The house is located on the campus of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. "It's a mansion financed by wealthy white people who lived here in the area but built by people that they enslaved on land that used to, that belonged to native people, and so within this space we can really see it as a microcosm of the history of our area and of our region," Chesky-Smith said.Ĭhesky-Smith calls the house a living exhibit as they are constantly learning more about the enslaved people who lived here. The area was believed to be curative for those with illnesses. Chesky-Smith says they retreated to Asheville for their daughter, who was sick with tuberculosis. That's when the wealthy Garrets purchased the home and did a lot of the renovations seen in the house to this day. In debt following the Confederate defeat, the McDowells had to sell the house in 1881. He was also a slave owner, and enslaved people lived on the property until emancipation came to Asheville in April of 1865. McDowell was a banker and a Confederate major, and he founded the Buncombe Riflemen, a militia group. In 1854, John Smith's sister, Sarah Lucinda purchased the home with her husband William McDowell. (Courtesy: WNCHA)Ĭhesky-Smith says one of the most tragic facts about the home is the enslaved family who lived here were split up when the house went up for auction. George Avery – one of the known enslaved people to live on the property. When Smith died, his son John inherited the house, but John suffered a quick death shortly after, and with no will, the house, along with those enslaved here, went up for auction at the Buncombe County Courthouse. The Smiths used the property as a country home. Join Facebook to connect with Chris Smith Asheville and others you may know. Smith, at the time, was one of the wealthiest landowners, one of the largest slave owners, a businessmen and Asheville's second mayor. View the profiles of people named Chris Smith Asheville. "So far we've been able to track down over 40 names of people who were enslaved by the Smith and McDowell families who may have been here on the property," Chesky-Smith said. On a tour of the home, you'll learn about those who lived here, including mayors, a Confederate major, friends of the Vanderbilts, and not only these influential people, but enslaved people as well. "It's seen such an amount of history of the Asheville area and a diversity of people too.”
"My true passion is really researching the history of this area and really, starting with this house," Chesky-Smith said.
The historian, working out of the house, loves being immersed in its history. Anne Chesky-Smith is the executive director of the group. It's now home to the Western North Carolina Historical Association, which operates and maintains it.
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