Asheville, North Carolina

{{redirect|Asheville}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2021}}{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Asheville
| settlement_type    = [[City]]
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
 |border                   = infobox
 |perrow                   = 1/2
 |total_width              = 285
 |caption_align            = center
 |image1                   = Asheville at dusk (cropped).jpg
 |caption1                 = Downtown Asheville
 |image2                   = Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina.jpg
 |caption2                 = [[Biltmore Estate]]
 |image3                   = Asheville City Hall - Asheville, NC.jpg
 |caption3                 = [[Asheville City Hall]]
 }}
| image_flag         = Flag of the City of Asheville, North Carolina.gif
| image_seal         = Seal of Asheville, North Carolina.png
| nickname           = AVL, Land of the Sky
| motto              = "Quality of Service, Quality of Life"
| image_map          = Buncombe County North Carolina incorporated and unincorporated areas Asheville highlighted.svg
| mapsize            = 260px
| map_caption        = Location in [[Buncombe County, North Carolina|Buncombe County]] and North Carolina
| pushpin_map        = North Carolina#USA
| pushpin_mapsize    = 280
| pushpin_relief     = yes
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within North Carolina##Location within the United States
| pushpin_label      = Asheville
| coordinates        = {{coord|35|35|44|N|82|33|07|W|region:US-NC_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in North Carolina|County]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[North Carolina]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Buncombe County, North Carolina|Buncombe]]
| established_title  = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
| established_date   = 1797
| named_for          = Governor [[Samuel Ashe (North Carolina governor)|Samuel Ashe]]
| total_type         = Total
| area_total_km2     = 118.76
| area_total_sq_mi   = 45.86
| area_land_km2      = 117.77
| area_land_sq_mi    = 45.47
| area_water_km2     = 1.00
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.39
| area_water_percent = 0.85
| elevation_m        = 650
| elevation_ft       = 2134
| population_total   = 94589
| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = 
| population_est     = 93776
| population_rank    = [[List of municipalities in North Carolina|11th]] in North Carolina
| pop_est_as_of      = 2022
| pop_est_footnotes  = 
| population_density_km2 = 803.18
| population_density_sq_mi = 2080.20
| population_urban   = 285,776 (US: [[List of United States urban areas|141st]])<ref name="urban area">{{cite web |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/29/2022-28286/2020-census-qualifying-urban-areas-and-final-criteria-clarifications |title=2020 Census Qualifying Urban Areas and Final Criteria Clarifications |author=United States Census Bureau |website=Federal Register |date=December 29, 2022 |access-date=January 2, 2023 |archive-date=December 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221230035004/https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/29/2022-28286/2020-census-qualifying-urban-areas-and-final-criteria-clarifications |url-status=live }}</ref>
| population_density_urban_km2 = 443.9
| population_density_urban_sq_mi = 1,149.6
| population_metro_footnotes = <ref name="PopEstCBSA"/>
| population_metro   = 417202 (US: [[List of metropolitan statistical areas|131st]])
| population_demonym = Ashevillan
| population_note    = 
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP Code]]s
| postal_code        = 28801–28806, 28810, 28813–28816
| area_code          = [[Area code 828|828]]
| government_type    = [[Council–manager government|Council–manager]]
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name       = [[Esther Manheimer|Esther E. Manheimer]]
| governing_body     = Asheville City Council
| leader_title1      = Council
| leader_name1      = {{collapsible list|bullets=yes
 | title = Members<ref name="CityCouncil">{{Cite web |date=August 8, 2023 |title=Meet City Council |url=https://www.ashevillenc.gov/government/meet-city-council/ |access-date=February 27, 2024 |website=www.ashevillenc.gov |language=en-US}}</ref>
 | 1 = Sandra Kilgore (vice mayor)
 | 2 = S. Antanette Mosley
 | 3 = Kim Roney
 | 4 = Sheneika Smith
 | 5 = Sage Turner
 | 6 = Maggie Ullman
 }}
| timezone           = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern]]
| utc_offset         = −5
| timezone_DST       = [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]]
| utc_offset_DST     = −4
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 37-02140<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website |df=mdy |archive-date=December 27, 1996 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961227012639/http://www.census.gov/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 1018864<ref name="GR3">{{cite web |url=http://geonames.usgs.gov/apex/f?p=gnispq |access-date=January 6, 2015 |title=GNIS Feature Search |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |date=June 17, 1980 |archive-date=November 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120164825/https://geonames.usgs.gov/apex/f?p=138:1:::::: |url-status=live}}</ref>
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{cite web |title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory |url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=September 20, 2022 |archive-date=January 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119173812/https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer |url-status=live }}</ref>
| blank_emblem_type  = Logo
| image_blank_emblem = Asheville, NC City Logo.png
| website            = {{URL|www.ashevillenc.gov}}
}}

'''Asheville''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|ʃ|v|ɪ|l}} {{respell|ASH|vil}}) is a city in and the [[county seat]] of [[Buncombe County, North Carolina]], United States.<ref name="GR6">{{cite web |date=30 March 2020<!--based on certificate validity date--> |title=NACo County Explorer |url=https://ce.naco.org/?county_info=37021 |access-date=26 December 2020 |publisher=National Association of Counties |df=mdy |archive-date=December 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227030535/https://ce.naco.org/?county_info=37021 |url-status=live }}</ref> Located at the confluence of the [[French Broad River|French Broad]] and [[Swannanoa River|Swannanoa]] rivers, it is the most populous city in [[Western North Carolina]], and the state's [[List of municipalities in North Carolina|11th-most-populous city]]. According to the [[2020 United States Census|2020 census]], the city's population was 94,589,<ref name="2020CensusQuickFacts"/> up from 83,393 in the [[2010 United States census|2010 census]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 May 2020 |title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places in North Carolina: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2019 |url=https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/tables/2010-2019/cities/totals/SUB-IP-EST2019-ANNRES-37.xlsx |access-date=28 December 2020 |website=City and Town Population Totals: 2010-2019 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |at=Asheville city, North Carolina |type=Excel (XLSX) |archive-date=January 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111045214/https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/tables/2010-2019/cities/totals/SUB-IP-EST2019-ANNRES-37.xlsx |url-status=live }}</ref> It is the principal city in the three-county [[Asheville metropolitan area]], which had an estimated population of 417,202 in 2023.<ref name="2023OMB">{{Cite web |date=July 21, 2023 |title=OMB Bulletin No. 23-01: Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OMB-Bulletin-23-01.pdf |archive-date=July 21, 2023 |access-date=August 10, 2023 |website=[[United States Office of Management and Budget]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721214234/https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OMB-Bulletin-23-01.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="PopEstCBSA">{{cite web |date=March 14, 2024 |title=Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Population Totals: 2020-2023 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-metro-and-micro-statistical-areas.html#v2023 |access-date=March 15, 2024 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]], Population Division}}</ref>

==History==
{{see also|Timeline of Asheville, North Carolina}}

===Origins===
Before the arrival of the Europeans, the land where Asheville now exists lay within the boundaries of the [[Cherokee]] Nation, which had homelands in modern western North and [[South Carolina]], southeastern [[Tennessee]], and northeastern [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Original extent of Cherokee claims 1732 |publisher=Collection at the University of Georgia |date=June 26, 1996 |url=http://cherokeehistory.com/original.gif |format=map/.GIF |access-date=July 23, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060626113310/http://cherokeehistory.com/original.gif |archive-date=June 26, 2006 |url-status=live |df=mdy}}</ref> A town at the site of the river confluence was recorded as ''Guaxule'' by Spanish explorer [[Hernando de Soto]] during his 1540 expedition through this area.<ref name=History2006/><ref>{{cite news |last=Neufeld |first=Rob |title=Visiting Our Past: Asheville before Asheville: Cherokee girls, De Soto's crimes |work=[[Asheville Citizen-Times]] |date=July 29, 2018 |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/life/2018/07/29/visiting-our-past-asheville-before-asheville-cherokee-de-soto/834579002/ |access-date=July 29, 2018 |archive-date=November 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120164813/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/life/2018/07/29/visiting-our-past-asheville-before-asheville-cherokee-de-soto/834579002/ |url-status=live }}</ref> His expedition comprised the first European visitors,<ref name=History2006>{{cite web |last=The Historic News |title=A History of Asheville and Buncombe County |publisher=Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society |year=1999 |url=http://www.obcgs.com/ashv_hist.htm |format=text/.html |access-date=July 23, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619122725/http://www.obcgs.com/ashv_hist.htm |archive-date=June 19, 2006 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> who carried [[endemic]] Eurasian infectious diseases that killed many in the native population.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cherokee History, Part One |publisher=Lee Sultzman |date=February 28, 1996 |url=http://www.tolatsga.org/Cherokee1.html |format=text/.html |access-date=July 23, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060707042750/http://www.tolatsga.org/Cherokee1.html |archive-date=July 7, 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Cherokee had traditionally used the area by the confluence for open hunting and meeting grounds. They called it ''Untokiasdiyi'' or ''Tokiyasdi'' (ᏙᎩᏯᏍᏗ in Cherokee), meaning "Where they race", until the middle of the 19th century.<ref>{{cite web |title=Asheville – 0–1800 The Early Settlers |publisher=Asheville.be |year=2006 |url=http://www.asheville.be/history/Asheville_History_Pre_1800.html |format=text/.html |access-date=July 23, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060721192247/http://www.asheville.be/history/Asheville_History_Pre_1800.html |archive-date=July 21, 2006 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="Asheville">{{cite web |last1=Neal |first1=Dale |title=Cherokee reclaim landmarks of ancient Asheville |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2015/08/02/cherokee-reclaim-landmarks-ancient-asheville/31027001/ |website=www.citizen-times.com |access-date=28 September 2020 |archive-date=November 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120164813/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2015/08/02/cherokee-reclaim-landmarks-ancient-asheville/31027001/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-05 |title=Ancient Asheville: Celebrating the Cherokee Influence on Southern Appalachia |url=https://www.exploreasheville.com/articles/post/ancient-asheville-celebrating-the-cherokee-influence-on-southern-appalachia/ |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=Explore Asheville |language=en-us |archive-date=June 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604230312/https://www.exploreasheville.com/articles/post/ancient-asheville-celebrating-the-cherokee-influence-on-southern-appalachia/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

