Blue Ridge Pride LGBTQIA+ Archive launched in 2019 as a partnership between Amanda Wray, UNC Asheville Special Collections, and Blue Ridge Pride. They are an oral history and physical artifacts repository that aims to showcase the many LGBTQ+ heroes who have lived with courage, fought erasure, and contributed to the gradual de-stigmatization of LGBTQ+ identity within this region. This presentation draws on 106 oral histories, summarizing points where Swannanoa is mentioned by name, including a Miami transplant’s description through their childhood eyes, a woman caretaking with her father, and a nature retreat for transgender folks that attracted an international following.