Asheville

ASHEVILLE Drawing of the City Building, Lyda Collection, D.H. Ramsey Library, UNC Asheville	"'A PLACE of resort -- that is only to say, A place where all sorts freely gather ; The 'twenty-four black-birds,' the grave and the gay Here mingle, or jostle in wondrous melee, A human kaleidoscope, rather!'" [Quote from: Illustrated Guide Book to the Western North Carolin Mountains, p. 18] ARCHITECTURE BIBLIOGRAPHY GEOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHS DEMOGRAPHICS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OFFICIAL HOMEPAGE WOMEN'S EDITION OF ASHEVILLE CITIZEN TIMES

T.L. Clingman "Western North Carolina" Appleton’s Journal May 1791 p. 587 [Description of Asheville] The town is located on a hill above the French Broad River, and is, at its highest point, two thousand two hundred and twelve feet above the sea-level. In summer the winds prevail from the southern points of the compass; they come to Asheville cooled by passage over the high mountains, and slightly tinctured with balsamic odors gathered there-from. In winter, as they come from northern points, their force is broken by the mountains on that side, and in descending to the valley meet the milder temperature there generated. Standing in the town of Asheville, one may look far west and see the black tops of its kindred range; while east and north the towering peak of Mount Mitchell and its seven brothers give thousands of acres of surface to the balsam-tree—forming thus a perfect cordon of this growth.
"Asheville, delightful for situation, on small hills that rise above the French Broad below its confluence with the Swannanoa, is a sort of fourteenth cousin to Saratoga. It has no springs, but lying 2250 feet above the sea and in a lovely valley, mountain girt, it has pure atmosphere and an equable climate; and being both a summer and winter resort it has acquired a watering-place air. There are Southerners who declare that it is too hot in summer, and that the complete circuit of mountains shuts out any lively movement of air. But the scenery is so charming and noble, the drives are so varied, the roads so unusually passable for a Southern country, and the facilities for excursions so good, that Asheville is a favorite resort. There was a kind of predetermined and willful gayety about Asheville, however, that is apt to be present in a watering-place, and gave to it the melancholy tone that is always present in gay places. [Battery Point] is a hill with a grove, which commands a charming view, and was fortified during the war. We found it illuminated with Chinese lanterns, and little tables set about under the trees, laden with cake and ice-cream, offered a chance to the stranger to contribute money for the benefit of the Presbyterian Church. The sojourner at Asheville can amuse himself very well by walking or driving to the many picturesque points of view about the town; livery stables abound, and the roads are good. The Beaucatcher Hill is always attractive; and Connolly’s, a private place a couple of miles from town, is ideally situated, being on a slight elevation in the valley commanding the entire circuit of mountains, for it has the air of repose which so seldom is experienced in the location of a dwelling in America whence an extensive prospect is given. There are certain excursions that the sojourner at Asheville must make. He must ride forty-five miles south through Henderson and Transylvania to Caesar’s Head, on the South Carolina border, where the mountain system abruptly breaks down into the vast Southern plain; where the observer, standing on the edge of the precipice, has behind him and before him the greatest contrast that nature can offer. He must also take the rail to Waynesville, and visit the much frequented White Sulphur Springs, among the Balsam Mountains, and penetrate the Great Smoky range by way of Quallatown, and make the acquaintance of the remnant of Cherokee Indians living on the north slope of Cheoah Mountain." (Warner, "On Horseback," The Atlantic Monthly vol. 56, issue 336, Atlantic Monthly Co., Boston, October 1885, p. )
"On Thanksgiving Day, 1895, Miss Anna C. Aston, Miss Frances L. Patton and other ladies published a "Woman's Edition" of the Asheville Daily Citizen. It contained much valuable and important information of that city. But in February, 1898, Foster A. Sondley, Esq., a descendant of the Fosters and Alexanders of Buncombe county, and a leading member of the Asheville Bar, published a historical sketch of Buncombe county and Asheville, containing practically all that could then be ascertained concerning the early history of this section. Hon. Theo. F. Davidson and the late Albert T. Summey also contributed their recollections. There was a woodcut reproduction of an oil painting of Asheville by F. S. Duncanson, which was taken from Beaucatcher, and it appears that there were not more than twenty five residences in 1850 that were visible from that commanding eminence, all the buildings, including outhouses, not exceeding forty, and they were between Atkin, Market and Church streets. The painting itself, now owned by Airs. Martha B. Patton, shows five brick buildings, the old Presbyterian church, on the site of the present one, with the cupola on its eastern end, because the street ran there; the little old Episcopal church, on the site of the burned Trinity; the old jail, standing where the city hall now stands; Ravenscroft school, and the Rowley house, now occupied by the Drhumor building. The old jail was three stories high. The other buildings were white wooden structures, and included the central portion of the old Eagle hotel and the old Buck hotel. Mr. Ernest Israel also has a similar picture." (Arthur, John Preston, Western North Carolina: A History, 1914, p. ..)
