The Jan Wyatt Symposium

Bringing history to life through expert speakers and regional storytelling

CELEBRATING THE PEOPLE, PLACES, AND TRADITIONS

Annual event that explores the rich history, culture, and landscape of the Cashiers Valley through expert talks and engaging topics.

What is the Jan Wyatt Symposium?

In 2005, Cashiers Historical Society presented the first Jan Wyatt Symposium. In the years since, the Historical Society continued its mission to preserve the history of Cashiers Valley through education by sponsoring an annual symposium.

The featured topics ranged from historical figures to geological issues to cultural aspects of the region. Previous symposia highlighted travel and tourism, traditional mountain music, heirloom gardens, and the Civil War in the Carolinas.

For more information, contact: info@cashiershistoricalsociety.org

2026 SYMPOSIUM

We Hold These Truths: Western North Carolina
and America at 250

DATE: Friday, June 26 | 10:00am – 1:00pm
LOCATION: Lewis Hall at the Village Green | Cashiers, NC
TICKETS: On sale June 1
EARLY TICKET ACCESS FOR CHS MEMBERS: May 25 (Emerald, Sapphire, Gold Members)
TICKET PRICE: $50 (benefit for CHS)

This year's program, "We Hold These Truths: Western North Carolina and America at 250," examines the legacies of America's founding in western North Carolina. It looks at the complex narratives that shape the history and culture of the region. We'll examine how Cherokee, women, and African Americans experienced our nation's founding ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Once colonial America's westernmost boundary, the Appalchian Mountains sparked a revolution over expansionist ideals for a new nation. In the years since America's founding, people in the region experiened the promises of the founding documents differently. Faced with removal, enslavement, and disenfranchisement, people in the region had to fight for the ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independence long after the document was signed. In the 250 years since America's creation, individuals and social movements worked to expand the promises of the founding document to include all people.

The event will include a slate of speakers, presentations, and a catered box lunch.

PURCHASE TICKETS

2026 Speakers

This year's Symposium commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We will examine moments in the region's history when citizens fought to realize the ideals of equality set forth in the Declaration of Independence.

Shana Bushyhead Condill

Shana will speak about the history of the Cherokee in southern Appalachia. A pivotal moment for Cherokee sovereignty, the American Revolution marked a change for Cherokee government, land base, community, and family structure. Condill will offer the perspective of the American Revolution from the Cherokee point of view.

Executive Director of the Museum of the Cherokee People

Steve Nash

Steve will discuss Reconstruction and emancipation in southern Appalachia following the American Civil War. Reconstruction era legislation expanded the ideals of the Declation of Independence to include newly freed African Americans. The struggle over equality enshrined during Reconstruction spilled over into the 20th century, and defined the Civil Rights Movement.

Professor of History at East Tennessee State University

Executive Director of the Cashiers Historical Society

Amelia Golcheski

Amelia will discuss the history of women in Appalachia. Though women did not recieve the right to vote until 1920, women in southern Appalachia were community leaders. She will examine how Appalachian women fought for equality while building and sustaining their local communities.

Past Symposia

CAMPFIRES & THE EMBERS OF YOUTH: The History of Summer Camps in WNC (2025)

WORK & LEISURE: Tourism and the Making of Modern Cashiers (2024)

TALKING TROUT: The History and Evolution of Native Trout and Fly Fishing (2023)

Ancient Rocks and the Modern Plateau (2022)

Roots of Wisdom (2021)

No Symposium due to COVID-19 (2020)

Rails and Tales (2019)

Music in the Mountains (2018)

The Heirloom Gardener (2017)

HORACE KEPHART: The Man Behind the Myth (2016)

GOLF: Links to the Past (2015)

UNSPEAKABLE JOURNEY: The Removal of the Cherokee (2014)

THE CHEROKEE: Ancient Trails, Talking Leaves, and Broken Treaties (2013)

THE CIVIL WAR IN THE CAROLINAS: Untold Stories (2012)

Halted, the Man and the Genius (2011)

Southern Heritage Foods (2010)

Traditional Mountain Music (2009)

Southern Plain Style Furniture (2008)

William Bartram (2007)

Wade Hampton III (2006)

William Holland Thomas (2005)