If you live in Asheville, you’ve probably taken a drive through it many times. Say, you’re headed to the Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary for a Sunday stroll after a brunch downtown. It is a section of Merrimon Avenue that begins descending in elevation starting somewhere about the time you reach Brookstone Church (formerly Merrimon Ave.
Beech is a community in north Buncombe County six miles up Reems Creek Road — 14 miles from Asheville. It is formed by the junction of Maney Branch and Reems Creek and was named after the beautiful grove of Beech trees growing there. A resident back in 1894 wrote to the editor of the Asheville newspaper saying
There are enough interesting manuscript collections, maps, and images here in the North Carolina Room to keep me entertained for years to come. Having the privilege to archive some new collections or perform patron requested searches, I inevitably find some interesting tidbit jotted down on the back of a photo, or an intriguing newspaper headline,