The mission of the Cragmont DNA Project is to test the DNA of descendants of people of color who lived in the close-knit Cragmont Community beginning in 1930. Many of the enslaved ancestors of Cragmont residents settled in the Swannanoa Valley after emancipation, as indicated on the 1870 U.S. Census. The Cragmont Community is located in Black Mountain Township of Buncombe County, North Carolina, west of the town of Black Mountain and north of Old US Highway 70. The area encompasses property on both sides of Cragmont Road running from the intersection of North Fork Road, near the Swannanoa River, to the intersection of West State Street. Cragmont Community included an area defined as “Colored Settlement” and “Colored Town” on the 1930-1940 censuses. On the 1930 U.S. Census for Black Mountain Township, many descendants of freed slaves are identified as living in the "Colored Settlement North of Highway" or in the "Cragmont Road Section." Surnames for the Cragmont Community may include, but are not limited to: Brown, Burgin, Burnett(e), Cannaday, Carson, Daughtery, Dixon, Durham, Faust, Fortune, Foster, Flack, Gardner, Gragg, Gross, Greenlee, Hardy, Hamilton, Hayden, Hooper, Inabinett, Littlefield, Logan, Long, Lynch, Lytle, Kennedy, Nabors, Moore, Morehead, Rutherford, Simmons, Stepp, Twitty, Weaver, Wells, Williams, Wilson, White, Whiteside, Whittington. Family Tree DNA is the only DNA company which offers group projects, authorizing experienced and trained administrators to facilitate the group’s genealogical research. Project administrators compare and analyze individual DNA kits, down to chromosomes and segments of a chromosome, allowing identification of shared segments to specific ancestors. Family Tree DNA accepts certain DNA raw data processed by other test labs without the need of retesting. The Cragmont Community DNA Project administrator is Connie Bradshaw, owner of I Dig Your Roots, a genetic genealogy research firm. *Please note: To join this project, the Family Finder (autosomal) DNA test, either already taken or ordered, is required.