Meet Johnny Scroggs: History Talk Set for Oct. 10 at Scroggs Farm Shoppe

Staff Report

BRASSTOWN, N.C. — Anyone curious about Brasstown’s past will have a chance to hear it from a member of one of the community’s oldest families.

Johnny Scroggs will hold a meet-and-greet history talk from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Scroggs Farm Shoppe, 10956 Old Highway 64 W., Brasstown. Visitors are invited to meet him, ask questions, and swap stories about the people and places that shaped this corner of Clay and Cherokee counties.

Scroggs is a Brasstown native, musician, and local history storyteller tied to the long-running Scroggs Farm. The family’s roots in the valley go back generations and include Fred O. Scroggs, a well-known community leader whose land and support helped bring the John C. Campbell Folk School to Brasstown in the 1920s. In recent years, Johnny has shared that history through informal talks, farm visits, and local radio appearances.

The Shoppes of Brasstown will be open during the event. Drinks will be available for purchase, provided by Little Italy in Brasstown.

The gathering is meant to be casual rather than a formal lecture. Organizers say the idea is simple: sit down with Johnny, ask what you’ve always wanted to know, and help keep Brasstown’s stories in circulation.

The Scroggs Farm Shoppe is an artisan shop featuring locally handmade art, crafts, homemade goods, plants, antiques, and vintage items. The farm itself is presented as a living record of Appalachian history — old tools, family tales, photographs, and the mountain landscape around Old Highway 64.

Admission is not listed as ticketed. Anyone planning to attend should allow time to browse the shops and grab a drink while they’re there.