ASHEVILLE, a city of North Carolina, U.S.A., the county seat of Buncombe county; in the southern Appalachian highlands, about 21om. W. of Raleigh, at the junction of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers; on a plateau 2,300f t. above sea-level, which extends from the Blue Ridge on the east to the Great Smoky mountains on the west. Asheville is served by the South ern railway system, and is on Federal highways 19, 25, 70, 74 and 176. The climate is dry and equable, with an average annual snowfall of only io.3in. and there is magnificent mountain scenery in every direction. The city has a land area of 10.6 sq. miles. The resident population was 28,504 in 1920, of whom 7,145 were Negroes; and was 50,193 in Asheville has been a health and all-the-year-round pleasure re sort ever since the first wooden hotel was erected about 1830. Its hotels now have accommodation for 3,00o guests; there are many boarding-houses and apartments for visitors, and many inns in the surrounding mountains. Recreation facilities include an 18-hole municipal golf-course, planned by Donald Ross, and 'four belong ing to private clubs; a municipal recreation park with a 56 acre lake; municipal swimming-pools and tennis-courts; a city audi torium; a fine baseball park, and a baseball team that is owned and managed by the city; and a financially successful summer season of grand opera. Within a short drive are the Pisgah Cherokee, Nantahala and Unaka national forest preserves; Mt. Mitchell (6,71 I ft.), the highest peak east of the Rockies; and the Great Smoky Mountain national park, which eventually will include 70o,000ac. of primeval wilderness. There are nearly ioo summer camps for boys and girls in the region, and several religious assemblies have their permanent headquarters in the vicinity. Sanatoria for the treatment of tuberculosis were estab lished there early, and some of them have a national reputation. Near the outskirts of the city lies Biltmore, the home of the late George W. Vanderbilt. The grounds were laid out by Fred erick Law Olmsted, and the mansion (5 by i 5of t.) was de signed after the Château de Blois. Originally the estate included 125,000 ac. but part of it was deeded to the Federal Government as the nucleus of the Pisgah national forest, and the village of Biltmore has been incorporated as a suburb of Asheville. Since the World War Asheville has made marked industrial and civic progress. Between 1919 and 1927 the volume of busi ness, as indicated by bank debits to individual accounts, was mul tiplied by three, the assessed valuation of property by four; post office receipts doubled ; and the building permits in the eight years represented a value of over $30,000,000, including a new city hall and court-house and a beautiful new building for the Pack Memorial library. The value of products manufactured within the city limits increased from $3,149,000 in 1914 to $10,111,216 in 1927, when the leading industries were wood-working and furni ture plants; textile mills; foundries, machine shops and railway repair shops; and a large tannery. Power is available from hydro electric plants on the French Broad river, and others are under construction (1927). A city plan was adopted in 1925; a success ful method of smoke abatement is in operation ; and a water sys tem is under construction, which will be adequate for a population of 300,000.
Asheville was founded by John Burton, who in 1794 laid out a town at first called Morristown or Buncombe Court House. It was incorporated as Asheville in 1797; chartered as a city in 1835; and adopted a commission form of government in 1905. It was named after Samuel Ashe (1725-1813), chief justice of North Carolina (1777-96), and John Ashe (172o-81), a North Carolina soldier.