Woven of Wood

Imagine doing away with shopping bags, plastic buckets, and manufactured storage tubs of today and depending instead upon baskets. You would quickly recognize the essential role that these hand-woven containers of wood played in bygone days. Baskets were some of the most functional and creative possessions in everyday life.

During the past year, the East Tennessee Historical Society has worked to document the traditional basket makers of our region. Materials and construction details have been recorded for baskets surveyed. For those baskets where the maker’s identity is known, family stories and photographs have also been collected. Woven of Wood, East Tennessee Baskets, 1880-1940 highlights selected examples from this survey.