European Americans began to settle in the area of Asheville in 1784, after the United States gained independence in the American Revolutionary War. In that year, Colonel Samuel Davidson and his family settled in the [[Swannanoa River|Swannanoa Valley]], redeeming a soldier's [[land grant]] from the state of North Carolina made in lieu of pay. Soon after building a log cabin at the bank of Christian Creek, Davidson was lured into the woods and killed by a band of Cherokee hunters resisting white encroachment. Davidson's wife, child, and female slave fled on foot overnight to [[Old Fort, North Carolina|Davidson's Fort]] (named after Davidson's father General John Davidson) 16 miles away.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Samuel Davidson – Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center |url=https://www.history.swannanoavalleymuseum.org/samuel-davidson/ |access-date=2022-11-06 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106155453/https://www.history.swannanoavalleymuseum.org/samuel-davidson/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In response to the killing, Davidson's twin brother Major William Davidson and brother-in-law Colonel Daniel Smith formed an expedition to retrieve Samuel Davidson's body and avenge his murder. Months after the expedition, Major Davidson and other members of his extended family returned to the area and settled at the mouth of Bee Tree Creek.<ref>{{cite web |title=Samuel Davidson, First European Settler West of the Blue Ridge |date=May 12, 2016 |url=http://www.history.swannanoavalleymuseum.org/samuel-davidson-first-european-settler-west-of-the-blue-ridge/ |website=Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614043207/http://www.history.swannanoavalleymuseum.org/samuel-davidson-first-european-settler-west-of-the-blue-ridge/ |archive-date=June 14, 2018}}</ref>

The [[United States Census|U.S. Census]] of 1790 counted 1,000 residents of the area, excluding the Cherokee Native Americans as a separate nation. [[Buncombe County, North Carolina|Buncombe County]] was officially formed in 1792. In the 1800 US Census, some 107 settlers in the county were slaveholders, owning a total of 300 slaves. Total county population was 5,812.<ref name="whisnant">{{cite web |url=https://ashevillejunction.com/retrospective-i-a-primer-on-the-sad-truths-of-slavery-in-asheville-buncombe-county-and-western-north-carolina/#Slaves_Came_to_Buncombe_County_Early_and_in_Substantial_Numbers |title=Retrospective I: A Primer on the Sad Truths of Slavery in Asheville, Buncombe County and Western North Carolina |last=Whisnant |first=David |work=Asheville Junction: A Blog by David Whisnant |date=29 August 2015 |access-date=December 3, 2020 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108134915/https://ashevillejunction.com/retrospective-i-a-primer-on-the-sad-truths-of-slavery-in-asheville-buncombe-county-and-western-north-carolina/#Slaves_Came_to_Buncombe_County_Early_and_in_Substantial_Numbers |url-status=live }}</ref>

The county seat, named "Morristown" in 1793, was established on a plateau where two Indian trails crossed. In 1797, Morristown was incorporated and renamed "Asheville" after North Carolina Governor [[Samuel Ashe (North Carolina governor)|Samuel Ashe]].<ref>{{cite web |author1=Alex S. Caton |author2=Rebecca Lamb |title=The Early Settlement of Buncombe Country and the Drover's Road |publisher=Smith-McDowell House Museum |date=1999–2004 |url=http://www.wnchistory.org/museum/droversroad.htm |format=text/.html |access-date=July 23, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060720052153/http://www.wnchistory.org/museum/droversroad.htm |archive-date=July 20, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Asheville |website=Western North Carolina Heritage |publisher=Land of the Sky |url=http://dd1.library.appstate.edu/regional_history/urban%20centers/asheville.htm |quote=In his <nowiki>[Samuel Ashe]</nowiki> honor the name of Morristown was changed to Asheville. |access-date=July 23, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 1, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060501073644/http://dd1.library.appstate.edu/regional_history/urban%20centers/asheville.htm}}</ref>

In the 1800s, James McDowell established land for burial of slaves belonging to his and the Smith families in Asheville. His son William Wallace McDowell continued this practice, setting aside about two acres of land for this purpose.

===Civil War===
[[File:Asheville-loehr-1854-nc1.jpg|thumb|left|Asheville, 1854|240x240px]]
On the eve of the Civil War, James W. Patton, son of an Irish immigrant, was the largest slaveholder in the county, and had built a luxurious mansion, known as The Henrietta, in Asheville.<ref name="whisnant"/> Buncombe County had the largest number of prominent slaveholders in [[Western North Carolina]], many in the professional class based in Asheville, numbering a total of 293 countywide in 1863.<ref name="whisnant"/>

Asheville, with a population of about 2,500 by 1861, remained relatively untouched by battles of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. The city contributed companies to the [[Confederate States Army]] and to the [[Union Army]]. For a time, an [[Pattern 1853 Enfield|Enfield rifle]] manufacturing facility was located in the town.

The war did not reach Asheville until early April 1865, when the "Battle of Asheville" was fought at the present-day site of the [[University of North Carolina at Asheville]]. Union forces withdrew to [[Tennessee]], which they had occupied since 1862. They had encountered resistance in Asheville from a small group of Confederate senior and junior reserves, and recuperating Confederate soldiers in prepared trench lines across the Buncombe Turnpike. The Union force had been ordered to take Asheville only if they could accomplish it without significant losses.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Asheville, Battle of |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/asheville-battle |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=NCpedia |archive-date=November 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106155453/https://www.ncpedia.org/asheville-battle |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Anne |title=April 6, 1865 – Battle of Asheville {{!}} Western North Carolina Historical Association |url=https://www.wnchistory.org/april-6-1865-battle-of-asheville/ |access-date=2022-11-06 |language=en-US |archive-date=July 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706215113/https://www.wnchistory.org/april-6-1865-battle-of-asheville/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

An engagement was fought later that month at Swannanoa Gap, as part of the larger [[Stoneman's 1865 raid|Stoneman's Raid]] throughout western North Carolina, [[Virginia]], and Tennessee. Union forces retreated in the face of resistance from Brig. Gen. [[James Green Martin]], commander of Confederate troops in western North Carolina. Later, Union forces returned to the area via Howard's Gap and [[Henderson County, North Carolina|Henderson County]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top 10 Civil War Sites for Asheville & Western North Carolina |url=https://www.romanticasheville.com/civil_war.htm |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=RomanticAsheville.com |language=en |archive-date=November 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106155459/https://www.romanticasheville.com/civil_war.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In late April 1865, North Carolina Union troops from the [[3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry]], under the overall command of Union Gen. [[George Stoneman]], captured Asheville.<ref>Hartley, ''Stoneman's Raid,'' p.&nbsp;362 (Blair, 2010)</ref> After a negotiated departure, the 2,700 troops left town, accompanied by "hundreds of freed slaves."<ref name="whisnant"/>

Later, the federal troops returned and plundered Asheville, burning a number of Confederate supporters' homes in Asheville.<ref>Hartley, supra, at p.&nbsp;350-358.</ref>

George Avery was among 40 enslaved people known to have traveled with the troops to Tennessee. There he enlisted in the [[US Colored Troops|U.S. Colored Troops]]. He returned to Asheville after being discharged in 1866. After the war, he was hired by his former master William W. McDowell to manage the South Asheville Cemetery, a public place for black burials. This is the oldest and largest black public cemetery in the state. By 1943, when the last burial was conducted, it held remains of an estimated 2,000 people.

===1880s===
[[File:View of Buck Hotel Asheville North Carolina 1888.jpg|thumb|Downtown Asheville, 1888]]
On October 3, 1880,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wnchistory.org/october-3-1880-first-passenger-train-to-asheville/#:~:text=On%20this%20day%20in%20WNC,moving%20people%2C%20goods%20and%20supplies |title=October 3, 1880: First Passenger Train to Asheville &#124; Asheville Museum of History |access-date=October 3, 2023 |archive-date=October 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016033155/https://wnchistory.org/october-3-1880-first-passenger-train-to-asheville/#:~:text=On%20this%20day%20in%20WNC,moving%20people%2C%20goods%20and%20supplies |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Western North Carolina Railroad]] completed its line from [[Salisbury, North Carolina|Salisbury]] to Asheville, the first rail line to reach the city. Almost immediately it was sold and resold to the [[Richmond and Danville Railroad|Richmond and Danville Railroad Company]], becoming part of the [[Southern Railway (US)|Southern Railway]] in 1894.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historync.org/railroad-WNCRR.htm |title=NC Business History - Railroad - Western North Carolina Railroad history & officers |publisher=Historync.org |access-date=June 29, 2013 |archive-date=October 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030140855/http://www.historync.org/railroad-WNCRR.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> With the completion of the first railway, Asheville developed with steady growth as industrial plants increased in number and size, and new residents built homes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2019/09/22/visiting-our-past-birth-asheville-tourism-before-railroad/2362010001/ |title=Visiting Our Past: Asheville promotions gained steam before the railroad |last=NEUFELD |first=ROB |date=September 22, 2019 |website=Citizen Times |language=en |access-date=2019-09-23 |archive-date=November 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120164814/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2019/09/22/visiting-our-past-birth-asheville-tourism-before-railroad/2362010001/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Textile mill]]s were built to process cotton from the region, and other plants were set up to manufacture wood and [[mica]] products, foodstuffs, and other commodities.<ref>The [[Federal Writers' Project]] of the Federal Works Agency, [[Works Projects Administration]] for the State of North Carolina, ''North Carolina: A Guide to the Old North State'', The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1939, page 139.</ref>

