(Editor’s Note: Each weekday in March we will be featuring a city in North Carolina in our “Marching Through North Carolina” series aimed at getting to know your state better from the mountains to the coast. In our firm, we serve all of North Carolina and enjoy learning about what makes us the same and different throughout the Tar Heel state. If you have any tidbits or suggestions about a featured city, please leave a comment on that city or town’s blog post.)
The Facts:
Population: 76,636
County: Buncombe County
The History:
Much like Greenville, North Carolina, Asheville wasn’t named “Asheville” when the city was founded. It was first known as “Morristown, North Carolina.” The town was named this soon after Buncombe became an established county in in 1792. Five years later, in 1797, the town was renamed “Asheville” after North Carolina Governor Samuel Ashe.
The first two cities we covered in this series, Greenville and Jacksonville, each had a waterway near them to serve as a catalyst to their economy. Asheville did not have this luxury, but moving people and goods would find its way to Asheville in the late 1800’s by way of railroad. The railroads allowed more and more people from the United States to visit and learn about the area. Due to it’s beautiful scenery and escape from bigger towns across the nation, Asheville was known as a health resort for those aiming to get away and relax.
One visitor to the city enjoyed it so much that he decided to buy 125,000 acres and build a home. In the late 1800’s, George W. Vanderbilt would plan and construct “Biltmore” which is still known to this day as the largest private residence in America. The home took five years to build with hundreds of workers on the job.
Today:
In this section we usually offer a couple things to do or see around the city we spotlight, but why read when you can watch a video about the area? Below is a video titled “The Spirit of Asheville” from ExploreAsheville.com, which is the official tourism site of the area. If you would like to see more videos and pictures, please click here:
Learn more about Asheville:
- Newspaper: The Asheville Citizen-Times
- City Website: Asheville, North Carolina
- Tourism: Explore Asheville
Blog information sources:
