Discover and Celebrate the Bliss of Asheville and Western North Carolina's History

Cabin in the Woods in Asheville area circa 1905

Biltmore Hunting Lodge in Pisgah Forest 1915 - 1920

Convicts working on Southern RR in Western NC

Southern Railway crossing French Broad River

Southern Railway in the Mountains near Asheville

Sunset Railroad

Sunset Railroad coming up Montford Avenue

Patton Avenue circa 1905

Patton Avenue circa 1940-45

Main Street Asheville... circa 1910

Haywood Street circa 1910

Biltmore Forest Country Club

Biltmore House and Lake

Battery Park Hotel

Great Hall in Grove Park Inn circa 1915

All Souls Episcopal Church, Biltmore Village circa 1910

Click on each of the dozens of categories to the left to uncover what makes the Asheville area so vital, so intriguing and so, well, UTTERLY BLISSFUL!

250 and 450 million years ago Appalachian Mountains formed

1540: Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto visits Western North Carolina

1643: Early colonial trade, while under British rule, was established with the Cherokees following existing trading paths, paths which crossed at the present location of Asheville.

17--: Prior to the Revolutionary war, the British had promised the Cherokees that colonial expansion would stop at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This assurance of the integrity of the Cherokee Nation aligned the Cherokee with the British during the war. This alignment resulted in Cherokee attacks on early settlement. These attacks were met with brute force by the colonists, led by General Griffith Rutherford, resulting in the destruction of many Cherokee villages and ultimately, the power of the Cherokee nation.

1784: Scotch-Irish immigrants from Ulster in Northern Ireland, fleeing from restrictive British tariffs which had destroyed the wool and weaving industries. The first recorded settler to arrive in Buncombe County was Samuel W. Davidson. He and his family took up residence on Christian Creek in the Swannanoa Valley.

1785: Permanent settlement in Swannanoa known as "Eden Land"

1791: Buncombe County was created by a legislative act on December 5. 1791, initiated by William Davidson and Colonel David Vance.

1793: The first Buncombe County courthouse was built of logs in in a location which is now Pack Square.

1794: a settlement called Morriston was established by John Burton via state grants. It was laid out in 42 2-12 acre lots, each of which sold for $1 and acre.

1797: Morristown was incorporated and renamed Asheville in honor of North Carolina's governor, Samuel Ashe.Governor Samuel Ashe.

Early 1800s: Protestant circuit riders, namely Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian , introduced formal religion to the Southern Appalachians, with Methodist Bishop Francis Asbury being the most noted of these.

1828: a road following the French Broad River to East Tenness was completed. This road carried wagonloads of early settlers on their way west through Asheville. It also brought herds of cattle, sheep, hogs and turkeys being driven to the large towns of South Carolina through Asheville.

1840: Asheville population had grown to 500.

1851: "Asheville and Greenville Plank Road' completed. Those wealthy enough to travel via stagecoach began to arrive in Asheville, whose reputation as a health resort had begun to grow.

1860: Asheville population reaches 1,100.

1861-1865: During the Civil War, Asheville became a major Confederate military center. When the first company organized west of the Blue Ridge mountains, known as the Buncombe Rifles, marched out of Asheville on April 18, 1861, they carried a flag made from the silk dresses of the town's socialites. Shortly thereafter, Captain Zebulon Vance organized the Rough and Ready Guards. As it turned out, seven of the ten companies of the 6Oth North Carolina Regiment were comprised of Buncombe County men.

Post Civil War: As a consequence of the Civle War, one early and flourishing industry was the making of Enfield Rifles, much prized by soldiers of the Confederate for their accuracy.

1878: Asheville and Western North Carolina came to be known as "The Land Of The Sky", a slogan which has stuck to this day. This was taken from a popular novel by Salisbury native Mrs. Frances Tiernan of Salisbury, writing under the name of Christian Reid.

1880: Asheville populations has grown to 2,610

1880: the railroad conquered the Eastern continental divide launching a whole new era for Asheville and indeed, the whole of Western North Carolina.

1889: Battery Park Hotel completed. While staying at the old Battery Park Hotel on "Stoney Hill", George W. Vanderbilt discovered what he described as "the most beautiful spot in the world". He subsequently purchased 145,000 acres and began construction on Biltmore House, one of the great country estates of the world. Even

1890: Asheville population has quadrupled in just 10 years to 10,237.

late 1800's: a grand opera house was built, followed by a convention auditorium. During the late 1800's and early 1900's, Asheville's economy flourished, with land being gobbled up and developed in something of a frenzy.

1900: Asheville population reaches 14,694. A chamber of commerce was created, known as the "Asheville Board of Trade," This organization of prominent businessmen launched national advertising, and proclaimed the city to be one of the "leading convention cities In the country."

