{"id":160,"date":"2010-08-30T18:21:46","date_gmt":"2010-08-30T18:21:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pmdc.wcu.edu\/?p=160"},"modified":"2023-06-20T13:20:55","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T13:20:55","slug":"buncombe-turnpike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.wcu.edu\/index.php\/2010\/08\/30\/buncombe-turnpike\/","title":{"rendered":"Buncombe Turnpike"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Old Buncombe Turnpike, Creative Commons image from Asheville and Buncombe County Photostream<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n

To truly appreciate the value and impact of western North Carolina\u2019s historic Buncombe Turnpike it is useful to have a basic geographic understanding of the region it served.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Buncombe County looks much different than it did over two hundred years ago when it was incorporated in 1792.\u00a0 It originally included a vast territory that now comprises twelve western North Carolina counties, being so large it was often referred to as the \u201cState of Buncombe.\u201d \u00a0It was isolated from surrounding population centers by its mountainous topography.\u00a0 Roads were few and its rivers flowed westward, creating challenges as residents sought to engage the emerging commodity markets to the east and south.\u00a0 Eventually, as other western Carolina counties were separating from Buncombe, a centrally-located, well-drained, relatively-flat plateau threaded by the Swannanoa and French Broad Rivers was chosen as the Buncombe County seat of government.\u00a0 Formally named in 1797 in honor of Governor Samuel Ash, Asheville soon became both the region\u2019s population and commercial center.\u00a0 However, still 100 years before the completion of the Western North Carolina Railroad, Asheville, Buncombe County, and the surrounding communities continued to suffer the effects of geographic isolation.\u00a0 It became apparent the immediate remedy would take the form of an enhanced roadway system.<\/p>\n

Initially, road construction and improvement was haphazard.\u00a0 Homes and businesses were located randomly along predated Native-American trails that had been in use for centuries.\u00a0 Initially, Buncombe County required its male citizens to make an annual contribution of either material or labor for the building and maintenance of roads.\u00a0 Primary routes were those widened to twelve feet and secondary trails were improved within various degrees.\u00a0 A third class road was defined as adequate to support a single horse and its rider.<\/p>\n

One notable, heavily-traveled route loosely followed the French Broad River through Buncombe County.\u00a0 Droves of livestock, primarily hogs, were \u201cdriven\u201d from various points of origin to markets throughout the region \u2013 traveling as far north as Knoxville and eastern Kentucky, and as far south to Charleston.\u00a0 Many parts of the route through western North Carolina were treacherous with rocky, poorly-maintained roadbeds and wide expanses of river impossible to cross without the aid of a ferry.\u00a0 This throughway got its name from the herding troupes that coaxed their livestock along its winding, mountainous terrain; it was called the Drover\u2019s Road.<\/p>\n

Recognizing the importance of access, in 1819 North Carolina created a Board of Internal Improvements responsible for infrastructure throughout the state.\u00a0 Primarily concerned with transportation, the Board incorporated The Buncombe County Turnpike Company in 1824.\u00a0 Under the direction of several prominent Buncombe citizens, the Turnpike was completed in 1828.\u00a0 It was seventy-five miles in length.\u00a0 The Turnpike traveled from the NC\/SC state line near Greenville across the Asheville plateau along the French Broad River to just north of Warm Springs where it joined the Tennessee Road.\u00a0 The impact on Buncombe County and the region was immediate.<\/p>\n

Every year, livestock drives and other forms of commercial transport brought thousands of travelers from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia across the Buncombe Turnpike enabling access to eventual destinations like Charleston, Atlanta, Augusta, and Savannah.\u00a0 Subsequently, it became a prosperous period for the mountain region and other neighboring communities.\u00a0 Regular mail delivery became the standard rather than the exception.\u00a0 Local stores could now receive shipments of the latest fashions.\u00a0 Stagecoaches ran on regular schedules connecting all points south with faraway locations like Nashville and New Orleans.\u00a0 Travelers began to recognize the beauty of the southern Appalachians and a fledgling tourist industry was born.\u00a0 Asheville gained a reputation as a health resort, attracting summer residents seeking the therapeutic effects of the cool mountain air.\u00a0 However, the greatest impact on the region was marked by the seemingly endless stream of livestock that for decades found its trek to market aided by the new Buncombe Turnpike.<\/p>\n