The {{convert|21|mile|km|adj=mid}} distance between Hendersonville and Asheville of the former Asheville and Spartanburg Railroad was completed in 1886.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C0Acnj3ga88C&q=%22Spartanburg+and+Asheville+Railroad%22%2F&pg=RA1-PA212 |title=Thomas Lanier Clingman |isbn=9780820320236 |last1=Jeffrey |first1=Thomas E. |year=1998 |publisher=University of Georgia Press |access-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-date=November 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120164825/https://books.google.com/books?id=C0Acnj3ga88C&q=%22Spartanburg+and+Asheville+Railroad%22%2F&pg=RA1-PA212 |url-status=live}}</ref> By that point, the line was operated as part of the [[Richmond and Danville Railroad]] until 1894 and controlled by the [[Southern Railway (U.S.)|Southern Railway]] afterward.<ref name="vtechspeccoll">{{cite web |url=http://spec.lib.vt.edu/appal/apunindx-1.htm |title=Appalachian History: Manuscript Resources in Special Collections |at=Asheville and Spartanburg Railroad Company |access-date=January 6, 2015 |website=Special Collections |publisher=University Libraries, [[Virginia Tech]] |date=May 2, 2005<!--based on last modified--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106212846/http://spec.lib.vt.edu/appal/apunindx-1.htm |archive-date=January 6, 2015 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Asheville had the first electric street railway lines in the state of North Carolina, the first of which opened in 1889. These were replaced by buses in 1934.<ref>The Federal Writers' Project of the Federal Works Agency, Works Projects Administration for the State of North Carolina, "[https://books.google/books?id=xDFfVQzRHosC ''North Carolina: A Guide to the Old North State'']{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}", {{ISBN|0403021820}}; The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1939, pages 69, 139.</ref>

[[File:Asheville City Hall, Asheville, NC (46691736032).jpg|thumb|Asheville City Hall, designed by [[Douglas Ellington]], in the [[Art Deco]] style of the 1920s]]

===1900s===
In 1900, Asheville was the third-largest city in the state, behind [[Wilmington, North Carolina|Wilmington]] and [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historync.org/NCCityPopulations1800s.htm |title=North Carolina Cities Population Changes in the 1800s |publisher=North Carolina Business History |access-date=July 5, 2017 |archive-date=June 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630054701/http://historync.org/NCCityPopulations1800s.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> Asheville prospered in the decades of the 1910s and 1920s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-01 |title=Asheville, N.C. now and in the 1920s |url=https://avltoday.6amcity.com/asheville-nc-2020-vision |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=AVLtoday |language=en |archive-date=November 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106155501/https://avltoday.6amcity.com/asheville-nc-2020-vision |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Asheville School |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/asheville-school |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=NCpedia |archive-date=August 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210807110016/https://www.ncpedia.org/asheville-school |url-status=live }}</ref> During these years, [[Rutherford P. Hayes]], son of [[President of the United States|President]] [[Rutherford B. Hayes]], bought land, and worked with the prominent African-American businessman [[Edward W. Pearson Sr.]] to develop his land for residential housing known as the [[African-American]] Burton Street Community.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2016/02/22/black-history-month-edward-r-pearson/80772350/ |title=Black History Month: Edward R. Pearson |website=Citizen Times |language=en |access-date=2019-03-06}}</ref> Hayes also worked to establish a sanitary district in West Asheville, which became an [[Local government in the United States|incorporated]] town in 1913, and merged with Asheville in 1917.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2017/07/02/visiting-our-past-presidents-son-helped-create-west-asheville/440462001/ |title=Visiting Our Past: President's son helped create West Asheville |last=Neufeld |first=Rob |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |date=July 2, 2017 |access-date=July 4, 2017 |archive-date=November 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120164818/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2017/07/02/visiting-our-past-presidents-son-helped-create-west-asheville/440462001/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Asheville Masonic Temple]] was constructed in 1913, under the direction of famed architect [[Richard Sharp Smith]], a [[Freemasonry|Freemason]]. It was the meeting place for local Masons through much of the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://mountainx.com/news/passage-to-the-past-inside-the-bowels-of-the-asheville-masonic-temple/ |title=Passage to the past: Inside the bowels of the Asheville Masonic Temple |last=Hunt |first=Max |website=Mountain Xpress |date=October 31, 2017 |language=en-US |access-date=2019-07-10 |archive-date=July 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710183911/https://mountainx.com/news/passage-to-the-past-inside-the-bowels-of-the-asheville-masonic-temple/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

On July 15–16, 1916, the Asheville area was subject to severe flooding from the remnants of a [[tropical storm]] which caused more than $3 million in damage. Areas flooded included part of the Biltmore Estate, and the company that ran it sold some of the property to lower their maintenance costs. This area was later developed as an independent jurisdiction known as [[Biltmore Forest]], which is now one of the wealthiest in the country.

The [[Great Depression]] hit Asheville quite hard. On November 20, 1930, eight local banks failed.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/11/21/archives/8-carolina-banks-fail-as-boom-ends-closings-at-asheville-and.html |work=The New York Times |title=8 CAROLINA BANKS FAIL AS BOOM ENDS |date=November 21, 1930 |access-date=April 25, 2010 |archive-date=February 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226002331/https://www.nytimes.com/1930/11/21/archives/8-carolina-banks-fail-as-boom-ends-closings-at-asheville-and.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Only [[Wachovia]] remained open with infusions of cash from [[Winston-Salem, North Carolina|Winston-Salem]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Neufeld |first=Rob |title=Portrait of the Past: Wachovia Bank at Pritchard Park, early 1970s |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/life/2018/10/23/portrait-past-wachovia-bank-pritchard-park-early-1970-s/1698936002/ |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=The Asheville Citizen Times |language=en-US |archive-date=January 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102050033/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/life/2018/10/23/portrait-past-wachovia-bank-pritchard-park-early-1970-s/1698936002/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Because of the explosive growth of the previous decades, the per capita [[debt]] owed by the city (through [[municipal bond]]s) was the highest in the nation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/asheville/preservation.htm |title=Preservation-Asheville, North Carolina: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary |publisher=Nps.gov |access-date=June 29, 2013 |archive-date=November 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105153820/http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/asheville/preservation.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> By 1929, both the city and Buncombe County had incurred over $56 million in bonded debt to pay for a wide range of municipal and infrastructure improvements, including City Hall, the water system, Beaucatcher Tunnel, and [[Asheville High School]]. Rather than default, the city paid those debts over a period of fifty years.<ref>{{cite news |title=Did Asheville pay off its Depression-era debt? |last=Boyle |first=John |work=[[Asheville Citizen-Times]] |date=February 6, 2015 |page=A2}}</ref>

From the start of the depression through the 1980s, economic growth in Asheville was slow. During this time of financial stagnation, most of the buildings in the downtown district remained unaltered. As a result, Asheville has one of the most impressive, comprehensive collections of [[Art Deco]] architecture in the United States.<ref name="uncramseyabout">{{cite web |url=http://toto.lib.unca.edu/collaborative_projects/about.htm |title=ABOUT |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 16, 2008 |website=D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections |publisher=[[University of North Carolina at Asheville]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516202813/http://toto.lib.unca.edu/collaborative_projects/about.htm}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/asheville/preservation.htm |title=Preservation--Asheville, North Carolina: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary |website=www.nps.gov |access-date=November 28, 2016 |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202084714/https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/asheville/preservation.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Asheville Masonic Temple Scottish Rite Cathedral, Asheville, NC (39780442823).jpg|thumb|Asheville Masonic Temple Scottish Rite Cathedral]]

In 1959, the City Council would purchase property partially located in neighboring Henderson County for the development of [[Asheville Regional Airport]]. The North Carolina General Assembly would pass a bill that would to redesign the boundaries of Buncombe and Henderson to include the proposed airport property entirely in Buncombe, allowing Asheville to [[Municipal annexation in the United States|annex]] the complete site.<ref name="hb1283">{{cite web |title=HOUSE BILL 1283 |url=https://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/SessionLaws/PDF/1959-1960/SL1959-1145.pdf#:~:text=AN%20ACT%20TO%20ANNEX%20TO%20BUNCOMBE%20COUNTY%20THAT,to%20serve%20all%20of%20Western%20North%20Carolina%3B%20and |website=[[North Carolina General Assembly]] |access-date=June 12, 2021 |date=June 18, 1959 |archive-date=April 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405045600/https://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/SessionLaws/PDF/1959-1960/SL1959-1145.pdf#:~:text=AN%20ACT%20TO%20ANNEX%20TO%20BUNCOMBE%20COUNTY%20THAT,to%20serve%20all%20of%20Western%20North%20Carolina%3B%20and |url-status=live }}</ref>

The last passenger train to serve Asheville, a coach-only remnant of the Southern Railway's ''[[Carolina Special]]'', made its last run on December 5, 1968.

