James Vester Miller was born just prior to the Civil War, on April 21, 1860 (according to his grave, although…
Growing up in the Colonel’s Court
This is a guest post by Terry Roberts, the award-winning author and Asheville native who grew up in ‘Sander Court.’ …
Asheville Colored Hospital
Only in the last fifty years has access to Asheville’s hospitals been available to every citizen. Before the 1950s a…
MLK Jr. in WNC – Part II
Martin Luther King Jr’s second trip to Western North Carolina was in the summer of 1965, again following on the…
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Western N.C. – part 1.
Part One: On January 20th-22nd 1964 Martin Luther King Jr and his Civil Rights organization the Southern Christian Leadership Conference,…
Vanderbilt’s Rental Mansions
Today the Biltmore Estate is the reigning queen of attractions in Western North Carolina, and she’s been that way since…
Nina Simone’s High School
Did you know Nina Simone went to High School in Asheville? Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon NC in 1933,…
Murder at the Battery Park
The 1920s roared into Asheville bringing with it financial prosperity and a real estate boom, but in 1929 the banks…
Glamping with the Vagabonds
In the summer of 1918 Asheville was visited by a very famous troop of pioneering ‘Glampers,’ – the self-proclaimed ‘Vagabonds’…
Tourism Fiction
Back in 2012 as I was writing Historic Inns of Asheville, I picked up a book called “Azure Lure” from…
The Colonel’s Court & Cafe – Asheville, NC
Corbin, Kentucky’s claim to fame is the Colonel Sanders Museum and Cafe, the birthplace of KFC. But is it? What…
Sulphur Springs
In late February 1827 a sulphur spring was discovered in West Asheville on land owned by Robert Henry, either by…
297 Haywood Street
The Church building that houses the congregation now dubbed ‘Holy Chaos’ was originally built around 1891. It was renovated in…
The White Plague
Asheville was a well-known and prominent figure in the treatment of tuberculosis in the United States – many people flocking…
Let’s Be Honest about these Celebrated Asheville Writer’s
I recently saw an Asheville historian point to the Grove Park and say “Fitzgerald did a lot of writing there,”…
Asheville Writer’s Itinerary
Thomas Wolfe Start off your day with breakfast at the Writer’s Bistro located 31 Woodfin in the Renaissance Hotel. ‘Inspired by…
This overlooked historic site is by far the most inspiring!
Early one friday in mid-March I headed east on I-40 past Greensboro to Sedalia, NC. population 622. I was…
Hood Huggers Tour
I have wanted to go on a Hood Huggers Tour for a few months, and I’m glad I finally made…
