The Crossnore Museum & Gallery     

April 2009

All photos and illustrations by Pat Johns ©2009
All Rights Reserved

In 2006 Benjamin Long IV completed the "Suffer the Little Children" fresco for the Sloop Chapel at the Crossnore School. That same year the Crossnore Gallery was started. The gallery shares the same building as the regionally-famous "Weaving Room."

The building was built in 1936 after a fire destroyed the original log building. It is made from local river rock. It was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 2001

In 1920 Dr. Mary Sloop started the weaving program at the school. She wanted to preserve the local weaving craft and she wanted to sell the woven goods to raise money for school projects. Crossnore woven goods are sold at galleries throughout the region.

Many regional artists are represented in the gallery. They include glass blower and artist John Geci, from the nearby Penland area and school, Billie Ruth Suddreth, basket weaver who has been named a "national treasure", and a variety of talented painters and photographers. (See link to the Crossnore Gallery website in the "Resources" section to learn more about these artists.)

The Weaving Room is also a museum of history of the weaving program. Exhibits educate visitors about the weaving instructors and include some early weavings from the program. You may also find school weavers, while hard at work on the looms, also taking the time to talk with visitors.

Their website says that the gallery and museum are open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Their phone number is 828-733-4305 and their e-mail address is info@crossnoreschool.org. The gallery's website address is www.CrossnoreGallery.org.