Saturday, August 10, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, Buncombe County History, Local History, Manuscript Collection

Lost Communities of a Consolidated Jupiter: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

“[Jupiter] received its name in about 1885 or 1888, by Old North McCLean (sic), he being the first post master. His theory for naming the settlement Jupiter was that it is of a very high altitude and from the post office you could gain a very plain view of the Jupiter star that rose in the north east. There was about three or four men present at the time… they agreed and it was called ‘Jupiter Post Office.’”
Saturday, June 01, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, Architecture, Asheville History, Buncombe County History, Forgotten People, Historic Montford, Houses, Local Heroes and Heroines, Local History

Cousin Caney the Corrupt Commissioner and the Brand New Emma-Leicester Road: 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
Saturday, May 18, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, African Americans, Buncombe County History, Forgotten People, Photograph Collection

“Keep My Name in Remembrance,” Dillingham: 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,
Tuesday, May 14, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, Architecture, Buildings, Houses, Local History, Manuscript Collection, Treasures: Very Special Items

A Trip to the Store in Democrat, 1876: 52 Weeks, 52 Communities

If you were taking a trip to Burnsville from Asheville between 1847 and 1890 there was, for the most part, only one way to get there. Along the road, there would be a few choice places to stop, but the most famous was Carter’s. It was, like most other Stock Stands along the various turnpike
Tuesday, February 05, 2019 / Published in 52 Weeks 52 Communities, Architectural Drawing Collection, Buncombe County History, Local History, Manuscript Collection, Photograph Collection

52 Weeks, 52 Communities: Barnardsville,What’s in the North Carolina Collection?

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