"Dr. J. S. T. Baird's facile pen has given us an equally vivid picture of Asheville in his "Historical Sketches of Early Days," published in the Asheville Saturday Register during January, February and March, 1905, as it appeared in 1840. He records the facts that the white population then did not exceed 300, and the total number of slaves, owned by eight or nine persons, did not exceed 200. In the 400 acres embracing the northeastern section of the city, between the angle formed by North Main and Woodfin streets, he recalled but two dwellings, those of Hon. N. W. Woodfin and Rev. David McAnally, both on Woodfin street. There was an old tannery and a little school house near the beginning of what is now Merrimon avenue, the school having been taught by Miss Katy Parks, who afterwards became 'Mrs. Katy Bell, mother of Rev. George Bell of Haw Creek. This 400-acre boundary, now so thickly settled, was then owned by James W. Patton, James Al. Smith, Samuel Chunn, N. W. Woodfin and Israel Baird. There was a thirty-acre field where Doubleday now is, and was called the "old gallows field," because Sneed and Henry had been hanged there about 1835. Standing south of Woodfin and East of North and South Alain streets to the southern boundary, there were but eight residences, not including negro and outhouses." (Arthur, John Preston, Western North Carolina: A History, 1914, p. ..)
"In his [Samuel Ashe's] honor the name of Morristown was changed to Asheville. This new name became common some time before any legal action upon the subject was had....Finally in July...or October 1796 or in January, April, or July 1797, the name of the town was duly changed from Morristown to Asheville. (1922. Sondley, F. A. Asheville and Buncombe County, p. 89.) [The name change was no-doubt prompted by the ignominy of Robert Morris, the wealthy US Treasury official who gave his name to the original town. His activity as a rather greedy land speculator and his subsequent imprisonment for his excesses and debts most likely encouraged the town to look to more noble men to honor. hw]
"A small party of Cherokees set out from the more western parts of North Carolina in the summer of 1793, to attack the white settlements on Swannanoa River. It seems that the settlers had received some warning of this and were on the lookout. At any rate, the attack was not made. Simultaneously, but without concert with the North Carolinians, Col. Doherty and Col. McFarland had led an invasion from East Tennessee of a part of the Cherokee country which had escaped incursions from the whites....It was contrary to the orders of the Tennessee territorial government, but probably prevented the contemplated attack on the Swannanoa settlements and saved from destruction the village of Morristown, now the City of Asheville. (1922. Sondley, F. A. Asheville and Buncombe County, p. 91.)
"With regard to Asheville, I can only say that it is a very busy and pleasant village, filled with intelligent and hospitable inhabitants, and is the centre of a mountain land, where nature has been extremely liberal and tasteful in piling up her mighty bulwarks for the admiration of man. Indeed, from the summit of a hill immediately in the vicinity of the village, I had a southwestern view, which struck me as eminently superb. It was near the sunset hour, and the sky was flooded with a golden glow, which gave a living beauty to at least a hundred mountain peaks, from the centre of which loomed high towards the zenith, Mount Pisgah, and the Cold Mountain, richly clothed in purple, which are from twenty to thirty miles distant, and not far from six thousand feet in height. The middle distance, though in reality composed of wood-crowned hills, presented the appearance of a level plain, or valley, where columns of blue smoke were gracefully floating into the upper air, and whence came the occasional tinkle of a bell, as the cattle wended their way homeward, after running among the unfenced hills. Directly at my feet lay the little town of Asheville, like an oddly-shaped figure on a green carpet; and over the whole scene dwelt a spirit of repose, which seemed to quiet even the common throbbings of the heart." ( Lanman, Charles. Allegheny Mountains.)