From the 1950s to the 1970s, [[urban renewal]] displaced much of Asheville's African-American population.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ashevilleblade.com/?p=241 |title=Red lines &#124; |access-date=March 23, 2020 |archive-date=July 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716074840/https://ashevilleblade.com/?p=241 |url-status=live}}</ref> Asheville's neighborhoods of Montford and Kenilworth, now mostly white, used to have a majority of black home owners.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2016/03/11/hood-tours-revisit-ashevilles-black-landmarks/81473386/ |title=Hood tours revisit Asheville's black landmarks |first=Dale |last=Neal |website=The Asheville Citizen Times |access-date=March 23, 2020 |archive-date=November 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120164826/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2016/03/11/hood-tours-revisit-ashevilles-black-landmarks/81473386/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Since the late 20th century, there has been an effort to maintain and preserve the South Asheville Cemetery, in the Kenilworth neighborhood. It is the largest public black cemetery in the state, holding about 2000 burials, dating from the early 1800s and slavery years, to 1943. Fewer than 100 of the graves are marked by tombstones.

===2000s to present===
In 2003, [[Centennial Olympic Park bombing|Centennial Olympic Park bomber]] [[Eric Robert Rudolph]] was transported to Asheville from [[Murphy, North Carolina]], for [[arraignment]] in federal court.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/342886211.html?dids=342886211:342886211&FMT=ABS |title=The Nation; Fugitive's Capture Heightens Speculation; Locals are touchy about the theory that some sympathetic with his anti-government views helped the suspected bomber elude the law |first=Ken |last=Ellingwood |date=June 2, 2003 |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=March 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315171245/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/342886211.html?dids=342886211:342886211&FMT=ABS |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/343027361.html?dids=343027361:343027361&FMT=ABS |work=Chicago Tribune |title=Rudolph to be tried first in Alabama; Abortion clinic bomb case said to be strongest |first=Michael A |last=Fletcher |date=June 3, 2003 |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=March 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315171328/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/343027361.html?dids=343027361:343027361&FMT=ABS |url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2004, remnants of [[Hurricane Frances|Hurricanes Frances]] and [[Hurricane Ivan|Ivan]] caused major flooding in Asheville, particularly at [[Biltmore Village]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/20/national/20cove.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Western%20North%20Carolina%20Flooding%202004&st=cse |work=The New York Times |first=Marc |last=Santora |title=Storm's Devastation Is Revealed, and a Mountain Hamlet Mourns |date=September 20, 2004 |access-date=February 5, 2017 |archive-date=November 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120164818/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/20/us/storms-devastation-is-revealed-and-a-mountain-hamlet-mourns.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mountainx.com/news/2007/101007flood |title=Sleeping giant &#124; Mountain Xpress &#124; |last=Postelle |first=Brian |date=November 10, 2004 |publisher=Mountainx.com |access-date=June 29, 2013 |archive-date=June 17, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617064442/http://www.mountainx.com/news/2007/101007flood |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2006, the [[Asheville Zombie Walk]] was organized for the first time, starting a tradition that lasted until 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Asheville Zombie Walk Set for Oct. 9th |url=https://www.asheville.com/news/2016/09/asheville-zombie-walk-set-oct-9th/ |access-date=2022-12-13 |website=Asheville.com |date=September 28, 2016 |language=en-US |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213021408/https://www.asheville.com/news/2016/09/asheville-zombie-walk-set-oct-9th/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In July 2020, the Asheville City Council voted to provide [[Reparations for slavery in the United States|reparations]] to Black residents for the city's "historic role in slavery, discrimination and denial of basic liberties". The resolution was unanimously passed, and Asheville committed to "make investments in areas where Black residents face disparities".<ref name="Burgess">{{cite news |last=Burgess |first=Joel |date=July 15, 2020 |title=In Historic Move, North Carolina City Approves Reparations for Black Residents |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/15/asheville-passes-reparations-black-residents-historic/5441792002/ |work=USA Today |access-date=July 15, 2020 |archive-date=July 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715163907/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/15/asheville-passes-reparations-black-residents-historic/5441792002/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Also in 2020, efforts were made to remove or change several monuments in the city that celebrated the [[Confederate States of America]] or slave owners. Attorney Sean Devereux proposed renaming Asheville in honor of [[Arthur Ashe]], whose ancestors were owned by [[Samuel Ashe (North Carolina governor)|Samuel Ashe]], for whom the city was named.<ref name=Boyle>{{cite news |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/08/02/boyle-column-vance-obelisk-tear-down-re-purpose-it/5548429002/ |title=What to do with the Vance obelisk? |last=Boyle |first=John |work=[[Asheville Citizen-Times]] |date=August 2, 2020 |access-date=August 3, 2020 |archive-date=November 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120164853/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/08/02/boyle-column-vance-obelisk-tear-down-re-purpose-it/5548429002/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/07/14/confederate-monument-removed-buncombe-property/5433660002/ |title=Confederate monument removed from Buncombe Courthouse property |last=Wicker |first=Mackenzie |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |date=July 14, 2020 |access-date=August 3, 2020 |archive-date=November 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120164816/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2020/07/14/confederate-monument-removed-buncombe-property/5433660002/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In June 2021, Asheville Mayor [[Esther Manheimer]] was one of 11 U.S. mayors to form [[Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity]] (MORE), a coalition of municipal leaders dedicated to starting pilot reparations programs in their cities.<ref name=NPR>[https://www.npr.org/2021/06/18/1008242159/11-u-s-mayors-commit-to-developing-pilot-projects-for-reparations "11 U.S. Mayors Commit To Developing Pilot Projects For Reparations,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221110034606/https://www.npr.org/2021/06/18/1008242159/11-u-s-mayors-commit-to-developing-pilot-projects-for-reparations |date=November 10, 2022 }} ''Associated Press'' (June 18, 2021)</ref>

==Geography==
{{maplink|frame=yes|zoom=9|id=Q648501|type=shape-inverse|text=Interactive map of Asheville}}
Asheville is located in the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]] at the [[confluence]] of the [[Swannanoa River]] and the [[French Broad River]]. According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|45.86|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|45.47|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|0.39|sqmi}} (0.85%) is water.<ref name="TigerWebMapServer"/>

Asheville is 68.44 miles west of [[Hickory, North Carolina|Hickory]], 99.51 northwest of [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]], and 133.84 miles southwest of [[Winston-Salem]].

===Climate===
Asheville features a climate that borders between a [[humid subtropical climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Cfa'') and an [[oceanic climate]] ([[Trewartha climate classification|Trewartha]]: ''Do'') with noticeably cooler temperatures than the rest of the Piedmont region of the [[Southeastern United States|Southeast]] due to the higher elevation; it is part of USDA [[Hardiness zone]] 7a.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/ |title=USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map |website=planthardiness.ars.usda.gov |access-date=November 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227032333/http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/ |archive-date=February 27, 2014 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> The area's summers in particular, though warm, are not as hot as summers in cities farther east in the state, as the July daily average temperature is {{convert|73.8|°F|1}} and there is an average of only 9.4 afternoons with {{convert|90|°F|1}}+ highs annually;{{efn|The record number of annual {{convert|90|°F|1|disp=or}} readings is 32 in 1952, which would be lower than average in most cities in the southeast U.S.<ref name = "NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC (GSP)"/>}} The last time a calendar year passed without a single {{convert|90|°F|1}} reading was as recently as 2009. Moreover, warm mornings where the low remains at or above {{convert|70|°F|1|disp=or}} are much less common than {{convert|90|°F|1|disp=or}} afternoons. Winters are cool, with a January daily average of {{convert|37.1|°F|1}} and highs remaining at or below freezing on 5.5 afternoons.<ref name = "NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC (GSP)"/>

Official record temperatures range from {{convert|−16|°F|1}} on [[January 1985 Arctic outbreak|January 21, 1985]] to {{convert|100|°F|1}} on August 21, 1983;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.erh.noaa.gov/gsp/climate/ahlaug.htm |title=NOAA records for August – Asheville, NC |work=noaa.gov |access-date=November 12, 2007 |archive-date=December 27, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041227162012/http://www.erh.noaa.gov/gsp/climate/ahlaug.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> the record cold daily maximum is {{convert|4|°F|1|disp=or}} on February 4, 1895, while, conversely, the record warm daily minimum is {{convert|77|°F|disp=or}} on July 17, 1887.<ref name = "NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC (GSP)"/> Readings as low as {{convert|0|°F|1}} or as high as {{convert|95|°F}} rarely occur, the last occurrences being [[Early 2014 North American cold wave|January 7, 2014]] and [[Summer 2012 North American heat wave|July 1, 2012]], respectively.<ref name = "NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC (GSP)"/> The average window for freezing temperatures is October 17 to April 18, allowing a growing season of 181 days.<ref name = "NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC (GSP)"/>