After the growing seasons of spring and summer, the months of October, November, and December saw the greatest number of droves moving through Asheville.\u00a0 Horses, mules, cattle, sheep, ducks, geese, and turkeys made their way down the Turnpike.\u00a0 Annual estimates of hogs driven to market vary from 150,000 to 200,000.\u00a0 Moving larger animals, drovers could travel up to twenty miles each day.\u00a0 However, fowl and smaller livestock were less hardy and moved much slower.\u00a0 After about five miles, hogs would simply \u201cflop down and refuse to budge.\u201d\u00a0 As a result, numerous inns, public houses, and stock-stands sprung up along the Turnpike route.<\/p>\n

Depending on definition, stands along the Buncombe Turnpike numbered between fifty and seventy-five, practically one every mile!\u00a0 The standkeepers, usually local farmers, were indispensable and many became some of the most wealthy and influential members of the community.\u00a0 Each stand could accommodate several droves and up to 20,000 animals per night.\u00a0 Feed and shelter was provided for the livestock as well as a hearty meal and rest for the drovers, who often left a hog or sheep behind for payment or arranged credit until the return trip after the animals had been sold at market.<\/p>\n

The names of many of the standowners have become synonymous with various Buncombe County locations.\u00a0 Examples include James Mitchell Alexander (Alexander), Hezekiah Barnard (Barnardsville), Samuel Chunn (Chunn\u2019s Cove), and Zachariah Candler (Candler).\u00a0 Alexander\u2019s Stand, ten miles north of Asheville, maintained not only accommodations for man and livestock, but also a blacksmith shop, a tanyard, a wagon factory, a grist mill, a sawmill, a ferry, and a bridge over the French Broad River.\u00a0 Another stand of note was across the Buncombe County line in the Laurel Community of Madison County.\u00a0 Operated by a man named Allan, it was known as Allan\u2019s Old Stand.\u00a0 On that site in 1897, Francis Louise Goodrich established a craft cooperative that took the name of the drover\u2019s inn.\u00a0 It eventually became Allanstand Cottage Industries, a part of today\u2019s Southern Highland Craft Guild.<\/p>\n

The largest stand along the Turnpike was positioned alongside the French Broad River, just west of downtown Asheville, and operated by James Smith.\u00a0 Smith also owned the main ferry across the river.\u00a0 In 1834, he replaced the ferry with a wooden toll bridge.\u00a0 For many years, Smith collected tolls on the only bridge to cross the French Broad with immediate proximity to Asheville.\u00a0 Buncombe County eventually purchased the bridge and replaced it with one made if iron in 1881.\u00a0 The third bridge on the same site today serves thousands of motorists as they cross the French Broad just south of the Interstate-26 Smoky Mountain Parkway Bridge.\u00a0 Smith continued to build his wealth beyond Appalachia and constructed a brick mansion, Asheville\u2019s now famous Smith-McDowell House, as a second home.<\/p>\n

James Smith, like many of his contemporaries, recognized the benefits the Buncombe Turnpike provided for the extended region and the opportunities it offered immediate residents.\u00a0 However, the Turnpike, like most innovations moved from revolutionary to invaluable to obsolete over the course of several generations.\u00a0 Soon it too would become but a part of the local folklore.<\/p>\n

Long before the railroad in the late 19th<\/span>\u00a0century, radio and television, the multi-lane highways of the 20th<\/span>\u00a0century, and the World Wide Web, the Buncombe Turnpike served as the economic and cultural link between the mountains of western North Carolina and the outside world.\u00a0 The Turnpike enabled residents of the region to step from an isolated, agrarian existence into one characterized by trade, communication, and mobility.\u00a0 Its construction, benefits, and subsequent impact certainly represent one of the most pivotal periods in Appalachian history.\u00a0 The Buncombe Turnpike is, without a doubt, one of the most important symbols of our centuries-old, mountain heritage.<\/p>\n

For more information please see:<\/h3>\n