In the late 1920’s a group of Asheville investors, boosters, and executives (including Fred Seely, son in law of the late E.W Grove) hatched a plan to lure one of the world’s most progressive burgeoning industries to western North Carolina. Established in the early 1920s after the discovery of the scientific process for creating “artificial
Emma is a small community in western Buncombe County that sits nestled between Dryman Mountain and the French Broad River. If you wanted to put a pushpin on a map, you’d place it on the crossroads at North Louisiana and Emma Road (SR 1338). Today, the intersection maintains some character of the old and the
Many of our 52 Weeks 52 Communities posts have been about rediscovering the origins of the names of our communities in Buncombe County. This week is no different. Deaverview, a community in West Asheville seemed straightforward in this regard: figure out who Deaver is, and call it a day. But, sometimes it’s not that easy.
Did you ever visit the Broad River Community Library? The tiny little library in this rural southeast Buncombe County community first made an appearance thanks to the New Deal-era program called the WPA or Works Progress Administration. The WPA funded all manner of social programs, including arts and literary efforts, like rural libraries. The Broad River
The Bent Creek Ranch was a hot vacation spot for equestrians from all over the country in the mid-twentieth century. The lodge and guest cabins provided a nice getaway from the hustle and bustle of modern life – a step back into “simpler times.” A postcard sent to a Nashville couple from the Bent Creek
Fetching its name from Hezekiah Barnard, who owned stock stand and inn near the Forks of Ivy in the 19th century, Barnardsville is one of Buncombe County’s most rural communities. Things get a little fuzzy on where exactly Barnardsville ends and Democrat and Dillingham begin, but we’ll get into that when we look at those
We’re posting an addendum to our Instagram post on Arden thanks to the really insightful question posed by local writer Ami Worthen (@amiwhoa) in the comments. Our original post read, “The painting featured depicts “Struan” a home built in the Arden area in 1847 by Alexander Robertson, a wealthy rice planter from South Carolina who