History · Asheville

Asheville dates to 1797, and 19% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns · #9 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it

90 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Thomas Wolfe House, a National Historic Landmark, and ten historic districts with 1,782 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1800.

1797founded

90on the National Register

19%homes built before 1940

5old photos & papers

46famous people

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Asheville’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Asheville began

When was Asheville founded?

1797

Asheville dates its founding to 1797 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1800.

First census: 38 in 18002020 census: 94,589229 years

How historic is Asheville?

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1801.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Asheville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Asheville is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #9 of 290 in North Carolina. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Asheville’s overall grade.

Founding era1797, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 194018.5% of homes (±1.4) · typical NC town 4.1% · U.S. 8.4%B⁺National Register90 listings, 1,983 historic buildings, 210 per 10,000 residents · typical NC town 12.5 · U.S. 2.4A

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 91%

NewerOlder

North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 97%

North Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical North Carolina town has 12.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Asheville’s 210 sits above most of its state (85% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 1,983 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1797.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Asheville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A National Historic Landmark90 places on the National Register, including Thomas Wolfe House, a National Historic Landmark.A historic districtThe Montford Area Historic District takes in 591 historic buildings.Lost villages13 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Asheville, and 48 old place names are still on the map.Mapped building by building8 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1917, drew every building in Asheville.

★ What stands out · On the National Register

90 listings protect 1,983 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed

National Historic Landmark

Thomas Wolfe House

historic buildings protected

1,983

each building in a district counts

first listed

1971

Thomas Wolfe House

BuildingsDistrictsSites★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne12

Tudor Revival9

Art Deco9

Colonial Revival8

Craftsman8

Bungalow7

★ Landmark

Thomas Wolfe HouseBuilding

Grove Park InnBuilt 1913

Smith-McDowell HouseNeo-Classical

Arcade BuildingTudor Revival

First Baptist ChurchBeaux Arts

Asheville City HallBeaux Arts · Built 1928

ZealandiaGothic

S And W CafeteriaArt Deco

All 90 listings

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

13 other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Ashville

1801–today

Sulphur Springs

1832–1866

Riverside

1869–1877

Busbee

1873–1902

Sand Hill

1873–1874

Deaver's View

1874–1875

Arden

1878–today

Hawkins

1883–1887

Ramoth

1888–1893

Grace

1889–1902

18001910today

Hamlets and corners on the map

AlbemarleArdenAzaleaBeverly HillsBiltmoreBoswellBroadviewBuena VistaBusbeeCamelotDeaver ViewDogwood GroveEast BiltmoreEcho HillsEnkaEnka VillageGraceHaw CreekHawthorneHazel GreenHighland GateHillcrest AptsKenilworthLee Walker Hots

Gone or out of use

Appalachian Hall HospitalhospitalBusbee Post Officepost officeHighland Hospitalhospital

11cemeteries and burying grounds inside Asheville

Green HillsHarkinsLewis MemorialNew Salem Baptist ChurchOld AcademyRichRiversideSouth AshevilleSunsetWest ChapelWoodlawn

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Asheville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Asheville.

Read it all →

Before the arrival of the European Colonists, the land where Asheville now exists lay within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation, which had homelands in modern western North and South Carolina, southeastern Tennessee, and northeastern Georgia. A town at the site of the river confluence was recorded as Guaxule by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto during his 1540 expedition through this area. His expedition comprised the first European visitors, who carried endemic Eurasian infectious diseases that killed much of the native population.

ChaptersOrigins Civil War 1880s 1900s 2000s to present

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Asheville, 1793 to 1971

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

18th century
1793In the archiveAsheville-original-plan-tn1
1797
FoundingAsheville is established
19th century
1801Post officeThe Ashville post office opens
1832Post officeThe Sulphur Springs post office opens
1866Post officeThe Sulphur Springs post office closes
1869Post officeThe Riverside post office opens
1877Post officeThe Riverside post office closes
1890In the archiveHall Residence on French Broad Avenue
1893BuiltYoung Men's Institute Building is built
20th century
1900In the archiveOld Asheville Train Depot
1900Born hereThomas Wolfe is born here
1913BuiltGrove Park Inn is built
1924BuiltBattery Park Hotel is built
1924Born hereKenneth Noland is born here
1928BuiltAsheville City Hall is built
1938In the archiveMiss Margot Mayo (cropped)
1970Born hereBellamy Young is born here
1971LandmarkThomas Wolfe House named a National Historic Landmark

By decade

Asheville, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1790s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1790s1 item

c. 1793Asheville-original-plan-tn1Document

1890s–1930s4 items

c. 1890Hall Residence on French Broad Avenue

c. 1900Old Asheville Train Depot

1938Miss Margot Mayo (cropped)

1938Miss Margot Mayo

1940s–1990snothing yet

Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Add from your album

Today1 recent

USDA Secretary Vilsack Visit to Asheville, North Carolina (20241025-USDA-OSEC-CDP-0013)

2024USDA Secretary Vilsack Visit to Asheville, North Caro…

Every building

Asheville, building by building, 1885–1917

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Asheville fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 1

1885Sheet 1 of 2

Edition

Sheets

+1 more at the Library of Congress

BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Retake this viewHall Residence on French Broad Avenue, c. 1890

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Asheville’s page.

Retake this view · +15

People over time

Asheville, census by census

Grew from 38 people in 1800 to 94,589 in 2020, more than tenfold.

18 censuses, 1800–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Asheville’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

46 famous people were born in Asheville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →

Thomas WolfeAmerican writer · b. 1900

Kenneth NolandAmerican artist · b. 1924

Sierra McCormickAmerican actress and model · b. 1997

Bellamy YoungAmerican actress · b. 1970

Dorothy Hansine AndersenAmerican physician · b. 1901

Barbara LodenAmerican actress and director · b. 1932

Help out

Finish Asheville’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Retake an old viewHall Residence on French Broad Avenue: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Woodfin5 historic placesB⁺EmmaIts storyC⁻Biltmore Forest3 historic placesB⁻Royal PinesIts storyD FletcherIts storyC⁺Mills River1 historic placeD Avery CreekIts storyD⁻

Questions about Asheville’s history

What year was Asheville founded?

In 1797, according to Wikidata. Asheville’s post office opened in 1801, and the census of 1800 counted 38 people here.

How does Asheville rank for history?

Asheville is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #9 of 290 in North Carolina. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Asheville?

90 listings: 68 buildings, among them the Thomas Wolfe House (a National Historic Landmark since 1971), 21 historic districts with 1,782 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 1,983 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Asheville?

19% of Asheville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1982.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikidata (10), the National Register of Historic Places (90), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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