A painting of the N.W. Woodfin house by John Holland. It is presumed that the figure on the porch is N.W. Woodfin. The home stood at what is now the corner of Broadway and Woodfin St., the approximate location of HomeTrust Bank. His property reached into where the UNC Asheville botanical gardens are today, this … Continue reading Confronting the Legacy of N.W. Woodfin: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities
I volunteered this week to create the post for Swannanoa in part because it has been my home for the majority of my life. I was educated in grades 1-12 in “the Valley” (as you will hear natives often call the community including Black Mountain and Ridgecrest). In the 20th century, Swannanoa was transformed by … Continue reading Swannanoa: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities
Asheville’s real estate boom in the 1920’s fostered the growth of many neighborhoods: Lakeview Park, Malvern Hills, Horney Heights, and Kenilworth, just to name a few. Biltmore Avenue borders Kenilworth on the east and across the avenue, on a knoll overlooking Biltmore Village, is the pocket neighborhood of St. Dunstan’s Circle. A Mr. Roebling first … Continue reading St. Dunstan's Circle: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities
Thursday October 17- Sunday October 20: OUT! A Pop Up Exhibit featuring material from our LGBT+ Archives Thursday, October 24, 6-7 pm: The Ravenscroft Reserve October 30: The Panoramic Photos of Herbert W. Pelton ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thursday October 17- Sunday October 20: OUT! A Pop Up Exhibit featuring material from our LGBT+ Archives OUT! A Pop … Continue reading Join the Friends of the NC Room for THREE events in October!
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 … Continue reading Welkom Bij Het Dorp Enka! 52 Weeks, 52 Communities
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 … Continue reading Cousin Caney the Corrupt Commissioner and the Brand New Emma-Leicester Road: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities
“Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale: …and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom's place.” 2 Samuel 18:18 Though he died in 1838, by 1887 Absalom Dillingham managed, in his own way, … Continue reading “Keep My Name in Remembrance,” Dillingham: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities
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 … Continue reading Do you Remember the Bent Creek Ranch? : 52 Weeks 52 Communities
