Preserve Bascom Lamar Lunsford's Home!

"I've spent nights in more homes from Harpers Ferry to Iron Mountain than anybody but God." - Bascom Lamar Lunsford

“The House the Five String Banjo Built” in Leicester, NC is the homestead of the legendary musical figure Bascom Lamar Lunsford, known as “The Minstrel of the Appalachians."

Who was Bascom Lamar Lunsford?

Bascom Lamar Lunsford (1882 – 1973) dedicated his life to the performance, promotion, collection and preservation of traditional Appalachian music, dance, regional history, Southern culture and folklore. Lunsford recorded over 300 traditional Appalachian ballads, from memory, for The Library of Congress and he and a group of local musicians and dancers performed for President and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and the King and Queen of England at the Whitehouse in 1939. He founded The Mountain Dance and Folk Festival in 1928 and it is the oldest continuously running folk festival in the United States. It is held annually in the beautiful mountain town of Asheville, NC and folks travel far and wide to enjoy a weekend of traditional Appalachian music and dance. Lunsford was born on the campus of Mars Hill University in neighboring Madison County, NC where they host a wonderful archival collection of Bascom’s memorabilia, instruments and historical documents, and host the annual Lunsford Music Festival the first weekend in October.

Bascom was central in the adaptation of mountain music to bluegrass and folk music through his prolific preservation and song collecting, and constant efforts that changed the narrative of mountain culture. An incredibly prolific songwriter, recording artist and performer, some of the most famous tunes he popularized were “Jesse James,” “I Wish I Were a Mole in the Ground,” and “Mountain Dew," influencing the likes of Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanely, The New Lost City Ramblers, Pete Seeger, Old Crow Medicine Show and countless others.

What is this campaign raising funds for?

The Pondering Bascom Performing Arts & Education Center is a registered grassroots nonprofit organization founded by Asheville, NC native and lifelong Buncombe resident Whitney J. Ponder, who purchased Bascom's home in Leicester, NC in 2021. The foundation’s mission is dedicated to the preservation, promotion and continued education in traditional Appalachian performing arts, fine arts, regional history and sustainable lifestyle practices. In honor of Bascom Lamar Lunsford, the non-profit will follow in Bascom’s footsteps by providing an intimate community gathering space for performance, promotion, education and hands-on workshops at his old homestead; nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Buncombe County.

The foundation is working alongside The Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County to forever protect and preserve this important piece of WNC history. To do so, the home needs work! This GoFundMe campaign was created to obtain funding for repairs and updates.

What specifically needs to be done?

Why is Bascom's home important?

For decades, Bascom's home was a sacred ground for regional musicians to learn and perform different types of Appalachian dance, share and swap tunes on the porch, or rest up from their travels or performances in Asheville. It was, and has the potential to still be, a crossroads and meeting place for Appalachian heritage.

After Bascom suffered a stroke in 1965, he and his wife Freda moved to Asheville to be closer to healthcare facilities. His home was left unkept clear through his passing in 1973, boarded up and vandalized, nearly to the point of dilapidation. It was then sold out of the family to a friend of Bascom’s named Bobby Robinson, who never lived in it full-time, but spent decades rehabilitating and pouring his efforts into restoring the house. After his passing in 2014, the house again sat for years with Bobby’s belongings inside until it was placed on the market around 2021, and soon acquired by the founder of the non-profit, Whitney J. Ponder, who came to own it in her own heartwarming way (story below).

Whitney J. Ponder and Nicholas Edward Williams in Bascom's living room during a field recording for American Songcatcher.

Who is behind this effort?

The Pondering Bascom Performing Arts & Education Center non-profit was spearheaded by Whitney J. Ponder, who grew up just a few miles from Bascom's house, and her mother, Brenda Gail Rice (1941-2002) participated in Bascom’s Youth competitions, singing, playing guitar and tap dancing when she was a young girl. As a child, Whitney heard stories of Bascom from her mother and grandmother, when the house came on the market in 2021, she had been looking to move from downtown Asheville back to her country roots and discovered that Bascom's house was on the market. She realized the importance of preserving it, Bascom’s life’s work, and his legacy for future generations. Though it was well out of her price range, she sent an offer along with a letter about her affection and intentions as Bascom would have wanted. Because of that letter, she was able to acquire the house.

Whitney feels honored to have been chosen as the next steward of this important piece of WNC history and has poured her heart and soul, along with her entire life’s savings, into the house. She's on a mission to preserve and repurpose this important piece of WNC history for generations to come. Before her time runs, she plans to turn it into a historical landmark that will never be torn down by developers.

I can't give money, but what else can I offer?

Who organized this GoFundMe?

I'm Nicholas Edward Williams, American roots musician, host & producer of the music history podcast American Songcatcher. I came into contact with Whitney a few years ago after hearing that Bascom's house was trying to be preserved. So, I came to Leicester in April of 2024 to do a field recording about Whitney's mission with the non-profit, play some tunes on the porch with my friends Golden Shoals that Bascom recorded and was featured on the Anthology of American Folk Music, and document the experience with my talented videographer and photographer Justin Forrest. I want to do my part to see that Bascom's legacy and house is restored, and isn't bought and torn down by developers.