Shiloh Mural on Display
Members of the Shiloh community were on hand for the unveiling of a mural of the Shiloh community, created and designed by Jacqueline Thompson and Lydia George and installed by Lauralee Petritz.
The mural is a visual representation of what the Shiloh community looked like in the 1880s after residents were relocated from the present-day Biltmore Estate. New Shiloh was a rural area with dirt roads and small family farms. Rock Hill and Peterburg (nearby African American neighborhoods) were already established at the end of the 19th century, when residents of Old Shiloh moved across Hendersonville Road into the New Shiloh area.
The mural was developed through a partnership with the Historic Shiloh AME Zion Church, The Shiloh Community Association (SCA), the youth from Project Lighten Up, and the Community Baptist Church Summer Day Camp, directed by Pastor Spencer Hardaway; they were joined by additional volunteers during the annual July celebration at the SCA community garden.
The mural honors the legacy and history of Shiloh, one of the oldest African American communities in Asheville, and may be viewed at the historic Shiloh AME Zion Church, 95 Shiloh Road, Asheville.
