students ages 18-25 receive a 15% discount. All discounts require proof of residency or military ID.
A typical class begins with a gathering at the historic Keith House whereby you are welcomed, introduced to your instructor, and make your way to class. This will probably be the only time you see students taking woodturning and blacksmithing classes, which are two of the more rigorous classes due to the physical demands required and the hours necessary to create a finished product. A hundred years ago, knowing how to forge iron played an important role in the lives of farmers such as Brasstown’s beloved Ralph Myers.
The son of Marion Myers and Daisy McClure Myers, Ralph Myers came to Brasstown at the age of five and took to farming. As with all farmers, the Myers diversified, raising dairy cattle for 45 years. “Farming’s not all easy going. It has a way of weeding out the weak people,” Myers says. He will turn 100 in September 2025 and shows no signs of slowing down. I met him on a hot July evening in 2022 when he was cutting the hay field. Currently, four generations of Myers men: Ralph, Dennis, Heath, and his 11-year-old-son, Cole tend the 40-acre field at Brasstown. Seven-year-old, Creed Myers awaits his turn.
The Olive Dame Campbell dining hall is a stunning building lined with windows that allow natural light to spill inside. All meals are included with tuition. Expect to enjoy locally-grown produce when in season, some you can see growing as you a stroll through the gardens. Students are invited to sit wherever they wish, which allows them to connect with others in the dining hall, regardless of the class they are taking. The building also provides a bird’s eye view of a wide open field and the Myers men on tractors, who will eventually make their way to the end of the field located at the Orchard House, where writing classes are held. Adorning the expertly crafted walls made of tongue and groove hardwood, colorful paintings and photographs of past students provide encouragement as does a display case filled with carvings from Brasstown Carvers. By now, you want to learn to paint, carve, take photographs and, after a quick stop in the gift shop, you know for certain you can learn how to throw pots and weave natural fiber into spectacular works of art.
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Celebrating 100 years of Singing Behind the Plow
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Celebrating 100 years of Singing Behind the Plow
Dennis Myers uses a farm tractor to cut hay at the John C. Campbell Folk School.
This is why so many students return to the Folk School.
In 2023, the Cory Brown Memorial Dye Garden was dedicated. Cory, (son of instructor, Donna and Cliff Brown), converted music into noise patterns which his mother then made into a silk screen design. Here in the garden, coreopsis, indigo, yarrow, and French marigolds thrive. All will be harvested and processed into dye used for natural fibers, and watercolor paintings. In a world increasingly covered in concrete, the Folk School has become a sacred place, one where the burdens of life melt away.
The grounds are perfectly groomed with a seamless transition from the field to forest, and walking paths to the buildings where classes are held that connect students to their accommodations. Many evenings, you will find folks congregated for the evening dance, a non-competitive assembly that welcomes everyone, especially those with no experience. The goal of the John C. Campbell Folk School staff isn’t just teaching you how to play the guitar, woodworking, basketry, or knitting. The goal is for everyone to leave with a full heart and a face sore from grinning ear-to-ear.