Helpful Links

The Historic Resources Commission (HRC) of Asheville & Buncombe County was created in 1979 through a local ordinance adopted by both the City of Asheville & Buncombe County pursuant to the North Carolina General Statutes. The HRC has also been certified by the State Historic Preservation Office with the concurrence of the National Park Service to carry out the purpose of the National Historic Preservation Act at the local government level.

The mission of the Western North Carolina Historical Association is the preservation and promotion of the history of Western North Carolina through care, investigation, interpretation and presentation of the Smith-McDowell House Museum and its relationship to the region; the education of the public through lectures, exhibitions, publications, and related events and the facilation of cooperations among regional historical organizations.

The Swannanoa Valley Museum has served the Western North Carolina community since 1989 as BuncombeCounty’s primary museum of general local history.  The history of the region is interpreted in a unique collection of photos and artifacts from the Swannanoa Valley that relate in microcosm the history of the settlement not only of the Swannanoa Valley, but also of Buncombe County and Western North Carolina.

The North Carolina Collection at Pack Library is a fully cataloged collection of published materials reflecting history, literature and life in Western North Carolina. Within the collection there is a particular emphasis on material relating to Asheville and Buncombe County.

Special Collections and University Archives is located on the second floor of D.H. Ramsey

Library, at the center of the University of North Carolina Asheville campus. We welcome all users of our facilities including students, faculty, staff and community users.  Our strength is in our local and regional material related to urban Appalachia. We have extensive photograph and manuscript collections that provide may points of entry into the history of Asheville, Buncombe County, western North Carolina and the Southern Appalachian region. We also have extensive collections related to urban planning, labor relations, WWI, Appalachian culture, and African Americans in western North Carolina.

Considered by many to be one of the giants of 20th Century American Literature, Thomas Wolfe immortalized his childhood home in his epic autobiographical novel, Look Homeward, Angel. Wolfe’s colorful portrayal of his family, his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, and the Old Kentucky Home boarding house earned the historic Victorian home a place as one of American Literature’s most famous landmarks

This pioneer farmstead, tucked in the Reems Creek Valley, features the birthplace of Zebulon Baird Vance.The five-room log house–reconstructed around original chimneys–and its outbuildings are furnished to evoke the period from 1795- 1840. Vance’s political career as Civil War officer, North Carolina governor, and U.S. senator is traced at the homestead. Also included is the history of Vance’s famous mountain family.

Asheville Neighborhoods

Historic Montford
Grove Park/Sunset Mountain Neighborhood
Downtown Asheville Residential Neighbors
5 Points Neighborhood
Lake View Park
Burton Street
Malvern Hills
West End/Clingman Avenue Neighborhood (WECAN)

Give us a shout and we will add your Asheville neighborhood to the list!
director@psabc.org

North Carolina

Founded in 1939, Preservation North Carolina is North Carolina’s only private nonprofit statewide historic preservation organization. Its mission is to protect and promote buildings, landscapes and sites important to the diverse heritage of North Carolina.

A service branch of the Office of Archives and History in the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, DNCR’s Western Office offers professional expertise in historic resource management.

Western Regional Archives

North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office

NC Architects and Builders:  This biographical dictionary highlights architects and builders who have produced North Carolina’s architecture for more than 300 years. A brief biography plus a building list traces each person’s work in the state. This is a growing website, with many more entries still to be added.

National

National Trust for Historic Preservation
Preservation Action
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
National Parks Service Cultural Resources
National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE)