Ginseng intern Danielle Burke investigates the history of ginseng in the media, particularly in relation to the city of Asheville, North Carolina.

1. AMERICAN
GINSENG:
IN AND NEAR
ASHEVILLE, NC
By Danielle Burke, 2019

2. A ginseng
cultivator
“Ginseng plants in garden of N. L. Snelson,
Bryson City, NC” is handwritten on the back
of this image. Photograph by George Masa
Image courtesy of Southern Appalachian
Archives at Mars Hill University
Mars Hill, NC

3. Native to theWestern North Carolina region,
American ginseng has been harvested, hunted,
and used for centuries. Upon discovery of its
profitability in the Chinese international market,
a network of hunters, dealers, and buyers was
established in Asheville, NC.
Asheville-
A confluence of Hunters & Dealers

4. THE CHANGING LOOK OF
“GINSENG WANTED” CLASSIFIED
ADVERTISEMENTS
A selection of newspaper clippings from Asheville newspapers from 1845 – 1920.

5. 1845 – 1869
Ashville Messenger (Asheville, North Carolina). September 26, 1845. Page 3.. Asheville Messenger (Asheville, North Carolina). August 27, 1851. Page 5.
Asheville News (Asheville, North Carolina). November 16, 1865. Page 2.. Asheville News (Asheville, North Carolina). July 23, 1869. Page 3.
Traded regionally as early as
1803, classified ads calling
for ginseng were few and
far between for most of the
century.

6. Looking closely at
the notion of
“We’re Going Home”
from1865
“Fellow citizens, we are going home. Let painful reflections
upon our late separation and pleasant memories of our early
union quicken our footsteps towards the old mansion, that
we may grasp hard again the hand of Friendship which
stands at the doors and sheltered by the old homestead
which was built upon a rock and has weathered the storm
and enjoy together the long, bright future which awaits us.”
Mr. Reade, President of the North CarolinaConvention
Asheville News (Asheville, North Carolina). Nov. 16, 1865.Thursday. Page 2.

7. 1867 – 1889
General Stores
requesting
ginseng
With the railroad now in Western North
Carolina, these ads are evidence that a
greater diversity of goods are arriving.
The shop owners are taking advantage of
not only their importing power but also
the opportunity to export goods as well.
Weekly Pioneer (Asheville, North Carolina). September 26, 1867. Page 3.
Weekly Pioneer (Asheville, North Carolina). January 18, 1872. Page 3.
The Asheville Weekly Citizen (Asheville, North Carolina). January 1, 1874.
Page 2.
The Asheville Weekly Citizen (Asheville, North Carolina). May 30, 1889.
Page 6.

8. 1895 – 1920
Ginseng specific
advertisements
Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, North Carolina) June
22, 1895. Page 2.
The Asheville Weekly Citizen (Asheville, North
Carolina). October 25, 1911. Page 4.
Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, North Carolina).
August 28, 1896. Page 1.
The Asheville Weekly Citizen (Asheville, North
Carolina). September 4, 1912. Page 4.
Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, North Carolina). July
6, 1918. Page 9.
Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, North Carolina).
August 16, 1908. Page 13.
Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, North Carolina).
October 18, 1916. Page 11.

9. 1895 – 1920
Ginseng specific
advertisements In this era there are far more want advertisements
coming from individuals or small companies who focus in
on only a handful of items.They all utilized their printing
ink to accumulate the specific good(s) they want.
Note how the ginseng calls are tailored with concise
specificity, some harking back to the CivilWar era with
their simplicity while others utilize more modern, eye-
catching designs and headlines.

10. TWO MAJOR DEALERS:
S. STERNBERG & CO.
S.B. PENICK & CO.

11. S. Sternberg & Co.
approx. 1900 - 1944
Though they were specialists in
hides and fur, along with scrap
metal and machinery, ginseng
consistently comes up in this
company’s want advertisements
throughout S. Sternberg & Co.’s
lifespan.

12. AN ADVERTISEMENT
COMPARISON BETWEEN
A. STERNBERG
AND
S. STERNBERG
Asheville DailyGazette (Asheville, NorthCarolina).
December 3, 1897.Page 3.
Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, North Carolina).
October 9, 1904. Page 11.
Asheville DailyGazette (Asheville, NorthCarolina). April
26, 1901. Page 2.
Asheville DailyGazette (Asheville, NorthCarolina).
February 7, 1902. Page 3.

