Built as a plantation about 20 years before the Civil War, the four-story Smith-McDowell House is the oldest surviving home in Asheville, NC. Boasting a lengthy history, the house was saved from demolition by the Western North Carolina Historical Association in 1974 and was put on the National Register of Historic places.
The non-profit museum, open 25 years to the public, displays period furnishings and hosts events to educate the community about its past. Along with holiday and historical exhibits, the land is also the site for the Buncombe County Civil War Memorial, honoring the residents who fought and died in the Civil War.
The mansion was built by James McConnell Smith, a prominent North Carolina businessman who made his fortune building and operating a toll bridge over the French Broad River on the Buncombe Turnpike. Smith then became a judge, a mayor, owner to several local businesses and owned more than 30,000 acres across Buncombe County.
After Smith's death, the house was owned by his son-in-law and daughter, William Wallace and Sarah Lucinda McDowell. Just before war broke out, McDowell organized the first group of Confederate volunteers and quickly elevated the ranks to Major. Experiencing financial hardship after the war, the McDowell's were forced to sell the mansion along with 15 acres. Since then, house was bought and sold by many residents, including to Dr. Charles Van Bergen who added buildings and redesigned its landscape, until it was acquired by the Historical Association and made into the museum it is today.
