Class Book_ COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT ^it::^ AP I \ / Rogers ASHBVILLK Photo-Cravures COPYRIGHT, 1896, BY H. TAYLOR Ij^OGERS, Bookseller and Station hr, asheville, n. c. ^^/J""3^-' The albertype Co., N. Y. r/^ <\^ FSHEVILLE was named in honor of Governor vSamuel Ashe, of revolutionar)' fame, and has been the county seat of Buncombe Count}' since 1794 It occupies an undulating plateau of a mean elevation of 2350 feet above sea level, 18 miles west of the highest portion of the Blue Ridge and close to its monarch Mount Mitchell, which is the highest crest east of the Rockies. The mountains, lofty though they be, are clothed with verdure to their tops, and present at all seasons the beautiful vistas of a sunny clime. On the west, Asheville, with her railroad depot and cotton mills, reaches to the banks of the French Broad River, renowned for its placid beauty in parts, its saults and leaps through the rugged hills above and below Hot Springs, and skirted all along by the vSouthern Railwa}'. No more charming ride can be had anj'where than the few hours' trip along the French Broad, one romantic view chasing another, and like links of a chain tying the memory forever to this one of the pleasantest spots on earth. Soft and romantic as the name, Swannanoa, two miles south of Asheville, is a truly South- ern river, embowered in dense verdure, full of witchery and quiet charm. As an oriental bride, it is guarded from unbidden eyes, until it meets and merges into the French Broad, a short distance below Connally's. To your left is Biltmore, the princely manor of Mr. Geo. \V. Vanderbilt of New York. He has selected this section of the Western North Carolina mountains to create the lordly domain. It is the grandest private residence in the United States and rivals the palaces of the old world, apart from the perfection of modern appointments, the variety of the domain and its incomparable situation. To visit the estate, a permit is necessary It may be obtained by applying by post or in person to the office of the Biltmore Estate at Biltmore Station. There are fifteen hotels and many boarding houses to receive the stranger, twenty-five churches, four public and a number of private schools and higher institutions of learning ; a Young Men's Christian Association and numerous societies with church affiliation, also a public library. There are water works, a good sewer .system, gas and electric lighting, electric street railways, telephone exchange, fire department and fire alarm, telegraph, six miles of brick paved streets and a uitrltitude of good drives. The native people are kind to the stranger and will greatly interest him by their unspoiled simplicity of speech and person ; the shaggy-haired mountaineer with his tiny wood-cart, the oxen-span, or the cow paired with a mule, measuredly tugging away at the canvas-thatched family wagon. On the other hand, the cultivated Southern families will hospitably receive the stranger within their circle, and there are many other residents of refinement hailing from all parts of the coirntry. Round Knob Railroad at 17 Points. Hotel, Fountain and Viaduct at Round Knob; igsS'itt'.^^fi— -!.■ ^itfHSffh-:.. _.'!fe£3f5r' ASHEVILLE FROM BeAUMONT. Court House. City Hall. First National Bank. e3w&nnar\oa, «r