Tuesday History: Seeking rest at the Battery Park Hotel, 1886

The 1880s marked the start of Asheville’s urban growth. The decade began with approximately 2,600 permanent residents.  Advances in transportation, communication and the health industry would contribute to the city’s population increase. On Oct. 2, 1880, the first train pulled into town, offering visitors greater access to the mountains. A few years later, the arrival of two […]

Horror in the highlands: Asheville’s ghostly legends provide a glimpse into city’s past

Like any good Southern city, Asheville’s history is steeped in the gothic and the paranormal. While the facts and claims behind these legends vary from story to story (and storyteller), Asheville’s “ghosts” play an often unheralded role in capturing and preserving the city’s past.