Architectural Tidbits

By: Dale Wayne Slusser Shortly after British born architect Arthur John Wills left Asheville in early 1893 and returned home to St. John’s Newfoundland, after three years of living and working in Asheville, he sent a letter to the Asheville Citizen-Times with the...

by Dale Wayne Slusser Asheville, for a small city in the mountains of Appalachian North Carolina, has since the arrival of the railroad in 1880, attracted many of the most creative artists and architects from both across the United States and abroad.  And for some...

by Dale Wayne Slusser “Two hundred feet below under the shade of a pine tree a log cabin snuggles into a laurel thicket,” writes Muriel Sheppard in her 1935 book, Cabins In the Laurel, her literary portrait of life in the coves, hollars, hills, and mountains of...

by Dale Wayne Slusser Architect “A. L. Melton”, a little-known architect from Morganton, NC, moved to Asheville in 1886 to participate in the building boom which followed the 1880 arrival of the railroad. For the ensuing three decades, Melton was responsible for the...

By Dale Wayne Slusser Architect “A. L. Melton”, a little-known architect from Morganton, NC, moved to Asheville in 1886 to participate in the building boom which followed the 1880 arrival of the railroad. For the ensuing three decades, Melton was responsible for the...

by Dale Wayne Slusser February is the month for Lovers! Here in Asheville we think of it as the month for lovers of bungalows, and of all things Arts & Crafts, Mission-Style, and Craftsman, as hundreds of bungalow lovers descend upon Asheville to attend the National...

by Dale Wayne Slusser A substantial part of Asheville’s historic districts and neighborhoods are made up of houses and buildings built during the period from the 1880’s through to the 1920’s.  The arrival of the railroad in 1880 caused a rapid and sizeable increase in...

by Dale Wayne Slusser “The work of prominent and prolific architect George F. Barber (1854–1915) can be found across North America. Virtually every major town has a residence designed by the Knoxville-based architect, who created and sold house plans through his...

by Dale Wayne Slusser Asheville has, since the coming of the railroad in the 1880’s, attracted both the most wealthy and talented citizens from all parts of the U. S.  However, I was recently reminded that among those attracted to Asheville also were numerous...

by Dale Wayne Slusser When I’m asked to research the history of a house, the foremost question I’m asked is: “Who built my house?”  Of course, implicit in that question are really three questions, “Who commissioned my house to be built?”, “Who designed my house?”, and...