Charles D. Owen High

Daniel S. (Dan) Pierce, Professor of History at the University of North Carolina - Asheville, shared stories about the Owen Community that are sure to build a sense of pride in our students. The Swannanoa Valley has a rich history and Owen High School can be proud that it has graduated people who have reached the highest levels of success in their chosen careers. Dr. Pierce shared stories about the settlement of Swannanoa, basketball stars, Asheville's racing culture , and many other touch points of our community. Christian Perez was excited to learn more about a facility he sees everyday on the way to school. He found it interesting that the women's prison used to be a military base and is now interested in imagining what the property might become next; Barto Reyes suggests a water park. Christian Perez was also entertained by the stories of how Moonshine used to be hidden in the houses in the local area. Stories like these give students insight and inspiration.

Kelly Dunbar, 2022 State History Teacher of the Year, invited Dr. Pierce to be with students as part of the local history project in which students investigate a historical event and how our community was shaped by that event. In addition to access to community experts, Mrs. Dunbar takes students to the Swannanoa Valley History Museum allowing them to access primary sources to deepen their understanding of past events and "The Valley."

Dr. Pierce is a graduate of Western Carolina University (B.S.Ed.), the University of Alabama (M.A. History), and the University of Tennessee (Ph.D. History). At UNCA, he teaches classes in Appalachian and Southern History, the Civil War, Writing and History, and Environmental History. His research focuses on the Great Smoky Mountains, Southern Appalachian history, the history of Moonshining, and NASCAR history.

If you are interested in learning more about his areas of expertise, then here is a list of his publications and articles.

Publications

• Illustrated Guide to the Grand Circle: Utah & Arizona, with Joel Anderson, Anderson Design Group, July 2021.

• Tar Heel Lightnin': How Secret Stills and Fast Cars Made North Carolina the Moonshine Capital of the World, UNC Press, 2019.

• An Illustrated Guide to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in collaboration with Joel Anderson and Nathan Anderson, Anderson Design Group, September 2017.

• Hazel Creek: The Life and Death of an Iconic Mountain Community. Great Smoky Mountains Association, March 2017.

• Corn from a Jar:  Moonshining in the Great Smoky Mountains.  Great Smoky Mountains Association, June 2013.

• Real NASCAR (University of North Carolina Press 2010)

• The Great Smokies: From Natural Habitat to National Park (University of Tennessee Press, 2000)

Articles

• "’Bib Overalls and Bad Teeth’: Stock Car Racing and the Piedmont Working Class" in Atlanta History. Fall 2004.

• “The Road to Nowhere: Tourism Development vs. Environmentalism in the Great Smoky Mountains" in Southern Journeys: Tourism and the New South (University of Alabama Press, 2003).

• "Logging in the Great Smoky Mountains," 35-page booklet published by the Great Smoky Mountains Association. July, 2003.

• “The Most Southern Sport on Earth: NASCAR and the Unions,” Southern Cultures, Summer 2001.

• “The Barbarism of the Huns: Family and Community Removal in the Establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,” Tennessee Historical Quarterly, Spring/Summer 1998.

• Articles on Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Anne Davis, Governor Austin Peay, Bristol Speedway in The Encyclopedia of Tennessee History and Culture (Nashville: Tennessee Historical Commission, 1998).

• Encyclopedia articles on Great Smoky Mountains and southern stock car racing in The Encyclopedia of Appalachia, The New Georgia Encyclopedia, The South Carolina Encyclopedia, The Encyclopedia of Alabama, and The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture.