This news item expired on Saturday, August 30, 2014 so the information below could be outdated or incorrect.
Watch the award winning video below and check out the Buncombe County Register of Deeds Office Slave Deed exhibit at UNC Asheville. The exhibit commemorates the 150-year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and remembers those who were enslaved for their immeasurable contributions to our community.
The exhibit is now located at the UNCA Intercultural Center inside the Highsmith Student Union at UNC Asheville. The exhibit will be on display until February 28th, 2014.
In every county in North Carolina, the Register of Deeds played a role in cataloging the transactions of slavery in handwritten books. Contained in these handwritten files from the early 1800s are deeds documenting the trading of slaves as property.
One of the stories highlighted in the Slave Deed exhibit is of a slave named Sarah Gudger. Ms. Gudger was born into slavery in Old Fort, North Carolina but spent the majority of her life in Reems Creek. Her story is one of the only first-hand accounts that we have of slavery in Buncombe County.
The exhibit includes a 15 minute video produced by Buncombe County Television featuring the words of Ms. Gudger and comments from local citizens regarding our history.
Buncombe County displays this documentation for the purpose of historical research, family genealogy, education, and to acknowledge that slavery was a part of our County's history.
For more information, please go to www.buncombecounty.org/slavedeeds.