Appalachian Figures Series – The Story of Janette Carter of Scott, Virginia
In the hills of Scott County, Virginia, the music did not end when the first Carter Family faded from radio and records. It moved back home. It settled again into Poor Valley, near Maces Spring and Hiltons, where the old songs had first taken shape around family, church, front porches, and mountain roads.
Janette Carter was born into that sound. She was the daughter of A. P. Carter and Sara Dougherty Carter, two members of the original Carter Family, the group that helped carry the music of southwest Virginia into the national record industry. With Maybelle Carter, they recorded songs that became part of the foundation of country music. Yet Janette’s own place in Appalachian history was not simply that she inherited a famous name. Her work was quieter, longer, and deeply rooted in place. She became one of the people who made sure the Carter Family legacy remained alive in the same mountain community that had shaped it.
For more than thirty years, Janette Carter welcomed people to the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons. She sang the old songs, introduced musicians, protected the acoustic tradition, served as host, and turned a family memory into a living institution. Her life was built around a promise. Near the end of A. P. Carter’s life, she promised her father that she would carry on his work. The Carter Family Fold became the way she kept that promise.
A Child of the Carter Family
Evelyn Janette Carter was born in 1923 in Scott County, Virginia, into a family already tied to music before the world knew its name. Her parents, A. P. and Sara Carter, sang together in the mountains before commercial recording gave them a national audience. A. P. gathered songs from neighbors, hymnals, printed sheets, old ballads, African American musicians, and mountain memory. Sara sang lead and played autoharp or guitar. Maybelle Carter, Sara’s cousin and A. P.’s sister-in-law, helped give the group its famous instrumental sound.
In 1927, the original Carter Family traveled to Bristol, where producer Ralph Peer recorded mountain musicians for the Victor Talking Machine Company. Those Bristol Sessions became a landmark in country music history. The Carter Family’s recordings of songs such as “Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow,” “Single Girl, Married Girl,” “Keep on the Sunny Side,” and “Wildwood Flower” carried Appalachian religious music, parlor song, balladry, and rural harmony far beyond southwest Virginia.
Janette grew up with that music around her. It was not just performance. It was family life. In later interviews, she remembered learning by sitting and watching. The songs were worked out at home, in the evening, with chords, strings, voices, and memory all joined together. Music was something people made together before it was something an audience heard.
That background shaped everything Janette later did. She did not treat the Carter Family songs as museum pieces. She treated them as living family property, something to be sung, shared, and guarded.
Border Radio and the Wider World
As a teenager, Janette became part of the extended Carter Family performance world. During the late 1930s, the family performed on powerful border radio stations that broadcast from Mexico and reached deep into the United States. Smithsonian Folkways documentation of the Carter Family’s border-radio recordings identifies Janette, sometimes spelled Jeanette in older materials, among the family members connected to those broadcasts.
The border-radio years mattered because they carried the Carter sound to listeners who had never been to Scott County and never would. A farm family in one state, a mill worker in another, or a lonely night listener somewhere far from Virginia could hear the Carter voices through the static. In that way, Poor Valley became national without ceasing to be local.
Janette also appeared in later family recording contexts. In the 1950s, A. P. and Sara recorded again with their children Janette and Joe as the Carter Family or the A. P. Carter Family. These later recordings never reached the same commercial height as the early Victor records, but historically they are important. They show the second generation participating directly in the preservation of the original Carter sound.
For Janette, this was not nostalgia. It was family work.
A. P. Carter’s Store
After the first Carter Family’s major recording years ended, A. P. Carter returned to Scott County. Near Maces Spring, he operated a country store. The building itself became one of the most important historic sites connected to the Carter Family.
The A. P. Carter Store was built in the mid twentieth century and later became part of the Carter Family Thematic Resources listed through the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. It was a plain country store, but its meaning was larger than its size. It was associated with A. P.’s final years, the local community, and the family’s continuing musical influence.
