Buncombe County
51 places on the trail: 49 highway markers, 2 battlefields and state sites.
People of Buncombe County in Carolina Quotes
Angel OlsenLived in AshevilleBarbara Gardner ProctorBorn in Black MountainBellamy YoungBorn in AshevilleBilly GrahamDied in MontreatCormac McCarthyLived in AshevilleKenneth NolandBorn in AshevilleLewis M. BranscombBorn in AshevilleMadison CawthornBorn in AshevilleRichard M. WeaverBorn in AshevilleRobert Y. HayneDied in AshevilleRoberta FlackBorn in Black MountainThomas WolfeBorn in AshevilleWilliam Jennings BryanLived in William Jennings Bryan House
Revolution and founding, 1775-1789
- P-37RUTHERFORD TRACEThe expedition led by Gen. Griffith Rutherford against the Cherokee, September, 1776, passed nearby on the banks of the ...
- P-38RUTHERFORD TRACEThe expedition led by Gen. Griffith Rutherford against the Cherokee, Sept., 1776, passed nearby.
- P-39RUTHERFORD TRACEThe expedition led by Gen. Griffith Rutherford against the Cherokee, Sept., 1776, camped nearby along Hominy Creek.
- N-32SWANNANOA GAPUsed by Indians and pioneers in crossing Blue Ridge. General Rutherford's expedition against Cherokee passed here, Septe...
- P-54WILLIAM MOORECaptain of militia force which marched against the Cherokee in Nov., 1776. A fort which he built stood near here. His ho...
The young state, 1790-1860
- P-21ANDRE MICHAUXFrench botanist, pioneer in studying flora of western North Carolina, visited Black Mountains, August, 1794.
- P-77BUNCOMBE TURNPIKEOpened up western N.C. Built, 1824-28; the 75-mi. long route from S.C. line to Tenn. line, used by settlers & livestock ...
- P-5DAVID L. SWAINGovernor and political leader. President of the University of North Carolina, 1835-1868. Was born three miles E.
- P-33FRANCIS ASBURYBishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1784-1816, often visited and preached at the home of Daniel Killian which was ...
- P-49JOSEPH LANETerritorial Governor of Oregon, 1848-50, Vice-Presidential candidate, 1860, U.S. Senator, major general in Mexican War. ...
- P-18NEWTON ACADEMYEstablished before 1793 as Union Hill Academy. Named for Rev. George Newton. Present Newton Academy School is 4th buildi...
- P-60SHERRILL'S INNEst. by Bedford Sherrill, 1834. Served travelers crossing Hickory Nut Gap until 1909. Stands 300 yards south.
Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877
- PPP-1BATTLE OF ASHEVILLEOn April 3, 1865, Union Col. Isaac M. Kirby left East Tenn. with 1100 men on a raid against Asheville. On April 6, Kirby...
- P-57CONFEDERATE ARMORYManufactured Enfield-type rifles. In 1863 plant moved to Columbia, S.C. Building was located 1/4 mi. SE. Burned in 1865.
- P-3RIVERSIDE CEMETERYGraves of Thomas Wolfe & "O. Henry," authors; Zebulon B. Vance, governor; Thomas L. Clingman and Robert R. Reynolds, U.S...
- P-55STONEMAN'S RAIDSouthern troops turned back Stoneman's U.S. cavalry, raiding through western North Carolina, at Swannanoa Gap, near here...
- P-9STONEMAN'S RAIDOn a raid through western North Carolina Gen. Stoneman's U.S. Cavalry occupied Asheville on April 26, 1865.
- P-46SWANNANOA TUNNELLongest (1,800 ft.) of 7 on railroad between Old Fort and Asheville. Constructed by convict labor, 1877-79. West entranc...
- P-74WEAVER COLLEGEFounded as Weaverville College, 1873; Methodist, coeducational. In 1934 merged with Rutherford to form Brevard College. ...
- P-2ZEBULON B. VANCE 1830-1894Civil War governor. He led state, 1862-65, and 1877-79; U.S. Senator, 1879-94. Colonel, 26th N.C. Regiment, 1861-62. Bir...
The New South, 1878-1929
- P-97ANNE PENLAND 1885-1976Nurse anesthetist. Her WWI service influenced British medical corps to train female anesthetists, 1918. Home was here.
- P-68BILTMORE HOUSEDesigned for George W. Vanderbilt by Richard M. Hunt. Constructed, 1890-1895. Opened to public, 1930. Three miles west.
- P-16BINGHAM SCHOOLA boys' military school, operated by Robert Bingham, 1891-1928. Moved from Mebane. Campus was 1 mile S.W.
