Stephens, George Myers, 1904-1978

George Myers Stephens, publisher and civic leader of Asheville, N.C. Stephens started the Stephens Press in 1936, which, along with commercial printing, specialized in books, guides, and maps about the Smokies and western North Carolina.

From the description of George Myers Stephens papers, 1924-1979 [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 34075009

George Myers Stephens I was born 19 July 1904 in Charlotte, N.C., to George Erwin Gullett and Sophie Convere Stephens. When he was fifteen, his family moved to Asheville, when his father and Charles Webb purchased the Asheville Citizen .

Stephens graduated from the Asheville School for Boys and attended the University of North Carolina where he received an A.B. in history and government (1926). He worked in several positions, including as a timber cruiser for the North Carolina Park Commission, associate director of Camp Sapphire in Brevard, N.C., and editor of the Farmers Federation News, until he started his own publishing firm, the Stephens Press, in 1936. Along with commercial printing, he specialized in books, guides, and maps about the Smokies and western North Carolina. The Smokies Guide was his first book, and it became the popular guide to the region.

Stephens was very active in his community and the state. He served as president of the Carolina Mountain Club, founding president of the Carolina Appalachian Trail Club, and treasurer of the Howard Kephart Memorial Association. He was a founding board member of the Western North Carolina Historical Association and a trustee for the University of North Carolina (1946-54). He served as a trustee of the Asheville Public Libraries and as president of the North Carolina Association of Library Trustees. He also served as president of the Friends of the Library at UNC-CH and as chairman of the North Carolina Botanical Garden Association Board. He received an honorary doctorate from UNC-CH in 1964.

George Stephens died in Asheville at age 74 on 20 December 1978.

From the guide to the George Myers Stephens Papers, 1924-1979, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)