When A. P. died in 1960, the store passed to Janette. For years, it was used mostly for storage. Then, in August 1974, Janette reopened the building for Saturday night “Old Time Music” shows. This was the beginning of what became the Carter Family Fold.
The setting was modest, but the need was real. Old-time and bluegrass music did not have many rural institutions built for preservation. Janette understood that the music could fade if people did not make a place for it. She also understood that the best place to honor the Carter Family was not a distant hall of fame, but the ground where the family had lived and sung.
The Beginning of the Carter Family Fold
The first shows outgrew A. P. Carter’s store quickly. People came to Hiltons to hear the songs and the musicians who carried them. The National Register documentation states that the store’s growing popularity led to the need for larger facilities. A new music hall was built nearby, and the old store was later converted into the Carter Family Memorial Museum.
That transformation is one of the most important parts of Janette Carter’s story. She did not just preserve a building. She gave it a purpose. The store became a place where family memorabilia, music history, and community memory could be kept together. Beside it, the Carter Family Fold became a gathering place for Saturday night music.
The Fold was rustic by design and spirit. It was not meant to imitate Nashville. It was not built to chase commercial country music trends. It was a place for old-time music, bluegrass, gospel, dancing, and family gathering. Janette held to acoustic tradition. She resisted electric concerts because she believed the old sound needed a home of its own.
This mattered because Janette was preserving more than songs. She was preserving a way of presenting music. The Carter Family Fold was not just about who stood on stage. It was about the sound of unamplified strings, the movement of dancers, the greeting at the door, the food in the kitchen, and the feeling that visitors had entered a living mountain tradition.
Saturday Night in Hiltons
A Saturday night at the Carter Family Fold became one of the best-known heritage experiences in southwest Virginia. Local families came. Travelers came. Musicians came. Fans of country, bluegrass, old-time, and Appalachian history came from far beyond Scott County.
Janette often served as master of ceremonies and performer. She sang Carter Family songs, sometimes with her brother Joe and later with younger family members such as Dale Jett. The old standards remained central. Songs like “Keep on the Sunny Side” and “Wildwood Flower” were not distant relics there. They were sung in the place where their meaning still felt close.
The Fold also became a family and community operation. Southern Foodways Alliance oral histories remember Janette not only as a musical host, but as someone who welcomed people with food. Soup beans, cornbread, cakes, and recipes connected to the Carter family became part of the experience. In that setting, food and music worked together. The Fold felt less like a concert hall and more like a reunion.
That was one reason Janette’s work lasted. She did not build the Fold around fame alone. She built it around belonging.
Protecting the Old Sound
Janette Carter’s preservation work came at a time when country music had changed dramatically from the sound her parents recorded in the 1920s and 1930s. By the late twentieth century, commercial country was polished, amplified, and often far removed from the sound of the early Carter records. Janette did not reject all change, but she knew that if no one protected the old style, it could be pushed aside.
Her rule against electric instruments at the Fold became part of its identity. There were rare exceptions, most famously for Johnny Cash, who was connected to the family through his marriage to June Carter Cash. But the general rule stood. The Fold would be a place where old-time and bluegrass music could be heard close to its roots.
This decision gave the Carter Family Fold a special role in Appalachian music history. It was not merely a venue. It was a statement about what deserved to survive. Janette believed the old songs still had power. She believed the music of her parents and neighbors still had something to give the world. She believed people would come to Scott County to hear it if someone kept the door open.
They did.
Recognition in Her Later Years
Janette Carter’s work eventually drew national recognition. In 2002, the International Bluegrass Music Association honored her with a Distinguished Achievement Award. In 2005, the National Endowment for the Arts named her a National Heritage Fellow, one of the country’s highest honors in the folk and traditional arts.
That same year, the Library of Congress American Folklife Center presented a Carter Family Tribute Concert in honor of Janette’s achievements as a performer and organizer. By then, her life’s work was clear. She had not simply remembered the Carter Family. She had created a place where others could remember, learn, listen, and participate.
The honor came late in her life, but it fit the work she had been doing for decades. Janette had taken a country store, a family obligation, and a mountain tradition and turned them into one of the most important music heritage sites in Appalachia.