- P-35DR. L. B. McBRAYERLeader in fight against tuberculosis in North Carolina, Superintendent of State Sanatorium in Hoke County, 1914-24. His ...
- P-86ELECTRIC STREETCARSFirst electric trolley system in N.C. opened, Feb. 1, 1889, bolstering regional tourism. Served train depot 1/4 mile S.E...
- P-95FLOOD OF 1916Devastated western N.C. and western Piedmont; destroyed homes, crops, mills, bridges. Four lives lost, July 16, near mai...
- P-30FORSTER A. SONDLEY 1857-1931Historian, lawyer, and bibliophile. Gave to Asheville the Sondley Reference Library. His home is 2.7 mi. north.
- P-32JETER C. PRITCHARDUnited States Senator, 1895-1903, Republican leader, newspaperman, federal judge. His home is 3/10 mile east; grave is 1...
- P-44KIFFIN Y. ROCKWELLWorld War I soldier, aviator. First pilot of Escadrille Lafayette to shoot down enemy plane. Killed in action, Sept. 23,...
- P-29LEE'S SCHOOLA classical preparatory school for boys, 1844-1879. Operated by Col. Stephen Lee at Chunn's Cove, 1/2 mile north.
- P-79LILLIAN EXUM CLEMENT STAFFORD 1886-1925First female legislator in the South. Elected to N.C. House, 1920. Her law office was 400 yds. west; home 1/2 mi. NE.
- P-22LOCKE CRAIG1860-1924 Governor, 1913-1917. He created the state highway & fisheries commissions, est. Mt. Mitchell State Park. Lived...
- P-84MONTREAT COLLEGEPresbyterian. Opened in 1916 as Montreat Normal School. First president was Robert C. Anderson. Campus is 2 miles N.
- P-72MOUNT MITCHELL RAILROADOpened Black Mountains to logging and tourism. Built, 1911-1914. It ran from point nearby to Camp Alice, 21 mi. NE.
- P-78OLIVE TILFORD DARGAN 1869-1968Writer of fiction and poetry. "Fielding Burke," her pen name. Author of Call Home the Heart and Highland Annals. Home, 1...
- P-98RAFAEL GUASTAVINO 1842-1908Builder who developed tile construction method widely used in vaults & domes. Designed vaulted ceilings at Biltmore in 1...
- P-36RICHMOND PEARSON 1852-1923Congressman, 1895-1901; U.S. Minister to Persia, 1902-07, and to Greece and Montenegro, 1907-09. His home, "Richmond Hil...
- P-17THOMAS WOLFEAuthor of "Look Homeward Angel" (1929), "Of Time and the River," and other works. Home stands 200 yards N., birthplace 5...
- P-56UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT ASHEVILLEEstablished 1927; became Asheville-Biltmore College 1936. Moved here in 1961. A campus of The University of North Caroli...
- P-69WARREN WILSON COLLEGEFounded in 1894 by the Presbyterian Church as Asheville Farm School. A four-year college since 1966. 1 1/2 mi. E.
- P-88YOUNG MEN'S INSTITUTEEst. 1892 as center of social, moral, religious influence for blacks working at Biltmore. Businesses thrived in building...
Modern North Carolina, 1930 on
- P-61ASHEVILLE NORMAL SCHOOLPresbyterian. Opened 1887 as Home Industrial School. Teacher's College 1892-1944. Stood nearby.
- P-64BLACK MOUNTAIN COLLEGEEst. in 1933; closed 1956. Experimental school with emphasis on fine arts & progressive education. Campus was 3 mi. NW.
- P-93GEODESIC DOMESPrototype domes built nearby in 1948 & 1949 by Buckminster Fuller while he taught at Black Mountain College.
- P-99GEORGE MASA d. 1933Japanese photographer. Born Masahara Iizuka. Advocate of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Appalachian Trail. His ...
- P-94JIMMIE RODGERS 1897-1933“Singing Brakeman” lived in Asheville, 1927. Began his country music career with radio broadcasts on WWNC, then 50 yds. ...
- P-89ZELDA FITZGERALDWriter, artist, Jazz Age icon; wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald. In 1948, she and 8 other patients died in fire at Highland H...
Battlefields, sites and undated markers
- P-101ALLEN SCHOOL
- P-53SULPHUR SPRINGSHealth & social resort during the nineteenth century; patronized by low-country planters. Springs are 600 yds. S.
- SiteTHOMAS WOLFE MEMORIAL STATE HISTORIC SITELiterature, late 19th century architecture.
- SiteZEBULON B. VANCE BIRTHPLACE STATE HISTORIC SITEGovernment, Civil War, Pioneer life, 19th century vernacular architecture, homestead.