1957
Owen H. Gudger

Owen Gudger (1880 – 1959), a lifelong resident of Buncombe County, won the award in 1957 for his work towards the preservation of history during the previous year. Owen Gudger, judge, newspaperman, lawyer, and historian, also served as Asheville’s postmaster from 1913-1921. “It was often said of him that he knew more biographical and regular facts about Western North Carolina and its people than any of his contemporaries.”