Her Death and Continuing Legacy
Janette Carter died on January 22, 2006, at the age of eighty-two. National obituaries remembered her as the last surviving child of the original Carter Family line and as a preserver of her parents’ old-time style. Yet in Scott County, her legacy was not measured only by obituary language. It was measured in the Saturday nights that continued after her death.
Her daughter Rita Forrester carried the work forward at the Carter Family Fold. Other family members and community volunteers helped keep the tradition alive. The old store remained a museum. The Fold remained a place for music. Visitors still came to Hiltons to stand close to the ground where the Carter Family story began.
That continuity is Janette Carter’s greatest achievement. Many famous families leave behind recordings, photographs, and stories. Janette left behind a living place.
Janette Carter’s Place in Appalachian History
Janette Carter belongs in Appalachian history because she shows what preservation can look like when it is done from within a community. She was not an outsider collecting songs. She was a daughter, singer, host, cook, organizer, museum builder, and guardian of tradition. She understood that history does not survive by accident. Someone has to open the building. Someone has to invite the musicians. Someone has to welcome the crowd. Someone has to keep saying that the old songs still matter.
In Scott County, Virginia, Janette Carter became that person.
The Carter Family’s earliest recordings helped shape American country music, but Janette Carter helped make sure the story did not end as a chapter in a music textbook. She brought it back to Poor Valley, placed it under a roof, filled it with song, and kept it open to the public. Through the Carter Family Fold, she turned a promise to her father into a gift for Appalachia.
Sources & Further Reading
National Endowment for the Arts. “Janette Carter.” NEA National Heritage Fellowships. Accessed June 18, 2026. https://www.arts.gov/honors/heritage/janette-carter
Masters of Traditional Arts. “Janette Carter.” Accessed June 18, 2026. https://www.mastersoftraditionalarts.org/artists/52
Virginia Department of Historic Resources. “A. P. Carter Store.” Virginia Landmarks Register and National Register of Historic Places. Accessed June 18, 2026. https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/084-0006/
Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission. “National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Carter Family Thematic Nomination, Scott County, Virginia.” 1985. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/64000880_text
Virginia Department of Historic Resources. “A. P. Carter Store, Carter Family Thematic, 1985 Final Nomination.” 1985. https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/VLR_to_transfer/PDFNoms/084-0006_Carter%2C_A._P.%2C_Store_%28Carter_Family_Thematic%29_1985_Final_Nomination.pdf
Virginia Department of Historic Resources. “Carter Family Thematic Nomination, Scott County, Virginia.” 1976/1985. https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/VLR_to_transfer/PDFNoms/084-0020_Carter_Family_Thematic_Nomination_1976_Final_Nomination.pdf
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. “On Border Radio, Vol. 1.” The Carter Family. Accessed June 18, 2026. https://folkways.si.edu/carter-family/on-border-radio-1939-vol-1/country/music/album/smithsonian
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. “On Border Radio, Vol. 2.” The Carter Family. Accessed June 18, 2026. https://folkways.si.edu/carter-family/on-border-radio-1939-vol-2/country/music/album/smithsonian
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. “On Border Radio, Vol. 3.” The Carter Family. Accessed June 18, 2026. https://folkways.si.edu/carter-family/on-border-radio-1939-vol-3/country/music/album/smithsonian
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. “Dark Haired True Lover / In Your Care.” The Carter Family. Accessed June 18, 2026. https://folkways.si.edu/the-carter-family/dark-haired-true-lover/in-your-care/country/music/track/smithsonian
Library of Congress. “Carter Family Tribute.” Film, Video. American Folklife Center, 2005. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021688116/
