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| In 1920, Lucy Morgan came to the small mountain town of Penland, N.C. to teach the children at the nearby Appalachian School. In less than five years she left that position to establish a weaving program in the hopes of providing extra income to the isolated community. By the end of the decade, this craft education program would far exceed the needs of her local weavers, attracting craft students from across the country. |
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| 1923 : Lucy Morgan learns to weave |
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| In 1923 Lucy spent her vacation learning to weave at Berea College in Kentucky. Unlike the heavy looms made in the North Carolina mountains, the light-weight Swedish looms at Berea were easy to use and created delicate weavings. This combination inspired Lucy to create a community of weavers in Penland. |
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Penland founder Lucy Morgan weaving in the early 1920s
Photo: Bayard Wootten / Penland School of Crafts |
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| 1926 : Building a cabin for weavers |
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| A central meeting place for the weavers was needed to make the school eligible for state educational funds. The Weaving Cabin was built by the Penland community out of logs brought in by the local volunteers. |
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Inside the Weaving Cabin
Photo: Bayard Wootten / Penland School of Crafts |
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| 1920s : Buying and selling the product |
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| Determined to find a market for her weavers, Lucy Morgan got a Model-T Ford truck and traveled the rough, mountain roads throughout North Carolina. She often hung the weavings in the lobbies and porches of local resorts. Her booth at the Raleigh State Fair in 1924 helped the school get government funding for vocational education. |
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Lucy Morgan inspecting Penland's woven products.
Photo: Bayard Wootten / Univ. of N.C. Library at Chapel Hill |
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| 1928 : Edward F. Worst visits Penland |
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| Edward F. Worst of Chicago was the country's leading expert on handweaving when he visited Penland in the summer of 1928. A national magazine wrote about his trip, and soon people from across the U.S. began writing Penland asking to study with Worst on his next visit. The "enrolling" of students from outside the local area is considered the birth of Penland School of Crafts. Worst taught at Penland every summer until his death in 1949. |
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Edward F. Worst brought national recognition to Penland.
Photo: Penland School of Crafts |
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| 1929 : The first steps toward craft education |
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| The Penland School of Handicrafts had its beginnings in Old Ridgeway Hall. The original Appalachian School was carrying on a summer camp and the children rollerskated on the upper porch while the lower porch was used by Penland's weaving students and teachers. |
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Weaving Institute on the porch of Old Ridgeway
Photo: Penland School of Crafts |
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