ASHEVILLE, ash'vil, N. C., city and county-seat of Buncombe County, on the Southern Railroad, near the French Broad Riv er, 275 miles west of Raleigh. It is in a tobac co-growing and market garden region, famous for its fruit, especially apples; and it is widely famed as a winter and summer resort. Its principal manufactures are of cotton goods, shoes, ice, tobacco and flour. The United States census of 1914 recorded 46 manufactur mg establishments of factory grade, employing 1,135 persons, of whom 1,006 were wage earners, receiving annually $394,000 in wages. The capital invested amounted to $2,956,000, and the year's production was valued at $3, 202,000; of this $1,027,000 was added by manufacture. The city is 2,350 feet above the level of the sea and is surrounded by impres sive mountain scenery. It has the Asheville College for Young Women, Bingham Military .School, Asheville Farm School for Boys, Normal College and Collegiate Institute for Young Women, Home Industrial School for Girls, Industrial School for Colored Youth, large central auditorium seating 2,000 and free to conventions, sanitarium, weather bureau, national banks, fine parks, beautiful drives, hotels, boarding-houses, etc., and among notable
public buildings, post-office, government build ing, county courthouse, city hall and free public library. It has electric light and gas plants, a modern system of sewers, a water supply by 17 miles of pipe line from trout streams on the water shed of Mount Mitchell, and an electric street car system with a trolley road to Sunset Mountains. In the suburbs are: the magnifi cent estate of Biltmore, established by George Vanderbilt of New York city; one of the finest botanical gardens in the world; Pisgah Forest, a hunting preserve of 84,000 acres; Riverside parks; and Mount Beaumont, 2,800 feet high. Asheville was settled in 1792 and was named in honor of Samuel Ashe (1725-1813) jurist, and John Ashe (1720-81) soldier. It received a charter of incorporation in 1835. In 1905 the city boundaries were extended. The commission form of government has been adopted. Pop. (1916) 20,000.