Let's head with Theresa Litschke to Valdese, where the Old Colony Players community theater is a great place to learn about Waldensian history.

[gentle music] - Valdese is a immigrant community founded in 1893 by the religious sect called the Waldensians, who are in the Savoyan Province of France and Italy, right there in the Cottian Alps between France and Italy.

They were heavily persecuted in their homeland, but then were granted civil freedom.

And once they were granted civil freedom, the land became more and more scarce.

They still did not have religious freedom, so therefore they were still persecuted in society and so the land was not sufficient to really sustain them anymore.

- They began to overpopulate those valleys, so that's when they came over to America and one of the places they settled was Valdese, North Carolina.

- [Theresa] Because of their strong faith, education had always been important.

- They educated children, women, everybody.

It was scandalous back in the 14th century to actually educate women and children, but because they were in love with scripture and translated scripture into their own language, even back then, they educated their whole population.

- [Theresa] It wasn't surprising then that the Waldensians built the first school in Valdese.

Construction started in 1922, finished a year later and featured their talent for stone work.

- [Annie] Yeah, yeah, the rock work is a classic method of how they constructed things and they were very resourceful.

They hauled rock from local farms from all around.

It served as a school until the late '70s, and eventually operating costs shut them down.

So the town eventually purchased the building for $1 and then started renovations in 1986 to turn it into a multipurpose facility, and that's what it is today.

- [Theresa] It's called the Old Rock School, and is now home to a 500-seat auditorium, an art studio, plus art galleries featuring local artisans, as well as craft shows.

- [Annie] We also have the Piedmont and Western Railroad Museum.

It's one of the largest indoor railroad displays in the state.

- [Theresa] It's also the home base for the Old Colony Players.

They're a community theater group who perform in the Old Rock School.

But it's an outdoor drama held a mile from the school, started in 1968 and continues today that's become their banner production.

It follows the journey of the Waldensians to North Carolina in a production called "From This Day Forward".

- [Edyth] The first act actually takes place in the 1680s [gun banging] under the persecution with King Louis XIV of France, who heavily persecuted the Waldenses, and then the second act is the story of the founding of the town of Valdese when the immigrants came.

- [Theresa] From the Old Rock School, that's become the centerpiece of art, culture, and history in Valdese, to our performance about Waldensian lives, the town has embraced the heritage of their ancestors and feel their story is just as relevant today as it was in 1893.

- Not only is it a story of immigrants, it's a story of hardworking people, but most of all, it's a story about tolerance and how as heavily persecuted as they were, they kept the faith, they persevered, they found a way to go on as a people, and then they came here, they became proud Americans and have totally assimilated into the culture of America now.

But the roots of the story of what it means to live out your faith and become neighbors with people you've never met before is really important.

- The Old Rock School is at 400 West Main Street in Valdese.

If you're a bluegrass fan, be sure to check out their performance schedule at visitvaldese.com.

And the outdoor drama "From This Day Forward" runs from mid-July to mid-August.