Asheville is located in the [[Appalachian temperate rainforest]] and [[precipitation]] is relatively well spread, though the summer months are slightly wetter, and averages {{cvt|49.6|in|mm|sigfig=3}} annually, but has historically ranged from {{cvt|22.79|in|mm}} in 1925 to {{cvt|79.48|in|mm}} in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fletcher, NC Weather History |url=https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/nc/asheville/KAVL/date/2018-12-31/ |website=Weather Underground |access-date=January 7, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-date=January 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107232903/https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/nc/asheville/KAVL/date/2018-12-31/}}</ref> Snowfall is sporadic, averaging {{convert|10.3|in|m|sigfig=2|disp=or}} per winter season, but actual seasonal accumulation varies considerably from one winter to the next; accumulation has ranged from trace amounts in 2011–12 to {{convert|48.2|in|m|sigfig=2|disp=or}} in 1968–69.<ref name = "NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC (GSP)"/> Freezing rain often occurs, accompanied by significant disruption. Hail is not uncommon during the spring and summer, accompanied by intense severe thunderstorms but the number of days with thunderstorms varies dramatically from year to year ranging from as low as 15 days in 2008 to as much as 44 in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Local Climatological Data Publication - Select Month {{!}} IPS {{!}} National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) |url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/IPS/lcd/lcd.html?_page=1&state=NC&stationID=03812&_target2=Next+%3E |access-date=2022-08-27 |website=www.ncdc.noaa.gov |archive-date=August 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220827013308/https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/IPS/lcd/lcd.html?_page=1&state=NC&stationID=03812&_target2=Next+%3E |url-status=live }}</ref> The month that usually experiences the most thunderstorms in Asheville is in July but number of days with thunderstorms in July has ranged from as much as 18 days in 2016 to as low as two days in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Local Climatological Data Publication - Select Month {{!}} IPS {{!}} National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) |url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/IPS/lcd/lcd.html?_page=1&state=NC&stationID=03812&_target2=Next+%3E |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=www.ncdc.noaa.gov |archive-date=August 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220827013308/https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/IPS/lcd/lcd.html?_page=1&state=NC&stationID=03812&_target2=Next+%3E |url-status=live }}</ref>
<section begin="weather box" />{{Weather box
|location = [[Asheville Regional Airport]], North Carolina (1991–2020 normals,{{efn|Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.}} extremes 1876–present){{efn|Official precipitation records for Asheville were kept at Aston Park from March 1869 to July 1876, various locations in the city from August 1876 to August 1964, and at Asheville Regional Airport since September 1964. Snow and temperature records began December 18, 1869 and November 1, 1876, respectively. For more information, see [http://threadex.rcc-acis.org ThreadEx].}}
|width=auto
|collapsed = 
|single line = Y
|Jan record high F = 80
|Feb record high F = 80
|Mar record high F = 87
|Apr record high F = 90
|May record high F = 93
|Jun record high F = 98
|Jul record high F = 99
|Aug record high F = 100
|Sep record high F = 95
|Oct record high F = 91
|Nov record high F = 83
|Dec record high F = 81
|year record high F = 100
|Jan avg record high F = 67.0
|Feb avg record high F = 69.3
|Mar avg record high F = 76.7
|Apr avg record high F = 82.5
|May avg record high F = 86.2
|Jun avg record high F = 89.4
|Jul avg record high F = 91.0
|Aug avg record high F = 90.1
|Sep avg record high F = 86.9
|Oct avg record high F = 81.3
|Nov avg record high F = 73.8
|Dec avg record high F = 66.9
|year avg record high F = 92.0
|Jan high F = 48.9
|Feb high F = 52.9
|Mar high F = 59.8
|Apr high F = 69.4
|May high F = 76.3
|Jun high F = 82.5
|Jul high F = 85.3
|Aug high F = 84.0
|Sep high F = 78.7
|Oct high F = 69.6
|Nov high F = 59.5
|Dec high F = 51.5
|year high F = 68.2
|Jan mean F = 38.7
|Feb mean F = 42.1
|Mar mean F = 48.4
|Apr mean F = 57.0
|May mean F = 64.8
|Jun mean F = 71.8
|Jul mean F = 75.1
|Aug mean F = 74.0
|Sep mean F = 68.3
|Oct mean F = 57.9
|Nov mean F = 47.8
|Dec mean F = 41.4
|year mean F = 57.3
|Jan low F = 28.6
|Feb low F = 31.2
|Mar low F = 37.0
|Apr low F = 44.6
|May low F = 53.2
|Jun low F = 61.1
|Jul low F = 64.9
|Aug low F = 64.0
|Sep low F = 57.9
|Oct low F = 46.2
|Nov low F = 36.1
|Dec low F = 31.3
|year low F = 46.3
|Jan avg record low F = 9.9
|Feb avg record low F = 15.5
|Mar avg record low F = 20.3
|Apr avg record low F = 29.3
|May avg record low F = 37.7
|Jun avg record low F = 49.4
|Jul avg record low F = 56.5
|Aug avg record low F = 54.5
|Sep avg record low F = 44.2
|Oct avg record low F = 30.0
|Nov avg record low F = 21.6
|Dec avg record low F = 16.3
|year avg record low F = 7.6
|Jan record low F = −16
|Feb record low F = −9
|Mar record low F = 2
|Apr record low F = 20
|May record low F = 28
|Jun record low F = 35
|Jul record low F = 44
|Aug record low F = 42
|Sep record low F = 30
|Oct record low F = 20
|Nov record low F = 1
|Dec record low F = −7
|year record low F = -16
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 4.13
|Feb precipitation inch = 3.46
|Mar precipitation inch = 3.80
|Apr precipitation inch = 4.17
|May precipitation inch = 4.13
|Jun precipitation inch = 4.79
|Jul precipitation inch = 4.67
|Aug precipitation inch = 5.04
|Sep precipitation inch = 4.13
|Oct precipitation inch = 3.37
|Nov precipitation inch = 3.72
|Dec precipitation inch = 4.18
|year precipitation inch = 49.59
|Jan snow inch = 3.6
|Feb snow inch = 1.9
|Mar snow inch = 1.9
|Apr snow inch = 0.2
|May snow inch = 0.0
|Jun snow inch = 0.0
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.0
|Oct snow inch = 0.0
|Nov snow inch = 0.2
|Dec snow inch = 2.5
|year snow inch = 10.3
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 10.5
|Feb precipitation days = 9.8
|Mar precipitation days = 11.9
|Apr precipitation days = 10.6
|May precipitation days = 11.5
|Jun precipitation days = 13.4
|Jul precipitation days = 13.9
|Aug precipitation days = 13.1
|Sep precipitation days = 9.2
|Oct precipitation days = 7.8
|Nov precipitation days = 8.8
|Dec precipitation days = 10.0
|year precipitation days = 130.5
|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 1.6
|Feb snow days = 1.5
|Mar snow days = 1.0
|Apr snow days = 0.2
|May snow days = 0.0
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.0
|Nov snow days = 0.2
|Dec snow days = 1.1
|year snow days = 5.6
|Jan humidity = 72.6
|Feb humidity = 69.8
|Mar humidity = 68.4
|Apr humidity = 66.2
|May humidity = 75.3
|Jun humidity = 78.6
|Jul humidity = 81.6
|Aug humidity = 83.5
|Sep humidity = 84.1
|Oct humidity = 78.4
|Nov humidity = 74.8
|Dec humidity = 74.1
|year humidity =75.7
| Jan dew point C = -3.3
| Feb dew point C = -2.7
| Mar dew point C = 1.5
| Apr dew point C = 5.4
| May dew point C = 11.6
| Jun dew point C = 16.1
| Jul dew point C = 18.5
| Aug dew point C = 18.3
| Sep dew point C = 15.2
| Oct dew point C = 8.2
| Nov dew point C = 3.1
| Dec dew point C = -0.9
| year dew point = 
|Jan sun = 175.9
|Feb sun = 181.2
|Mar sun = 223.5
|Apr sun = 252.3
|May sun = 264.1
|Jun sun = 267.0
|Jul sun = 257.5
|Aug sun = 227.8
|Sep sun = 207.5
|Oct sun = 219.6
|Nov sun = 178.8
|Dec sun = 167.2
|Jan percentsun = 56
|Feb percentsun = 59
|Mar percentsun = 60
|Apr percentsun = 64
|May percentsun = 61
|Jun percentsun = 61
|Jul percentsun = 58
|Aug percentsun = 55
|Sep percentsun = 56
|Oct percentsun = 63
|Nov percentsun = 58
|Dec percentsun = 55
|year percentsun = 59
|source 1 = NOAA (relative humidity and dew point 1964–1990, sun 1961–1990)<ref name = "NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC (GSP)">{{cite web |url=http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=gsp |title=NowData - NOAA Online Weather Data |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |access-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-date=November 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116060957/http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=gsp |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NCDC txt KAVL">{{cite web |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USW00003812&format=pdf |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |title=Station: Asheville RGNL AP, NC |work=U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020) |access-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-date=June 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622171819/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USW00003812&format=pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name = "WMO 1961–90 KAVL">{{cite web |url=ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG_IV/US/GROUP3/72315.TXT |title=WMO Climate Normals for ASHEVILLE/REGIONAL, NC 1961–1990 |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |access-date=September 4, 2016}}{{dead link|date=June 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
}}

===Neighborhoods===
* North – includes the neighborhoods of [[Albemarle Park]], Beaverdam, Chestnut Hills, Colonial Heights, [[Five Points, Asheville|Five Points]], Grove Park, Hillcrest, Kimberly, Klondyke, Montford, and Norwood Park. [[Chestnut Hill Historic District (Asheville, North Carolina)|Chestnut Hill]], [[Grove Park Historic District|Grove Park]], [[Lakeview Park (North Carolina)|Lakeview Park]], [[Montford Area Historic District|Montford]], and [[Norwood Park Historic District (Asheville, North Carolina)|Norwood Park]] neighborhoods are listed in the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. Montford and Albemarle Park have been named local historic districts by the Asheville City Council.
* East – includes the neighborhoods of Kenilworth, Beverly Hills, Chunn's Cove, Haw Creek, [[Oakley, Buncombe County, North Carolina|Oakley]], Oteen, Reynolds, Riceville, and Town Mountain.
* West – includes the neighborhoods of Camelot, Wilshire Park, Bear Creek, Deaverview Park, [[Emma, North Carolina|Emma]], East-West Asheville, Hi-Alta Park, Lucerne Park, Malvern Hills, Sulphur Springs, Burton Street, Haywood Road, and Pisgah View.
* South – includes the neighborhoods of Ballantree, [[Biltmore Village]], Biltmore Park, Oak Forest, [[Royal Pines, North Carolina|Royal Pines]], Shiloh, and [[Skyland, North Carolina|Skyland]]. [[Biltmore Village]] has been named a local historic district by the Asheville City Council.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ashevilleneighborhoods.info/ |title=Asheville Neighborhoods |website=Ashevilleneighborhoods.info |date=March 20, 2010 |access-date=May 22, 2016 |archive-date=April 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404053905/http://www.ashevilleneighborhoods.info/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Architecture===
Notable architecture in Asheville includes its [[Art Deco]] [[Asheville City Hall]], and other unique buildings in the downtown area, such as the Battery Park Hotel, the original of which was 475 feet long with numerous [[dormers]] and chimneys; the Neo-Gothic Jackson Building, the first skyscraper on Pack Square; [[Arcade Building (Asheville, North Carolina)|Grove Arcade]], one of America's first indoor shopping malls;<ref>Chase, Nan K. ''Asheville: A History'', (2007): p.39, 61, 93.</ref> and the [[Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville|Basilica of St. Lawrence]]. The [[S & W Cafeteria (Asheville, North Carolina)|S&W Cafeteria]] Building is also a fine example of Art Deco architecture in Asheville.<ref name="uncsandwcafe">{{cite web |url=http://www.heritagewnc.org/buildings/s&w_cafeteria.htm |url-status=dead |title=S&W Cafeteria |publisher=[[University of North Carolina at Asheville]] |website=Asheville's Built Environment |archive-date=December 28, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071228141002/http://www.heritagewnc.org/buildings/s%26w_cafeteria.htm}}</ref> The [[Grove Park Inn]] is an important example of architecture and design of the [[Arts and Crafts movement]].

