Help Unlock the Mysteries of CFHC’s Historic Baker-Barber Photographic Collection

The Baker-Barber Photographic Collection is a treasure trove of thousands of images documenting people, places and events

Community Foundation of Henderson County needs your help unlocking the mysteries of the historic Baker-Barber Photographic Collection, a precious pictorial account of more than a century of life in and around Henderson County.

Gifted in 1993 to the Community Foundation by the late Joseph “Jody” Egerton Barber and maintained at the Henderson County Public Library, the Baker-Barber Photographic Collection is a treasure trove of thousands of images documenting people, places and events in and around Henderson County from 1884 to the mid-1990s. The collection’s images illustrate the changing face of our community through the years and include pictures of rural life, urbanization, transportation, recreation, tourism, families, businesses, news events, and formal portraits of area residents. Some of the images can be viewed on the library's website.

Ron Partin, a community volunteer and past member of CFHC's Board of Directors, is leading a renewed effort with a dedicated group of volunteers to digitally scan, catalog and identify images in the collection.

Many more stories behind the images in the Baker-Barber Photo Collection are yet to be unearthed and shared, and there are several ways you can help with this effort:

  • Attend the slideshows: Public slideshows of Baker-Barber images are presented from 1:30 to 3 p.m. typically the first and third Thursdays of each month in the Kaplan Auditorium at the Henderson County Public Library at 301 N. Washington St. in Hendersonville. These slideshows are a great opportunity to view images from the collection and to share information about the people, places and events in the photos.
  • View the “Do You Remember?” photos: Check out the “Do You Remember?” photo feature in each Saturday’s Times-News and share any input you have about what are in these photos with Partin by contacting him by email or at (828) 698-2763.
  • Do follow-up research on photos: Help conduct research in the Henderson County Genealogical and Historical Society library, courthouse records, newspaper files, census records and other resources.
  • Contribute to the Baker-Barber fund at CFHC: The collection is largely self-supporting. The library covers staff time, storage space and technical support. Any special projects must be funded elsewhere. The Baker-Barber Photographic Collection Endowment Fund is held at the Community Foundation to help preserve, maintain and showcase the collection. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to this fund. Contributions can be sent by check with "Baker-Barber Photographic Collection Endowment Fund" in the memo line to: Community Foundation of Henderson County, PO Box 1108, Hendersonville, NC 28793. Donations also can be made by credit card online here or by calling (828) 697-6224.

To order copies of any of the Baker-Barber photographs, contact Special Collections Librarian Mark Burdette by email or at (828) 697-4725. All proceeds from these sales go into CFHC's Baker-Barber fund.