Rutherford

Maimy Etta Black Fine Arts Museum and Historical Society
The Maimy Etta Black Fine Arts Museum and Historical Society seeks to show the connected passages of Black people; to collect, document, preserve, and interpret African American and Global Black art and artifacts; to collect, document and preserve records of the Thompson family of Forest City, NC, and other black families; and to share this vision and these materials with researchers and the public in a comfortable, safe environment conducive to conversation and enlightenment.

Genealogical Society of Old Tryon County
The Genealogical Society of Old Tryon County gathers, compiles, publishes, and permanently preserves genealogical and historical records of the area encompassing and surrounding the original Tryon County and makes these materials available to the public for research purposes.

Rutherford County Farm Museum
The Rutherford County Farm Museum collects and exhibits farm tools and equipment, household and utilitarian items, and other artifacts from days gone by - some dating to the 19th Century - reflecting rural ways of life in Rutherford County through World War II. Two large, beautiful murals depicting the cycle of growing cotton and the early textile mills of the county grace the walls of one portion of the museum. Items of particular interest include a left-handed plow, a livermush paddle, and a gas iron. School groups are welcome and encouraged to visit and step into Rutherford County's past.

Norris Public Library
North Carolina Collection
Built in 1933 with WPA funding, the Norris Public Library houses a small North Carolina reference book collection, a small vertical file, and an interesting collection of scrapbooks kept by local civic groups including the Garden Club which was initially formed to aid the public library, the Women's Club, and the Lamar Stringfield Music Club.

Rutherford County Library
Genealogy Section
The Genealogy Section of the Rutherford County Library houses reference books and some other files useful in local history and family history research.

Isothermal Community College Library
Old Tryon Historical Collection
The Old Tryon Historical Collection at ICC provides the community with local and regional historical research materials concerned with the geographical area once known as Old Tryon County, as well as the southwestern region of the state, and includes journals, reference books, local and state publications, copies of state and county records, maps, oral histories, vertical files, and original documents. It also houses material documenting the founding, growth, and development of Isothermal Community College such as college catalogs, yearbooks, newspapers, faculty and student publications, scrapbooks, photographs, and other vertical files. It is advisable to contact the library in advance for specific hours of operation.

Bennett Classics Antique Auto Museum
The museum houses a collection of more than 70 antique cars, trucks and tractors dating from 1913. Open to the public for tours and special events, the museum is also "car club friendly" hosting club car shows, events and tours.