Asheville's recovery from the Depression was slow and arduous. Because of the financial stagnation, there was little new construction and much of the downtown district remained unaltered.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-07-21 |title=How Asheville's 50-Year Debt Paid Off In Architectural Treasures |url=https://www.exploreasheville.com/stories/post/ashevilles-architectural-treasures/ |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=Explore Asheville |language=en-us |archive-date=November 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106155451/https://www.exploreasheville.com/stories/post/ashevilles-architectural-treasures/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Montford Area Historic District]] and other central areas are considered historic districts and include Victorian houses. [[Biltmore Village]], located at the entrance to the famous estate, showcases unique architectural features. It was here that workers stayed during the construction of George Vanderbilt's estate.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Montford Historic District, Asheville |url=https://www.romanticasheville.com/montford.htm |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=RomanticAsheville.com |language=en |archive-date=November 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106155515/https://www.romanticasheville.com/montford.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Young Men's Institute Building|YMI Cultural Center]], founded in 1892 by George Vanderbilt in the heart of downtown, is one of the nation's oldest African-American cultural centers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://theurbannews.com/ |title=Homepage |website=The Urban News |access-date=October 29, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-date=October 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028183629/https://theurbannews.com/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ymicc.org/history.html |title=A Proud and Sustaining History |website=YMI Cultural Center |access-date=May 12, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 20, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070520061357/http://www.ymicc.org/history.html}}</ref>

===Metropolitan/combined statistical area===
Asheville is the largest city in the [[Asheville metropolitan area|Asheville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area]], as well as the [[Asheville-Marion-Brevard, NC CSA|Asheville-Waynesville-Brevard, NC Combined Statistical Area]], which includes [[Buncombe County, North Carolina|Buncombe]], [[Haywood County, North Carolina|Haywood]], [[Henderson County, North Carolina|Henderson]], [[Madison County, North Carolina|Madison]], and [[Transylvania County, North Carolina|Transylvania]] counties, which had a combined population of 513,720 in 2023, as estimated by the [[United States Census Bureau]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |date=July 21, 2023 |title=OMB Bulletin No. 23-01: Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OMB-Bulletin-23-01.pdf |website=[[United States Office of Management and Budget]] |access-date=August 10, 2023 |archive-date=July 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721214234/https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OMB-Bulletin-23-01.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="PopEstCBSA"/>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1800= 38
|1850= 502
|1870= 1400
|1880= 2616
|1890= 10235
|1900= 14694
|1910= 18762
|1920= 28504
|1930= 50193
|1940= 51310
|1950= 53000
|1960= 60192
|1970= 57929
|1980= 54022
|1990= 61607
|2000= 68889
|2010= 83393
|2020= 94589
|estyear=2022
|estimate=93776
|estref=<ref name="2020CensusQuickFacts">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/ashevillecitynorthcarolina |title=QuickFacts: Asheville city, North Carolina |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=September 14, 2022 |archive-date=December 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212134554/http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/ashevillecitynorthcarolina |url-status=live }}</ref>
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html |title=Census of Population and Housing |publisher=Census.gov |access-date=June 4, 2015 |df=mdy |archive-date=July 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220717060613/https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

Asheville first appeared in the 1800 U S. Census with "Ashville" as the spelling. Only 38 inhabitants were recorded.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1800 Census of Population: Return of the Whole Number of Persons within the Several Districts of the United States |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1800/1800-returns.pdf |access-date=2023-03-31 |archive-date=January 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112145437/https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1800/1800-returns.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Asheville did not appear again until the 1850 U.S. Census with "Ashville" once again as the spelling. The population recorded was 502.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1850 Census of Population: North Carolina |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1850/1850a/1850a-29.pdf |access-date=2023-03-18 |archive-date=March 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315111526/http://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1850/1850a/1850a-29.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Asheville did not report separately in 1860.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1860 Census of Population: North Carolina |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1860/population/1860a-27.pdf |access-date=2023-03-18 |archive-date=April 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401035737/https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1860/population/1860a-27.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Asheville-Brevard CSA.png|thumb|upright=1.15|Location of the Asheville-Brevard CSA and its components: {{legend|#FF0000|Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area}} {{legend|#FFFF00|Brevard Micropolitan Statistical Area}}]]

Asheville is the larger principal city of the Asheville-Waynesville-Brevard, NC [[Combined statistical area|Combined Statistical Area]] that includes the [[Asheville metropolitan area|Asheville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area]] (Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, and Madison counties) and the Brevard, NC [[Micropolitan statistical area|Micropolitan Statistical Area]] (Transylvania County),<ref>[https://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/metro_general/2006/List4.txt METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREAS AND COMPONENTS] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070526063716/http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/metro_general/2006/List4.txt |date=May 26, 2007}}, [[Office of Management and Budget]], May 11, 2007. Accessed 2008-08-01.</ref><ref>[https://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/metro_general/2006/List5.txt MICROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREAS AND COMPONENTS] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629011245/http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/metro_general/2006/List5.txt |date=June 29, 2007}}, [[Office of Management and Budget]], May 11, 2007. Accessed 2008-08-01.</ref><ref>[https://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/metro_general/2006/List6.txt COMBINED STATISTICAL AREAS AND COMPONENT CORE BASED STATISTICAL AREAS] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629011223/http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/metro_general/2006/List6.txt |date=June 29, 2007}}, [[Office of Management and Budget]], May 11, 2007. Accessed 2008-08-01.</ref> which had a combined population of 469,015 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name=":02" />

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|+Asheville racial composition<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US3702140&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2 |access-date=2021-12-19 |website=data.census.gov |archive-date=June 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617003309/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US3702140&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2 |url-status=live }}</ref>
!scope="col"| Race
!scope="col"| Number
!scope="col"| Percentage
|-
!scope="row"| [[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (non-Hispanic)
| 70,252
| 74.27%
|-
!scope="row"| [[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
| 9,752
| 10.31%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
| 200
| 0.21%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
| 1,504
| 1.59%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]]
| 255
| 0.27%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Race (United States Census)|Other/mixed]]
| 4,969
| 5.25%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
| 7,657
| 8.1%
|}

As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], there were 94,589 people, 40,340 households, and 18,902 families residing in the city.

===2000 census===
At the [[2000 United States census|2000 census]],<ref name="GR2" /> there were 68,889 people, 30,690 households and 16,726 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|1,683.4|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 33,567 housing units at an average density of {{convert|820.3|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial composition of the city was: 77.95% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 17.61% [[Black (U.S. Census)|Black]] or African American, 3.76% [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Latino American]], 0.92% Asian American, 0.35% Native American, 0.06% [[Native Hawaiian]] or [[Pacific Islander American|Other Pacific Islander]], 1.53% [[Race (United States Census)|some other race]], and 1.58% [[Multiracial American|two or more races]].

There were 30,690 households, of which 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.5% were non-families. 36.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.81.

Age distribution was 19.6% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males.

The [[median household income]] was $32,772, and the median family income was $44,029. Males had a median income of $30,463, and $23,488 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,024. About 13% of families and 19% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.9% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.

===Religion===
There are a number of [[Baptist]] churches, [[Roman Catholic]], [[Methodist]], [[Lutheran]], [[Presbyterian]], and [[Church of Christ|Churches of Christ]], as well as a few non-Christian places of worship, such as Urban Dharma, a Tibetan Buddhist center of the [[Drikung Kagyu]] school.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.buddhanet.info/wbd/search.php?keyword=&search=Search&country_id=0&province_id=54&tradition%5B%5D=vajrayana |title=World Buddhist Directory - Presented by BuddhaNet.Net |access-date=August 21, 2021 |archive-date=August 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821054310/https://www.buddhanet.info/wbd/search.php?keyword=&search=Search&country_id=0&province_id=54&tradition%5B%5D=vajrayana |url-status=live }}</ref> Asheville is the headquarters of the [[Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina]], which is seated at the [[Cathedral of All Souls (Asheville, North Carolina)|Cathedral of All Souls]]. Asheville is an important city for North Carolinian Catholics, who make pilgrimages to the [[Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville|Basilica of St. Lawrence]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://saintlawrencebasilica.org/pilgr |title=Pilgrimage - Jubilee Year of Mercy |website=Basilica of Saint Lawrence |access-date=November 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904015650/https://saintlawrencebasilica.org/pilgr |archive-date=September 4, 2017 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> There are several historical churches located throughout the city, including the [[First Baptist Church (Asheville, North Carolina)|First Baptist Church of Asheville]].