13. MYSTERY OF A. STERNBERG & S. STERNBERG
Before Siegfried Sternberg founded his company, there was an A. Sternberg also in the
hides, roots, and other goods business in Asheville. Only listed in the local directory once, in
1896/97, we learn A. Sternberg’s first name was likelyAlfred. Interestingly, the address he is
listed for is shared with Siegfried, and about a dozen others.Through the newspapers we get a
sense of the character Alfred was- a colorful newspaper story tells how he kept a wild cat in his
warehouse; although it once escaped and roamed the railroad yards for a few weeks before
eventually returning to it’s cage. Another glimpse into Alfred’s life comes from a personals note
inThe AshevilleCitizen-Times, “A. Sternberg left yesterday for Chattanooga to visit his
grandfather, M. Saurbencher, who was born inGermany in 1798…”Though Siegfried is also
German it is currently unknown if or how the two were related. Siegfried was born in Germany
and immigrated to the United states in 1890, initially toTexas but made his way to Asheville in
1897. Alfred seemed to be a traveling dealer of sorts, with ties to Asheville.Their similar
businesses certainly link them, and due to their slight overlap of a few years from 1897 - 1901
there may have been a financial partnership or mentor relationship between the two.

14. S. B. Penick & Co.
approx. 1900 - 1944
What would become the world’s
largest botanical drug dealer takes
root in 1923 when the S. B. Penick
& Co. built their main warehouse
in Asheville.The company had
smaller offices in downtown
Asheville for a few years before
construction began, but the
building of a large, central
warehouse certainly assisted in
their growth and development.

15. 1929
S. B. Penick & Co.
Price List and
Manual of Crude Drugs
Note bottom left photograph- it is an
image of their Asheville warehouse.
Price List and manual of goods, 1929
“S.B. Penick & Company Price List,” February 1, 1929.The
WeehawkenTime Machine, accessed May 5, 2019,
http://www.weehawkenhistory.us/timemachine/item/WH00071
.

16. 1966

17. Plaque at current
site of S.B. Penick
& Co.’s warehouse
Present site is a park and walkway
going along Reed Creek.There are
other plaques recognizing this space as
a historic trading route, connecting
Greenville,Tennessee to Greenville,
South Carolina. Evolving from an early
NativeAmerican trading path called
theCatawbaTrail, it later became
known as Drover’s Road, then the
BuncombeTurnpike.While S. B. Penick
& Co. was established and into the
present day, this stretch of the trading
route is simply known as Broadway
Ave.

18. Locations for:
S. Sternberg & Co.
S. B. Penick & Co.
Blue dot is S. Sternberg & Co.,
note the tracks behind them
Orange dot is S. B. Penick & Co
Faint center red line outlines the downtown district
of Asheville, both businesses are just outside the city
center by about a mile.
The Insurance Maps of Asheville. Sanborn Map
Company, NewYork. 1925.
Image taken & dots added by Danielle Burke, 2019.

19. ROGERS,
RICHARD PE(A)RSON
An Asheville businessman who requires more research

20. A connection between the
Asheville African-American
community and ginseng or
other herbs & roots dealing
Listed as a Herbs and Roots dealer only
once, here in 1937, Rogers R P Jewelry Co.
was the only business possibly connected
to ginseng dealing in my 50+ year span on
research to be marked as (c) in the city
directory.This letter denoted that the
owner of the business, Mr. Rogers, was
African-American.
Miller’s Asheville, (Buncombe, Co.) City Directory, Asheville, 1937. Hill
Directory Co. 1937. Page 826
Miller’s Asheville, (Buncombe, Co.) City Directory, Asheville, 1937. Hill
Directory Co. 1937. Page 840.

21. An overview of what is known via public record:
Richard Pearson Rogers was born in 1896 according to his marriage certificate to Lucile Stacey in 1922
where he lists himself as 26 years old (she was 22). From Cullowhee, NC, his first mention in the Asheville
City Directory is in 1922 as *Rogers Richd P, Photog 78 Eagle, h same. Throughout the years we see him
establish a variety of businesses. In 1928 we see a jewelry store’s first mention, along with the
photography business. In 1931 we see a variety of wares he is selling- fruits, wood and coal, still alongside
his work as a jeweler. In the 1939 directory, his last entry in the Asheville City Directly, no occupation is
listed. Even though he does not appear again in the Asheville directory his wife continues to live in
Asheville and he is listed as living on his daughter’s marriage certificate from the 1950s. As with the Herbs
& Roots mention, for all or most of these businesses he is denoted in the directory as the only African-
American business owner under their respective categories.

22. American Ginseng:
In and near Asheville, NC