1912: Langren Hotel built

1913: Grove Park Inn completed

1918: new Kenilworth Inn was built

1930-1935: After the 'boom years' Asheville population has grown to 50,193. During the Great Depression, Asheville was again favored by the creation or development of two great natural attractions: the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway. which together have help make the Asheville area one of the most visited recreational areas in the country. During the Great Depression of the early 1930's, there was a collapse of the land boom, bringing financial ruin to the once prosperous Asheville -- a ruin from which it took several decades, from which It was slow to recover.

1970: Asheville's population is 57,681 (although by now considerable population growth was taking place, but most of it was occurring throughout Buncombe County outside of the incorporated Asheville area). Asheville earns the designation "All American City."

1974: new Civic Center completed

1977: Asheville's city debts resulting from the Great Depresssion finally paid off.

1980: Asheville's population is 60,500, and the population of Buncombe County is 162,500.

2008, Asheville's population is estimated to be 75,000, while Buncombe County has grown to ____. Asheville is the junction point of two major Interstate highways, 26 and 40. It is also the hub of five federal highways, two Appalachian development highways, five state highways and the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's naturally attractive location and natural resources, coupled with a very profound historic 'sense of self' and purpose have returned Asheville's economy to a very solid and broad-based footing. Today, Asheville's economy again flourishes, with industry (BASF, Square D., Gerber, Ball Corporation, Beacon end Sybron/Taylor, and others), natural resources (forestry and minerals), agriculture and tourism each playing important roles. The Asheville-Buncombe Consolidated Water District reservoir, which is located in a remote timbered watershed covering 24 square miles, holds 6 billion gallons.

Fashionable Asheville ".... A fascinating blend of social and architectural history, probing behind formal facades to discover the fashionable era of a famous mountain town in the highlands of Appalachia...."
"... Here in a concentration of private wealth lived Vanderbilts, Connallys, Pearsons, Coxes, Battles, Cheesboroughs, McClures, Groves and Raouls.   "David Bailey explores the private lives of colorful personalities across the city spectrum, from affluent and powerful moguls to brilliant and influential writers.  Opulent homes and exclusive clubs for residents, stylish shops and grand hotels for visitors.  Clearly explains how mystical Altamont, under the spell of ancient Charleston, transformed itslef out of primitive drovers trails and turnpikes.   "See how the country's first electric trolley cars carried the active set to parties and picnic amid the most beautiful scenery in America.  Take a look inside private clubs and railway cars and delve into the most remarkable feat of railroading in the nation's history.  Learn what attracted Joseph Kennedy & "Honey Fitz" from Boston to this elite synergism.   "Come scrutinize the mystique of high society.  Peek over Tom Wolfe's shoulder as he explores the inner life of Asheville.  Take a wild side trip along Thunder Road into the secret and dangerous world of moonlighting.   "Probe the imaginative minds of Zelda & Scott Fitzgerald, who spent ten years in residence.  Follow a bizarre life of the Edward McLeans and the legendary Hope Diamond.  Enter the astonishing realm of Henry Flagler and his connections.  Bakers and Rumboughs.  Take a quick look at the fabulous Obolenskys.   "Millions have visited Biltmore and Grove Park Inn and those enchanting waterfalls and towering peaks that surround them.  Marveled at the superb works of William Morris Hunt, America's greatest architect, and Frederick Law Olmstead, America's greatest landscape architect.  Some have visited private homes and public structures designed by an outstanding corps of architectural talent.  And a handful have even written books about some facet of the scene. "Few have delved into social life of the city in which it was all a part.  Or the Great Boom of the Roaring Twenties.  Even fewer know the real story, the true tale of its spectacular collapse. CLICK HERE to Purchase Fashionable Asheville: Volumes One and Two   About the Author:   "Born in New York City and a lifelong writer, David Coleman Bailey is a long time resident of Asheville.  As a boy coming to Asheville with his family, he was fascinating in the startling aftermath of this seemingly brand new city.   "Educated at the University of North Carolina and Haverford College, he received degrees in journalism and languages and is retired from a long investment career with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith.  Social & political history is a hobby.   'The father of Derrick, Douglas, Thomas, and Caroline Elizabeth, he is married to the former Cathey Massie, owner of Biltmore Forest Realty in Asheville.  Family forebears came to American shores during the 17th & 18th centuries.  Named for Col. David Coleman, whose regiment reached the climax at Chickamauga, greatest battle in the history of Anglo-Saxon arms.   "Mr. Bailey has long been involved in operations of the Penland Company, a hereditary family land management business.  He is founder of the Asheville Arts Council and former chairman of Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, dedicated to preservation of the Highlands of Roan and other mountain conservation projects.
CLICK HERE to Purchase Fashionable Asheville: Volumes One and Two