Asheville is also home to a number of [[atheist]], [[humanist]], and [[ethical culture]] organizations.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://unitedcor.org/coalition-of-reason/western-north-carolina/ |title=Season of Reason - Winter 2020/21 - United CoR |access-date=September 27, 2021 |archive-date=September 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927172748/https://unitedcor.org/coalition-of-reason/western-north-carolina/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:Akzona-Biltmore Building, Asheville, NC (46691742152).jpg|thumb|The Merrill Lynch building in downtown Asheville, designed by [[I.M. Pei]]]]
[[File:Jackson Building.jpg|thumb|right|The Jackson Building, the first skyscraper in Asheville]]

Major corporations headquartered in the Asheville area include [[HomeTrust Bancshares]], [[Ingles]], [[Earth Fare]], [[The Biltmore Company]], [[Moog Music]] and the eastern headquarters for [[Sierra Nevada Brewing Company]] and [[New Belgium Brewing Company]].

===Largest employers===
According to the city's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ashevillenc.gov/uploadedFiles/Departments/Finance/15-CAFR%20Statistical%20section%202008-09.pdf |title=City of Asheville Comprehensive Annual Financial Report |website=Ashevillec.gov |access-date=May 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401073342/http://www.ashevillenc.gov/uploadedFiles/Departments/Finance/15-CAFR%20Statistical%20section%202008-09.pdf |archive-date=April 1, 2017 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> the largest employers in the city are:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #
! Employer
! # of employees
|-
| 1
|[[Mission Health System]]
|3,000+
|-
|2
|[[Buncombe County Schools System]]
|3,000+
|-
|3
|[[Ingles|Ingles Markets, Inc.]]
|3,000+
|-
|4
|[[The Biltmore Company]]
|2,000+
|-
|5
|[[North Carolina|State of North Carolina]]
|1,000+
|-
|6
|[[Buncombe County, North Carolina|Buncombe County]]
|1,000+
|-
|7
|[[Veterans Health Administration|Asheville VA Medical Center]]
|1,000+
|-
|8
|City of Asheville
|1,000+
|-
|9
|[[Wal-Mart]]
|1,000+
|-
|10
|[[Asheville–Buncombe Technical Community College]]
|1,000+
|-
|11
|[[Eaton Corporation|Eaton]]
|1,000+
|-
|12
|[[Grove Park Inn]]
|500–999
|-
|13
|[[Asheville City Schools]]
|500–999
|-
|14
|Community CarePartners
|500–999
|-
|15
|[[United States Postal Service]]
|500–999
|-
|16
|[[BorgWarner]] Turbo Systems
|500–999
|-
|17
|[[Thermo Fisher Scientific]]
|500–999
|-
|18
|[[Arvato Digital Services]]
|500–999
|-
|19
|Employment Control
|500–999
|-
|20
|[[Volvo Construction Equipment]] (now closed)
|500–999
|}

===Sustainability and environmental initiatives===
The city of Asheville is home to a Duke Energy Progress coal power plant near Lake Julian. This power plant is designated as having Coal Combustion Residue Surface Impoundments with a High Hazard Potential by the EPA.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/ccrs-fs/ |title=Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) - Surface Impoundments with High Hazard Potential Ratings |access-date=November 29, 2013 |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203002740/http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/ccrs-fs/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2012 a [[Duke University]] study found high levels of arsenic and other toxins in North Carolina lakes and rivers downstream from the Asheville power plants coal ash ponds. Samples collected from coal ash waste flowing from the ponds at the Duke Energy Progress plant to the French Broad River in Buncombe County contained arsenic levels more than four times higher than the EPA drinking water standard, and levels of selenium 17 times higher than the agency's standard for aquatic life.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs2.citizen-times.com/outdoors/2012/10/15/duke-university-progess-energy-plant-polluting-french-broad-river/ |title=Duke University: Progress Energy plant polluting French Broad River, October 15, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131129213747/http://blogs2.citizen-times.com/outdoors/2012/10/15/duke-university-progess-energy-plant-polluting-french-broad-river/ |archive-date=November 29, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> In March 2013 the State of North Carolina sued Duke Energy Progress in order to address similar environmental compliance issues. In July 2013 Duke Energy Corp. and North Carolina environmental regulators proposed a settlement in the lawsuit that stated coal ash threatened Asheville's water supply. The settlement called for Duke to assess the sources and extent of contamination at the Riverbend power plant in Asheville. Duke was to be fined $99,100.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs2.citizen-times.com/outdoors/2013/08/16/nc-files-new-lawsuits-against-duke-energy-today/ |title=NC files new lawsuits against Duke Energy today, August 16, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131129213815/http://blogs2.citizen-times.com/outdoors/2013/08/16/nc-files-new-lawsuits-against-duke-energy-today/ |archive-date=November 29, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> However, following the [[2014 Dan River coal ash spill|coal ash spill in Eden, NC]], the North Carolina DENR cancelled all previous settlements with Duke Energy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20140211/NEWS01/302110043?odyssey=mod%7cmostcom |title=Local News - The Asheville Citizen-Times - citizen-times.com |work=The Asheville Citizen-Times}}</ref>

The city of Asheville claims a clear focus on sustainability and the development of a [[green economy]]. For Asheville, this goal is defined in their Sustainability Management Plan as: "Making decisions that balance the values of environmental stewardship, social responsibility and economic vitality to meet our present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs."<ref name="ashevillenc.gov">{{cite web |url=http://www.ashevillenc.gov/Portals/0/city-documents/sustainability/susthreedocs/AVLSustMGMTPlan.pdf |title=Sustainability Management Plan |date=August 2009 |website=Ashevillenc.gov |access-date=May 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304035158/http://www.ashevillenc.gov/Portals/0/city-documents/sustainability/susthreedocs/AVLSustMGMTPlan.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> As part of the Zero Waste AVL initiative, which began in 2012, each resident receives "Big Blue," a rolling cart in which they can put all of their materials unsorted. Residents can recycle a great variety of materials and "in this first year of the program 6.30% of waste was diverted from the landfill for recycling."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ashevillenc.gov/Departments/Sustainability.aspx |title=Sustainability |website=Ashevillenc.gov |access-date=May 22, 2016 |archive-date=May 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160520191656/http://www.ashevillenc.gov/Departments/Sustainability.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Asheville City Council's goal is to reduce the overall carbon footprint 80% by 2030. This means 4% or more reduction per year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ashevillenc.gov/Portals/0/city-documents/sustainability/susthreedocs/2012%20Carbon%20Footprint%20Report%20Final%20(2).pdf |title=City of Asheville Carbon Footprint Annual Report : 2011-2012 |website=Ashevillenc.gov |access-date=May 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054203/http://www.ashevillenc.gov/Portals/0/city-documents/sustainability/susthreedocs/2012%20Carbon%20Footprint%20Report%20Final%20(2).pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> In 2009 the reduction was made when the "City installed over 3,000 LED street lights, managed its water system under ISO 14001 standards for environmental management, improved the infrastructure and management of many of its buildings, and switched many employees to a 4-day work week (which saves emissions from commuting)."<ref name="ashevillenc.gov"/> Asheville is recognized by the Green Restaurant Association as the first city in the U.S. to be a Green Dining Destination (significant density of green restaurants).<ref name="Archived copy">{{cite web |url=http://www.blueridgesustainability.org/green-restaurant-initiative/ |title=Green Restaurant Initiative |publisher=Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute |access-date=August 9, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131201165925/http://www.blueridgesustainability.org/green-restaurant-initiative/ |archive-date=December 1, 2013}}</ref>

==Arts and culture==
[[File:J. Rush Oates Plaza, Asheville, NC IMG 5210.JPG|thumb|J. Rush Oates Plaza]]
[[File:Fountain, downtown Asheville, NC IMG 5204.JPG|thumb|Fountain in Pack Square]]

===Music===
Live music is a significant element in the tourism-based economy of Asheville and the surrounding area. Seasonal festivals and numerous nightclubs and performance venues offer opportunities for visitors and locals to attend a wide variety of live entertainment events.<ref>"Music pumps up economy, enlivens nightlife"; Michael Flynn; Asheville Citizen-Times; August 22, 2003.</ref>

Asheville has a strong tradition of [[street performance]] and outdoor music, including festivals, such as [[Bele Chere]] and the [[Lexington Avenue (Asheville, North Carolina)|Lexington Avenue]] Arts & Fun Festival (LAAFF). One event is "Shindig on the Green," which happens Saturday nights during July and August on City/County Plaza. By tradition, the Shindig starts "along about sundown" and features local bluegrass bands and dance teams on stage, and informal jam sessions under the trees surrounding the County Courthouse. The "Mountain Dance & Folk Festival" started in 1928 by [[Bascom Lamar Lunsford]] is said to be the first event ever labeled a "folk festival". Another popular outdoor music event is "Downtown After 5," a monthly concert series held from 5&nbsp;pm until 9&nbsp;pm that hosts popular touring musicians as well as local acts. A regular [[drum circle]], organized by residents in Pritchard Park, is open to all and has been a popular local activity every Friday evening.