Library of Congress. “Event Videos: Folklife Concerts.” Concerts from the Library of Congress. Accessed June 18, 2026. https://www.loc.gov/events/concerts-from-the-library-of-congress/folklife-concerts/event-videos/?sb=date
Carter Family Fold and Music Center. “Heritage.” Accessed June 18, 2026. https://carterfamilyfold.org/heritage/
Carter Family Fold and Music Center. “Media.” Accessed June 18, 2026. https://carterfamilyfold.org/media/
Southern Foodways Alliance. “Carter Family Fold.” Oral History Project. June 21, 2009. https://www.southernfoodways.org/oral-history/carter-family-fold/
Southern Foodways Alliance. “Rita Forrester.” Interview by Amy Evans. February 21, 2009. https://www.southernfoodways.org/interview/rita-forrester/
Southern Foodways Alliance. “Nancy Carter.” Interview by Amy Evans. February 21, 2009. https://www.southernfoodways.org/interview/nancy-carter/
Southern Foodways Alliance. “Vicki Virts.” Interview by Amy Evans. February 21, 2009. https://www.southernfoodways.org/interview/vicki-virts/
Southern Foodways Alliance. “Faye Collins.” Interview by Amy Evans. February 21, 2009. https://www.southernfoodways.org/interview/faye-collins/
Birthplace of Country Music Museum. “The Instruments of the 1927 Bristol Sessions.” Resource Document. 2022. https://birthplaceofcountrymusic.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/BCMM_InstrumentsResource_Images.pdf
Birthplace of Country Music. “The Carter Family on the Border Radio.” September 1, 2023. https://birthplaceofcountrymusic.org/the-carter-family-on-the-border-radio/
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “The Carter Family.” Accessed June 18, 2026. https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/hall-of-fame/carter-family
Encyclopedia Virginia. “Carter, A. P. (1891–1960).” Virginia Humanities. Accessed June 18, 2026. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/carter-a-p-1891-1960/
Encyclopedia Virginia. “Carter, Sara (1898–1979).” Virginia Humanities. Accessed June 18, 2026. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/carter-sara-1898-1979/
International Bluegrass Music Association. “Awards by Category.” Accessed June 18, 2026. https://ibma.org/awards-by-category/
International Bluegrass Music Association. “Awards by Name.” Accessed June 18, 2026. https://ibma.org/awards-by-name/
The Crooked Road. “Carter Family Fold.” Accessed June 18, 2026. https://thecrookedroadva.com/venues/carter-family-fold/
Virginia Tourism Corporation. “Carter Family Fold.” Virginia.org. Accessed June 18, 2026. https://www.virginia.org/listing/carter-family-fold/5736/
Explore Scott County, Virginia. “Carter Family Fold.” Accessed June 18, 2026. https://www.explorescottcountyva.org/music/carter-family-fold/
The Washington Post. “Janette Carter Keeps Family’s Spirit Alive.” June 27, 2003. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2003/06/27/janette-carter-keeps-familys-spirit-alive/84d37442-0337-48b7-a819-6534d62b82ab/
Associated Press. “Country Singer Janette Carter, 82.” The Washington Post, January 25, 2006. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2006/01/25/country-singer-janette-carter-82/7ee88d25-5bd5-4809-851e-68de91d7de81/
Los Angeles Times. “Janette Carter, 82; Last Surviving Child of Country Music Family.” January 25, 2006. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jan-25-me-passings25.2-story.html
Peer Music. “Janette Carter, ‘Beloved Matriarch,’ Passes Away.” Accessed June 18, 2026. https://peermusic.com/news/42
Mark Zwonitzer and Charles Hirshberg. Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone? The Carter Family and Their Legacy in American Music. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002. https://archive.org/details/willyoumissmewhe00zwon
Malone, Bill C. Country Music, U.S.A. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1968. https://utpress.utexas.edu/9781477315354/country-music-usa/
Wolfe, Charles K., and James E. Akenson, eds. The Women of Country Music: A Reader. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2003. https://www.kentuckypress.com/9780813122809/the-women-of-country-music/
Author Note: Janette Carter’s story is one of family promise, mountain music, and cultural preservation in Scott County, Virginia. Her work at the Carter Family Fold shows how Appalachian history can survive not only in archives and records, but also in Saturday night songs, food, memory, and community.