Blue Ridge Country Nov/Dec 2024 - 55

wasn't quite sure how. And then, one day,
Mrs. William Davis knocked on the door
of her humble cabin.
THE GIFT OF INSPIRATION
" I've brought you a present, knowing that
you take delight in such as this, " Mrs.
Davis told Goodrich as she handed her
a 40-year-old coverlet-a token of " pure
goodwill and affection. "
Per Goodrich's description, the blanket
was woven in the " Double Bowknot "
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE SOUTHERN HIGHLAND CRAFT GUILD
Francis Goodrich was determined to
" bring material help to the poorer among
these neighbors, " particularly the women,
but initially wasn't quite sure how.
Goodrich and asked, " Now, do you suppose
you could go into some mountain
community and live there yourself, raise
the standard of human life and bring
some sort of order out of chaos? "
She supposed she could.
That fall, Goodrich joined scores of
female missionaries dedicated to improving
the lives of mountaineers. Though
critics of these women say they " meddled
in local culture, " Anna Fariello, former
director of Western Carolina University's
Craft Revival Project, doesn't
see it that way.
" They were very sincere in their efforts, "
she says. " In their journals,
the
women often said they learned as much
as they taught. "
Goodrich took an unpaid volunteer
position at Riceville's College Hill School
near Asheville. After two years of doing
everything from making funeral arrangements
to bringing medicine to the sick,
she
accompanied teacher Evangeline
Gorbold to Brittain's Cove in northern
Buncombe County. It's there that
they
established a small mission community
with a schoolhouse, a meeting place called
" The Library " and a church.
According to Goodrich's memoir, Brittain's
Cove was a rural, isolated place located
about 12 miles from Asheville.
PHOTOS BY CHELSEA LANE PHOTOGRAPHY
FACING PAGE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: This
weaving draft with watercolor work was done
by Frances Louisa Goodrich.
The modest Goodrich mountain cabin was
emblematic of her egalitarian nature.
Frances Goodrich's pony was named Cherokee.
Goodrich's nickname, " The Bishop, " was earned
via the trust she instilled in mountain women.
THIS PAGE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Frances
Goodrich traveled via horse and buggy to
deliver woolen yarn and other goods.
Women in Brittain's Cove, where Goodrich
established a mission, worked on looms much
like this one.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024 55
" In those days, 12 miles was a long distance,
and the journey to town, made in
a mountain wagon or in the saddle, consumed
three or four hours, " she writes.
" Once in a while, the men and older boys
made the trip with tobacco and other produce;
the children for some months of the
year had school to keep their minds alert
and happy; but for the women, life had
less color; for them, there were few or no
outings, and many of them were shut in
to monotony. "
Goodrich was determined to " bring
material help to the poorer among these
neighbors, " particularly the women, but
pattern and golden brown on a creamcolored
background. " The brown had
been dyed with chestnut oak and was as
fine a color as the day it was finished, "
Goodrich writes.
That summer, Goodrich took the coverlet
up north to show friends and family.
" There was a lot of interest in the
piece, and people asked where they could
buy similar work, " says Wiseman. " This
gave her the idea of getting local women
... to create more coverlets and bring
much-needed money into the area. "
Upon returning to the cove, Goodrich
found a single loom stowed away in a
barn loft. The loom was soon set up in
the community library " with much talk
of 'harness' and 'gears' and 'sleys' and
'rakes' and 'temples.' "
The women then got to work dyeing,
carding and spinning raw wool into yarn.
When they were complete, Goodrich
loaded up her pony and made the 16-mile
trip to the Angel home. The coverlets woven
by Mrs. Angel and her two daughters
were quickly sold to northern clients by
mail order. This " really got the ball rolling, "
says Wiseman.
Blue Ridge Country Nov/Dec 2024

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