Architectural Tidbits

by Dale Wayne Slusser  The Preservation Society of Asheville & Buncombe County has recently purchased the Cappadocia Church in Asheville’s East End neighborhood, a historically African American neighborhood on the western slope of Beaucatcher Mountain.  The church...

By Dale Wayne Slusser The owner of the property at 124 Montford Avenue recently sent an inquiry to the Preservation Society inquiring about the history of their property, an apartment house obviously dating from the early 20th century.  Two specific statements made by...

By Dale Wayne Slusser In an unpublished autobiography, Margaret Houston Linn Pritchard writes, that her father, Dr. Tisdale E. Linn, “thought there was no better investment than real estate,” and that besides wanting to invest in real estate to provide for his family,...

By Dale Wayne Slusser  Architect and builder “H. W. Fitch”, at the age of 50, arrived in Asheville in 1888 from Atlanta, Georgia, and almost immediately began to make a name for himself in the building trades in Asheville’s then booming real estate and building...

by Dale Wayne Slusser The development of Montreat, North Carolina was the product of the blending of two Victorian social movements- the camp meeting, and the railroad promoted health and pleasure resorts movements.  The original concept for Montreat was, according to...

“Here lived Miss Agnes and Lucia Campbell, two very sweet and indigent Southern gentlewomen…” By Dale Wayne Slusser In 1889, northern millionaire George Washington Vanderbilt, began construction of his 250-room mansion, “Biltmore” on a hill above the southern bank of...

by Dale Wayne Slusser Once described as a “pretty little religious village”[1], the Town of Montreat, which is nestled in a deep cove near Black Mountain in Western North Carolina, has a rich and prolific assemblage of historic cabins, cottages, and residences.  One...

By Dale Wayne Slusser  On May 24, 1914, the Charlotte Observer reported the following news from Asheville: “Work on the stone castle which Fred L. Seely is building on the brow of Overlook Mountain has been resumed and a force of 30 workmen is now engaged in erecting...

By Dale Wayne Slusser While walking down N. Liberty Street in North Asheville, via google “street view”, recently, I came across the beautiful cottage at the northeast corner of N. Liberty and East Chestnut Streets (138 E. Chestnut Street).  My first thought was that...