"The road to Asheville is rough but safe. Our party sent on their baggage, and stopped at a way-side farm-house, "Alexander’s," about twelve miles from Asheville. Mr. Alexander, a hale, sprightly young man of eighty, who, like all other farmers in the mountains, "took in" travelers, gave them an excellent supper and comfortable beds, and sent them on the next day… The road followed stolidly the windings of a pearly little river, the Swannanon [sic], through dank snaky fens, through stately park-like forests into deep creeks of chocolate-colored water rushing down from the pine regions above. Asheville lies upon a high plateau surrounded by the Balsam Range; the pure dry air sifted through these trees has healing on its wings for all lung diseases. (Rebecca Harding Davis "By-Paths in the Mountains."Harper’s New Monthly Magazine vol. 61, issue 336 Harper and Brothers New York, August 1880, p. )
Edward King "The Great South: Among the Mountains of Western North Carolina." Scribner’s Monthly Magazine vol. 7, issue 5 Charles Scribner and Sons New York, March 1874 p. Some days later, the judge enthusiastically pointed out to us the beauties of Asheville, the Mecca of the North Carolina mountaineer. We had journeyed thither down the valley of the Pigeon River, -- a tranquil stream, with flour mills here and there, perched in cozy nooks along its banks. A thirty mile wagon ride from Waynesville, landed us at the great white "Eagle Hotel," from whose doors the Asheville stages ply over all the roads west of the Blue Ridge. In the valley where Asheville lies the capricious "French Broad" receives into its noble channel the beautiful Swannanoa, pearl of North Carolinian rivers. Around the little city, which now boasts a population of twenty-five hundred people, -- are grouped many noticeable hills; out of the valley of "Hommony Creek" somber Mount Pisgah rises like a frowning giant, and from the town the distant summits of the Balsam range may be faintly discerned. From "Beaucatcher Knob," the site of a Confederate fort, over-hanging Asheville, the looker towards the southwest will see half a hundred peaks shooting skyward; while in the foreground lies the oddly shaped town, with the rich green fields along the French Broad beyond it. Asheville Court House stands nearly 2,250 feet above the level of the sea; and the climate of all the adjacent region is mild, dry, and full of salvation for consumptives. The hotels, and many of the cheery and comfortable farm-houses are in summer crowded with visitors from the East and West; and the local society is charmingly cordial and agreeable. Buncombe County, of which Asheville is the central and chief town, was named after Col. Edward Buncombe, a good revolutionary soldier and patriot, and its name has become familiar to us in the quaint saying so often used in the political world, "He’s only talking for Buncombe…" At Asheville, we were once more in a region of wooden and brick houses, banks, hotels and streets; and, although still some distance from any railroad, felt as if we had a hold upon the outer world. The town has grown steadily and remarkably since the [Civil] war, and now has banks, good churches, well-furnished stores, three newspapers, and ample hotels; while in the vicinity the tobacco which grows so abundantly in Buncombe is prepared for the market, and great quantities of cheese are annually manufactured. Beautiful natural parks surround it; superb oaks cast their shadows on greenest of lawns, and noble maples, ash and walnuts border the romantic roadway. But a few miles from the town’s center are excellent white sulphur springs, from which a variety of exquisite views are to be had, and only nine miles north of the town are the so-called "Million Springs," beautifully situated in a cave between two ranges of mountains, where sulphur and chalybeate waters may be had in profusion… The town of Asheville will in future be the railroad center of Western North Carolina, and must grow to be a large and flourishing city. A wildly romantic and picturesque country. The valley of the French Broad River conforms with perfect accuracy to the general direction of an air line between the two cities. And what a valley it is! The forty-four miles from Asheville to Wolf Creek form one of the most delightful of mountain journeys. The rugged wagon road runs close to the river’s banks all the way to Warm Springs, a charming watering place a short distance from the Tennessee line. As you penetrate the valley the river grows more and more turbulent; its broad current now dashes into breakers and foaming flakes, as it beats against the myriads of rocks set in the channel bed. In the valley of the French Broad there are many admirable mill sites, the river at Asheville being quite as large as the Merrimac at Lowell, in Massachusetts. The water power is generally superb, because most of the mountain streams, before they flow out into Tennessee, have a fall of a thousand feet. Timber is abundant, and when the railroad comes, it will run through finely timbered regions. Four miles from Asheville, going north-eastward, towards the Black Mountains, we reached the river, and followed its placid current through a beautifully-cultivated valley.