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Collection Number: 04749

Collection Title: George Myers Stephens Papers, 1924-1979

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


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Size 0.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 160 items)
Abstract George Myers Stephens, publisher and civic leader of Asheville, N.C. Stephens started the Stephens Press in 1936, which, along with commercial printing, specialized in books, guides, and maps about the Smokies and western North Carolina. Files include public lectures and writings on western North Carolina, Asheville, and the Great Smoky Mountains. Some information about the Stephens Press and Stephens's involvement with mountain clubs and civic groups is also included.
Creator Stephens, George Myers, 1904-1978.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the George Myers Stephens papers #4749, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from George Myers Stephens II in May 1995 (Acc. 95054).
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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Processed by: Tim Pyatt, November 1995

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

George Myers Stephens I was born 19 July 1904 in Charlotte, N.C., to George Erwin Gullett and Sophie Convere Stephens. When he was fifteen, his family moved to Asheville, when his father and Charles Webb purchased the Asheville Citizen.

Stephens graduated from the Asheville School for Boys and attended the University of North Carolina where he received an A.B. in history and government (1926). He worked in several positions, including as a timber cruiser for the North Carolina Park Commission, associate director of Camp Sapphire in Brevard, N.C., and editor of the Farmers Federation News, until he started his own publishing firm, the Stephens Press, in 1936. Along with commercial printing, he specialized in books, guides, and maps about the Smokies and western North Carolina. The Smokies Guide was his first book, and it became the popular guide to the region.

Stephens was very active in his community and the state. He served as president of the Carolina Mountain Club, founding president of the Carolina Appalachian Trail Club, and treasurer of the Howard Kephart Memorial Association. He was a founding board member of the Western North Carolina Historical Association and a trustee for the University of North Carolina (1946-54). He served as a trustee of the Asheville Public Libraries and as president of the North Carolina Association of Library Trustees. He also served as president of the Friends of the Library at UNC-CH and as chairman of the North Carolina Botanical Garden Association Board. He received an honorary doctorate from UNC-CH in 1964.

George Stephens died in Asheville at age 74 on 20 December 1978.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

Files include public lectures and writings on western North Carolina, Asheville, and the Great Smoky Mountains. Some information about the Stephens Press and Stephens's involvement with mountain clubs and civic groups is also included.

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Contents list

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Biographical Information, 1924-1979.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Employment and Civic Involvements, 1932-1978.

About 55 items.

Arrangement: chronological.

Folder 7-9

Folder 7

Folder 8

Folder 9

Camp Sapphire, 1932

Folder 10

Carolina Mountain Club, 1932

Folder 11

Horace Kephart Memorial Association, 1932

Folder 12

Resettlement Administration/Rural Electrification Committee, 1935

Folder 13

Stephens Press, 1936-1978

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Writings and Lectures, 1937-1978.

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