Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (11) View all
University of North Carolina Asheville (1) View all
  • Forestry in Western North Carolina (3)
  • Faces of Asheville (0)
  • Grove Park Inn Photograph Collection (0)
  • Isaiah Rice Photograph Collection (0)
  • Morse Family Chimney Rock Park Collection (0)
  • Picturing Asheville and Western North Carolina (0)

Alarka School

  • wcu_travel-99.jp2
  • This photograph shows the new school building in Alarka, North Carolina, a community in Swain County, N.C. The decision to build a new school in Alarka provided the opportunity to consolidate smaller schools into the new structure through the use of improved roads and motor vehicles. The Alarka School was built in 1937-1938 as a project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a program to provide employment and community-based structures during the Great Depression. In addition to utilizing local labor, many WPA projects incorporated local building materials that added a visual appeal to the building and made it appear organic to the locale. This view of the school, constructed in stone, shows an automobile parked in front. The photographer's name is unknown.