Appalachian Artifacts Collection Wish List

Appalachian Artifacts Teaching Collection

The Loyal Jones Appalachian Center at Berea College maintains an Appalachian Artifacts Teaching Collection to support teaching and learning at Berea College.  Ours is not the largest collection, but we are focused on building the most multi-disciplinary, well-rounded, and diverse teaching collection for Appalachian Studies.  Learn more about our approach to collecting Appalachia by follow the link above.

About Our Collecting

  • We are very selective about what we accept
  • We primarily rely on donations to build our collections, but we do have a small acquisitions budget
  • Berea College is a 501(c)(3) organization, all artifact donations are tax deductible
  • We only collect 3-D objects for this collection.  Papers, documents, books, and photographs are collected by Berea’s  Special Collections and Archives Department.
  • Please read our Important Information for Artifact Donors page for more information
  • Contact Curator Christopher A. Miller with inquiries.

Master Artifacts Wish List

These artifacts are of special interest to us as we build the best and most accessible Appalachian Studies teaching collection available.  These items are not listed in priority order.  The number of plus signs (+, ++, +++) indicates strength of interest and importance to the collection.

Pottery and Ceramics from Appalachia

  • Cherokee or Catawba Pottery (+++)
  • Any by known potters in Appalachia that  not already represented in our collections, especially
  • Pottery by W.J. (Bill) Gordy, Georgia (++)
  • Pottery from the Meaders Family, Georgia (+++)
  • Pottery from other North Georgia potteries (+++)
  • Early Cornellison or Bybee pieces (++)
  • Other Eastern Kentucky makers (+)

Dulcimers from Appalachia, especially known makers

  • Dulcimers from Appalachian makers not currently represented in our collections, especially  (+++)
    • An Early Galax style dulcimer (++++)
    • Tennessee box style dulcimer (+++)
    • North Georgia makers (+++)
    • North Carolina makers (++)
    • Northern Alabama makers (++)
  • Dulcimer by Homer Ledford using wood from Howard Hall (++)
  • Dulcimer by (Uncle) Ed Thomas, we have one, but would like another one (+)
  • Dulcimer maker in Totz, Kentucky whose name we can’t remember (++)

Regional Foodways Artifacts

  • Cabbage slicer (++)
  • Clockwork-type cooking jack (+++)
  • Rod for hanging pots removed from inside cooking fireplace (++)
  • Wooden planks or barrel heads used for fireplace cooking (++)
  • Food packaging from store bought items

Commercial Food Products and Packaging from Appalachia

  • Little Debbie Treat Box, especially Oatmeal Cream Pie, pre-1980 (+++)
  • Early Moon Pie / Lookout Packaging (++++)
  • Other items from Chattanooga Baking Co. (+++)
  • Bottles from soft drinks bottled at Chattanooga Bottling Co. that we don’t already have in the collection. (++)
  • JFG Coffee Can from Knoxville (+++)
  • Early Labels or cans from Bush’s Beans (+++)
  • Early Labels or cans from Stokely [pre  Van Camp merger] (++)
  • Early Old Export Beer Cans or bottles that mention mountain water, from Cumberland, Maryland (+++)

Coal Miner & Mining Artifacts

Surprisingly our Appalachian Center has very few artifacts related to coal mining and miners. We seek these kinds of items that are from from known individuals or families.  We are interested in items from any time period, early to the present.

  • Lunch kit or pail (+++)
  • Hats and Lamps (+++)
  • ID number tags (++)
  • Personal items (+++)
  • Clothing (++)
  • Helmet (+++)
  • Coal mining stickers (+++)
  • Artifacts from union activity or strikes (+++)

Artifacts of the Tourist Industry and the Tourist Experience in Appalachia

  • Items related to the Dixie Highway through Appalachia not already in our collection. (+++)
  • Tourist signage – directional, advertising, other (++)
  • A U.S. 25 vintage cast iron shield road sign (+++)
  • Postcards from destinations
  • Artifacts of the tourist experience in Appalachian, such as items from visits to National parks, tourist attractions, tourist business, etc.

Folk-Art, Outsider art from Appalachia

  • Chair made by Chester Cornett (++++)
  • Wood Carving or chairs by Edgar Tolson (+++)
  • Wood carving by Ross Corn of Berea (++)
  • Evan Decker Folk Art Piece (++)
  • Lanier Meaders Face Jug (++++)

Classic Appalachian Craft Items Missing from our Collections

  • Corn Shuck Dolls made by Margaret Revis, Buncombe Co., North Carolina, 1920s-30s (+++)
  • Baskets from Appalachian makers, historical and contemporary
  • Lucy George honeysuckle baskets (++)
  • White oak split basket from Blue Ridge area of  Virginia, signed or unsigned (++)
  • Tools used in making baskets, especially (+++)
    • Dies for making white oak rods (++++)
  • Poppet Dolls from Appalachia (++)

Manufactured Goods from Appalachia

  • Kelly Axe and Tool Company tool made in West Virginia (+++)
  • Items made West Virginia and East Tennessee chemical industries (++)
  • Products connected to the chemical and plastic research & development Labs in S. Charleston, West Virginia, and similar places (++)
  • Items resulting from Tennessee Eastman R&D Labs even if they are not directly manufactured in Tennessee (++)
  • West Virginia glass Industry from makers not already represented in the collection or rare items (++)
  • Tools and equipment used in the West Virginia glass industry, especially from named workers or families (+++)
  • Bottles from Chattanooga patent medicine industry, pre 1915 (+)
  • Crates made by Cumberland Case Company and Chattanooga Box & Lumber Co.
  • Variety of bottles (+) and decorative pieces (+++) made by Chattanooga Glass Co.
  • Objects made or used at the American Cellulose & Chemical Manufacturing Company in Cumberland, Maryland, later known as Celanese®.  It was the first manufacturer of Acetate yarn and fabric in the USA. (+)
  • Artifacts from the West Virginia salt or saline industry 1797-1870s such as Kanawha Salt Co. (++++)

Artifacts related to Clinton Engineering Works or Oak Ridge, such as

  • Workers’ ID badges (++++)
  • Other personal items from Appalachian workers there (+++)
  • Irradiated dime souvenir or other souvenirs from the Atomic Energy Museum (++)