50@50 – Asheville, NC
Asheville North Carolina lies only 85 miles northeast of the Folk Pottery Museum in Sautee, Georgia, so I detoured for a couple of days to further explore if the landscape, shaped the culture of Southeastern Appalachians similarly or differently than the mountains of West Virginia and Kentucky. Part of the Southern Appalachians, the Blue Ridge Mountains stretch from Virginia through North Carolina and into Georgia as a nearly unbroken chain. Aptly named, its rugged ridges and rounded, weathered peaks often seem to be engulfed in a soft blue haze. Scientists contend that these mountains contain the greatest mixture of temperate climate plants in the world, except for eastern Asia, which lies at about the same latitude.
The predecessors of the Cherokee settled in the Southern Appalachians several thousand years ago, and by 1500 BCE, a separate Cherokee language had developed. Five hundred years before Hernando DeSoto encountered them in 1540 (looking for gold) the people had settled into semi-agrarian villages, or towns. 
Traders began relations with the Cherokee late in the 17th century[*]. With limited accessibility, the western mountains were the last in North Carolina to be settled by the Europeans. Like other parts of the Appalachians, the western North Carolina Mountains were primarily settled by Scotch-Irish, English and German, lured here by the abundance of game and the fertile bottomlands and hillsides on which to farm.
Various treaties in 1777 and 1792 established separate American and Cherokee lands, but white settlement continued, ultimately resulting in the Trail of Tears. Some escaped the grueling march and joined with the Oconaluftee Cherokee Indians, who signed a treaty in 1819 allowing them to stay in North Carolina. Together, their descendants make up the Eastern Band of the Cherokee and now live in the Qualla Boundary, a reservation adjacent to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. They perform one of the longest running outdoor dramas in the country, chronicling the history of the Cherokee people up to the Trail of Tears.[†]
Thus far, the environmental history is not so different from other areas of the Appalachians, yet the culture of Ashville and the surrounding region is distinctive. In 2003, the North Carolina portion of the Blue Ridge was designated a National Heritage Area in recognition of its cultural significance. So what made its culture diverge?
Settled along the French Broad River in the 1790’s, Asheville did not grow quickly. In 1828, the Buncombe Turnpike, parallel to the river, was completed, linking Tennessee and Kentucky (and Asheville) to the Atlantic. By the 1850’s, with a population of only a few hundred, Asheville’s reputation as a health resort was growing. After the railroad broke through the eastern Continental Divide in 1880, wealthy and influential visitors came, bringing the businesses, trade and labor to support them. In 1888, a 26 year old arrived in Asheville, fell in love with the landscape, and as a result, both changed and preserved it forever. George Vanderbilt bought 125,000 acres, and envisioned a self-sustaining European styled country estate. A student of horticulture and agriscience, he hired Fredrick Olmsted to design the grounds, and Gifford Pinchot manage the forests. The Biltmore was completed in 1895. Carl A. Schenck established the Biltmore Forest School in 1898—the first of its kind in the country[‡]. In 1914, Edith Vanderbilt sold much of the estate to form the Pisgah National Forest.
Have you ever read Malcom Gladwell’s The Tipping Point? “It’s a book about change. In particular, [it] presents a new way of understanding why change so often happens…as it does”[§]. One change triggers others. It seems to be a good analogy here. With one art loving philanthropist in its midst, others arrived. High art, including opera, and innovative architecture of the early 20th century came to Asheville. Likewise, the outbreak of people coming to Asheville to improve their health spread and included writer O’Henry and Edwin Wiley Grove, who envisioned the Gove Park Inn. Concurrently, at the other end of the economic spectrum, the legacy of artistic culture in western North Carolina was being formed.
During 1908-1909, and idealistic educator, John C. Campbell and his wife, Olive, studied the social conditions of the mountain people. He interviewed farmers while she studied the everyday life, handicrafts and music of the people. The vision was twofold – to improve their quality of life by education, and to preserve and share the artistic skills and culture of these mountain people. John died in 1919, but Olive persevered. Brasstown North Carolina, southwest of Asheville embraced the idea of a Folk School. Opening in 1925, learning was mostly hands-on in a non-competitive environment. Today, people come from all over to stay on the property and learn traditional skills such as blacksmithing, zither and fiddle music, weaving, quilting, pottery and woodcarving among many other things. Olive Campbell also worked with Frances Goodrich and other crafts people to form an official organization. In 1930, the Southern Mountain Handicraft Guild (now the Southern Highlands Craft Guild) was formed. The Folk Art Center is situated along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville.
In 1933, World events rushed in to the Black Mountain, a community a few miles east of Asheville. Hitler was rising in Germany, the innovative Bauhaus was shut down by the Nazis, and the persecution of artists began. In the meantime, the depression gripped this country. A scholar named John Rice wanted to start a progressive college, believing that the study and practice of the arts was critical to a person’s education. The focus was interdisciplinary and experimental. Many of the faculty members who taught at the college between its 1933 opening and its 1957 closing, including the legendary summer programs, are among the most important and influential of the 20th century. Its students dispersed, carrying out its legacy, and the energy and innovation of the college continues to reverberate in the region today.
The landscape definitely shaped the culture of Asheville and western North Carolina. People are drawn to explore its peaks, ridges, bottomlands, plant life, to savor the food from this unique ecosystem and to experience its visual and performing arts.
A plethora of hiking trails can be found a throughout southwestern North Carolina. My goal was to either climb Chimney Rock[**] about 28 miles southeast of Asheville, or explore trails northeast along the Blue Ridge Parkway. For February, the weather was great, but due to some snow in the higher elevations and fog in the lower areas, both of those options were out. So in keeping with a creative mindset, I followed the Urban Trail in downtown Asheville. Divided into five distinct time periods, the pathway identifies 30 places that are significant in the city’s history. All are marked in some way, with a bronze plaque or a piece of public art. The brochure describes the path and each point. It only took about 90 minutes to complete. And I was conveniently located to explore the many galleries downtown, and enjoy a pint of great local brew. In the summer, I’ll have to return to bag Chimney Rock!