Andrea Clark
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Andrea Elizabeth Clarke was born to James Howard Clarke and Mildred Rae Johnson Clarke in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her education included Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and nursing school before she moved to Asheville in 1965.[2]
Her paternal family had roots in Asheville. Her father was the son of master mason James Vester Miller, who had been born into slavery in 1858 in Rutherford County, N.C, and moved with his family to Asheville soon after the Civil War.[3] In his youth, Miller developed an interest in construction and architecture through observation and working on job sites, eventually honing his craft as an apprentice under the city’s premier brick masons. His superior skills garnered the attention of prominent local architects, most notably Richard Sharp Smith, who oversaw the Biltmore Estate construction. Miller eventually established his own firm, Miller & Sons, successfully securing contracts within a construction industry that was largely controlled by White competitors.[4] Miller’s work includes some of Asheville’s most iconic structures, including St. Matthias Episcopal Church (Asheville, North Carolina), Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, the Young Men's Institute Building (currently known as the YMI Cultural Center), and the Asheville Municipal Building, among others. Later in the 1930s Miller founded Violet Hill Cemetery in West Asheville, named in honor of his wife. He was laid to rest there upon his death in 1940, leaving behind a legacy that continues to shape Asheville’s cultural and physical landscape.[5]
One of Andrea's passions was working on documenting her family heritage and creating the James Vester Miller Walking Trail.[6]
