Bethel Rural Community Organization has been fortunate to receive numerous local, regional, state, and national recognitions.

Bethel Rural Community Organization Awards

BRCO - National Honors

  • Preservation NC granted the Gertrude S. Carraway Award to Francis Mill as a result of BRCO’s nomination of the Francis Mill Preservation Society and Tanna Timber for restoration of the 1887 grist mill. - 2010
  • BRCO nominated Evelyn Coltman, Historic Preservation Committee chair, who received the North Carolina Society of Historians' Barringer Award of Excellence for six books documenting Bethel History: Legends, Tales & History of Cold Mountain. - 2010
  • BRCO’s Historic Preservation Committee and members received the North Carolina Society of Historians' Paul Green Multi-Media Award for Walking in the Footsteps of Those Who Came Before Us DVD. – 2012
  • BRCO’s Historic Preservation Committee and members received the North Carolina Society of Historians' Multi-Media Award for the From New College to Springdale DVD. - 2016
  • BRCO’s Historic Preservation Committee and members received the North Carolina Society of Historians' Multi-Media Award for the Sunburst and Other Logging Operations in Bethel & Cold Mountain Area DVD. - 2019
  • BRCO's Historic Preservation Committee and members received the North Carolina Society of Historians' Multi-Media Award of Excellence for the collection of 24 historic art prints - 2020
  • BRCO’s Historic Preservation Committee and members received one of five North Carolina Society of Historians’ Lighthouse Awards for exceptional accomplishment and highest achievement for its art print collection - 2020

  • BRCO’s community center became a site on the Haywood County Quilt Trail. Designed by the Historic Preservation Committee, the Pigeon Valley quilt block features designs that symbolize the many names of Bethel. - 2013
  • BRCO’s Rural Preservation Committee received Haywood Waterways Association’s Pigeon River Award for assistance with eight permanent land conservation easements totaling 268 acres of land, including 50 acres of floodplain and 12,000 feet of stream and river frontage. -2013
  • For a number of years BRCO has been recognized by Buy Haywood on its Agri-Tourism Map that has a 10,000 distribution. BRCO has contributed to the success of Buy Haywood as a program that promotes local agricultural products and a continuation of a sustainable agriculture culture in Bethel and Haywood County.
  • Haywood County Arts Council recognized BRCO’s Historic Preservation Committee’s collection of paintings/drawings/photographs of historic sites in Bethel in its Appalachian Heritage presentation that included the month-long Mountain Made show, its Appalachian Lifestyles weekend display, and its Art After Dark event - 2014
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BRCO - Regional Honors

  • John Deere’s Furrow Magazine, circulated internationally, featured BRCO’s former chair of the Rural Preservation Committee who discussed BRCO’s farmland preservation efforts in a 2016 issue.

BRCO - State Honors

BRCO - Haywood County Honors

  • WNC Communities - White Oak Best in Class Award- 2023
  • WNC Communities - White Oak Best in Class Award- 2022
  • WNC Communities - Impact Award- 2022
  • WNC Communities - Mountain Laurel Best in Class Award -2021
  • WNC Communities second highest award - Community of Promise - 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
  • WNC Communities highest award - Community of Distinction - - 2007, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
  • Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Award was granted for the group’s attention to the policies and procedures that serve to preserve and interpret Southern Appalachian history and culture. - 2014
  • Blue Ridge National Heritage Area granted site designation on the BRNHA Heritage Trail (one of 70 in the region and 3 in Haywood County) for BRCO’s documentation of the community’s agriculture, Cherokee, and natural heritage. - 2016
  • Catch the Spirit of Appalachia recorded two interviews with BRCO for Western Carolina University’s historical archives. - 2014
  • A University of North Carolina – Asheville ethnography honors research study by Ginger Kowal focused on BRCO’s rural preservation efforts. The project, To Keep and Preserve, concentrated on Bethel’s determination and vision to preserve rural lands and farming heritage. - 2007
  • Blue Ridge National Heritage Area awarded BRCO as overseer of the application process for Francis Mill to receive the National Register of Historic Places. – 2013
  • Jay Fields and WNC Communities selected BRCO’s Historic Preservation projects for the “Hand-Me-Down-Stories and “Favored Ground” discussion in his Closely Held Stories of Community series about the accomplishments of community organizations in WNC. - 2020
  • The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Hugh Rogers Chapter presented the DAR Women in American History Award to Evelyn Coltman, Chair of BRCO’s Historic Preservation Committee. The Women in American History Award was established by DAR to honor women who have exhibited leadership and innovation in promoting or preserving American History and who have made a difference in their community. Approximately 300 women across the country receive the award each year, and their names and accomplishments are entered into DAR’s national database of award recipients. The local DAR chapter selected Coltman for her leadership and innovation in preserving the history of Bethel Community and Pigeon Valley.
  • BRCO’s Half Marathon, which existed from 1993 - 2019, was the oldest half marathon in the state and the third oldest in the Southeast. The race was USATF #NC12099Ph certified so that runners could set national time records.
  • Received National Register of Historic Places designation for Francis Grist Mill on May 21, 2013, as a result of research by Patrick Willis and Clay Griffith and submittal by Clay Griffith.
  • Received National Register of Historic Places designation for Truss Bridge #79 on January 10, 2019, as a result of research and submittal by Carroll Jones.

Click here to read the application

Click here to read the application submitted by Carroll Jones  to the National Register of Historic Places