Asheville is also home of the [[Moog Music]] Headquarters<ref>{{cite news |last=Dewan |first=Shaila |title=36 Hours in Asheville |url=http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=684577 |access-date=June 6, 2011 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 24, 2010}}</ref> and the museum of the [[Bob Moog Foundation]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://wncmagazine.com/feature/amped |title=Amped Up |date=2019-04-11 |work=WNC Magazine |access-date=2020-02-22 |language=en |archive-date=February 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222163806/https://wncmagazine.com/feature/amped |url-status=live}}</ref>

Asheville plays host to [[The Warren Haynes Christmas Jam]], an annual charity event which raises money for [[Habitat For Humanity]], and features notable musicians.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Music star Warren Haynes gives back to community - CNN.com |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/12/23/christmas.jam/ |access-date=2020-10-23 |website=edition.cnn.com |archive-date=August 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810094456/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/12/23/christmas.jam/ |url-status=live}}</ref> DJ music, as well as a small, but active, dance community are also components of the downtown musical landscape. The town is also home to the [[Asheville Symphony Orchestra]], the [[Asheville Lyric Opera]], the Land of the Sky Symphonic Band, the Asheville Jazz Orchestra, the [[Smoky Mountain Brass Band]], and the Asheville Community Band. There are a number of bluegrass, country, and traditional mountain musicians in the Asheville area. A residency at local music establishment the Orange Peel by the [[Smashing Pumpkins]] in 2007, along with the [[Beastie Boys]] in 2009, brought national attention to Asheville.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ledger-dispatch.com/life/lifeview.asp?c%3D217801 |title=Smashing Pumpkins' return puts Asheville on music map |date=June 22, 2007 |website=Ledger Dispatch |access-date=June 23, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927130728/http://www.ledger-dispatch.com/life/lifeview.asp?c=217801}}</ref> The rock band [[Band of Horses]] have recorded two albums at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, as have the [[The Avett Brothers|Avett Brothers]] (who have also traditionally played a New Year's Eve concert in Asheville). Christian vocal group [[The Kingsmen Quartet|the Kingsmen]] originated in Asheville.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Kingsmen |url=http://www.newhavenrecords.com/team/the-kingsmen/ |access-date=2020-10-23 |website=New Haven Records |url-status=live |archive-date=October 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029105554/http://www.newhavenrecords.com/team/the-kingsmen/}}</ref>

===Performing arts===
[[File:Girl-Rain-Spout.jpg|thumb|Sculpture in Downtown Asheville of a girl drinking from a fountain shaped like a horse]]

The Asheville Community Theatre was founded in 1946, producing the first amateur production of the Appalachian drama ''[[Dark of the Moon (play)|Dark of the Moon]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Asheville Community Theatre » PRODUCTION HISTORY |url=http://www.ashevilletheatre.org/about/production-history/ |website=Ashevilletheatre.org |access-date=January 22, 2016 |archive-date=January 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128110322/http://www.ashevilletheatre.org/about/production-history/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Soon after, the young actors [[Charlton Heston]] and wife [[Lydia Clarke]] took over the small theatre.<ref>{{cite web |title=Asheville Community Theatre |url=http://www.ashevilleguidebook.com/wnc/cultural-attractions/asheville_community_theatre.htm |website=Ashevilleguidebook.com |access-date=January 22, 2016 |archive-date=September 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912081226/http://www.ashevilleguidebook.com/wnc/cultural-attractions/asheville_community_theatre.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> The current ACT building has two performance spaces – the Mainstage Auditorium (and named the Heston Auditorium), and the more intimate black box performance space 35below.<ref>{{cite web |title=Asheville Community Theatre {{!}} Asheville, NC's Official Travel Site |url=http://www.exploreasheville.com/listings/asheville-community-theatre/213/ |website=Explore Asheville |access-date=January 22, 2016 |archive-date=January 29, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129204246/http://www.exploreasheville.com/listings/asheville-community-theatre/213/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Asheville Lyric Opera]] celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2009 with a concert featuring [[Angela Brown]], David Malis, and [[Tonio Di Paolo]], veterans of the [[Metropolitan Opera]].<ref name="Opera">[http://citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009901250315]{{dead link|date=May 2016}}</ref> The ALO has typically performed three fully staged professional operas for the community in addition to its vibrant educational program.

The Fringe Arts Festival features alternative performances.<ref name="AshevilleFringe">{{cite web |url=http://www.ashevillefringe.org/ |title=The Asheville Fringe Arts Festival - Asheville Fringe Arts Festival |work=Asheville Fringe Arts Festival |access-date=January 26, 2013 |archive-date=December 30, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121230105109/http://www.ashevillefringe.org/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Visual arts===
* [[Flood Gallery Fine Arts Center|Flood Fine Arts Center]], a non-profit contemporary art institution formerly in the River Arts District and now in nearby Black Mountain
*[[Asheville Art Museum]], located on Pack Square in downtown Asheville, which reopened on November 14, 2019, after a $24 million renovation<ref>{{cite web |title=Asheville Art Museum re-opens after major three-year expansion project |url=https://artdaily.cc/news/118217/Asheville-Art-Museum-re-opens-after-major-three-year-expansion-project#.XcrDpklzLAx.mailto |website=Art Daily |publisher=Jose Villareal |access-date=2 December 2019 |archive-date=December 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220185756/https://artdaily.cc/news/118217/Asheville-Art-Museum-re-opens-after-major-three-year-expansion-project#.XcrDpklzLAx.mailto |url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center]], located on Pack Square in downtown Asheville, which presents exhibitions, performances and other public programs related to the history and influence of [[Black Mountain College]]
* The [[Southern Highland Craft Guild]]'s [[Folk Art Center]], dedicated to Appalachian craft traditions<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.southernhighlandguild.org/folkartcenter/ |title=Folk Center |website=Southern Highland Craft Guild |language=en-US |access-date=2020-02-14 |archive-date=February 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217214601/https://www.southernhighlandguild.org/folkartcenter/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
* The [[Young Men's Institute Building|YMI Cultural Center]], exhibiting art related to the heritage of African Americans in the area<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.blueridgeheritage.com/destinations/ymi-cultural-center/ |title=YMI Cultural Center – Blue Ridge National Heritage Area |language=en-US |access-date=2020-02-22 |archive-date=February 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222163758/https://www.blueridgeheritage.com/destinations/ymi-cultural-center/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Film and television===
The Asheville Film Festival completed its sixth year, but the City of Asheville ceased to fund it, putting its future in doubt. The city is an annual participant in the 48-Hour Film Project.<ref name="Asheville Branch">{{cite web |title=48-Hour Film Festival Asheville |url=http://www.48hourfilm.com/en/asheville/ |website=48hourfilm.com |access-date=May 22, 2016 |archive-date=November 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110095433/http://www.48hourfilm.com/en/asheville/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Twin Rivers Media Festival is an independent [[multi-media]] film festival held annually in downtown Asheville.<ref name="Asheville 1">{{cite news |last1=staff |title=Asheville's River Arts District hosts 19th annual Twin Rivers Media Festival beginning Friday |url=ftp://ftp.ashevillenc.gov/parks/NCAC/Complete_Applications/Twin%20Rivers/examplesashevillepress.pdf |access-date=August 13, 2015 |publisher=ashevillenc.gov |date=May 18, 2012}}{{Dead link|date=October 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref name="Appalachian Getaways">{{cite web |last1=Moe |first1=Jack |title=The Vision of the Twin Rivers Media Festival-Asheville, NC |url=http://www.appalachiangetaways.com/twinriversmediafestival.html |publisher=Appalachian Getaways |access-date=August 13, 2015 |archive-date=August 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150810180513/http://appalachiangetaways.com/twinriversmediafestival.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The festival held its 20th annual event in May 2013.<ref name="Citizen-Times">{{cite news |last1=Motsinger |first1=Carol |title=20th annual Twin Rivers Media Festival opens May 17 |url=http://blogs2.citizen-times.com/carol/2013/05/09/20th-annual-twin-rivers-media-festival-opens-may-17/ |access-date=August 13, 2015 |publisher=[[Asheville Citizen-Times]] |date=May 9, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}{{dead link|date=August 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

[[File:Thomas Wolfe House, Asheville, NC IMG 5170.JPG|thumb|[[Thomas Wolfe House]] in downtown Asheville]]
[[File:5-14-14 Biltmore Estate NHL-66000586.jpg|thumb|The Biltmore House on [[Biltmore Estate]], the largest private residence in the United States]]
[[File:Old BB&T Building, Asheville, NC (45829077065).jpg|upright|thumb|[[The Arras]], formerly the BB&T Building]]

===Places of worship===
Places of worship in Asheville include the Roman Catholic [[Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville|Basilica of St. Lawrence]], the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal]] [[Cathedral of All Souls]] and [[St. Luke's Episcopal Church (Asheville, North Carolina)|St. Luke's Church]], and the Jewish [[Congregation Beth Israel (Asheville, North Carolina)|Congregation Beth Israel]].

===Restaurants===
Asheville was the first U.S. city recognized by the [[Green Restaurant Association]] as a Green Dining Destination (significant density of green restaurants).<ref name="Archived copy"/>

Notable local restaurants include [[Plant (restaurant)|Plant]], an upscale vegan restaurant, and [[Tupelo Honey Cafe]].

In 2022, two Asheville restaurants were given the [[James Beard Foundation Award|James Beard Award]]. [[Chai Pani]] received Outstanding Restaurant and [[Cúrate Bar De Tapas|Cúrate]] received the award for Outstanding Hospitality.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 2022 James Beard Award Winners {{!}} James Beard Foundation |url=https://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/the-2022-james-beard-award-winners |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=www.jamesbeard.org |language=en |archive-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218155428/https://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/the-2022-james-beard-award-winners |url-status=live }}</ref> Asheville is also home to Cantonese chef J Chong who was a finalist on the HBO cooking competition, [[The Big Brunch]].<ref>{{Cite web |title='The Big Brunch' Chef J Chong Talks Dan Levy, Diversity, & Great Food |url=https://www.out.com/television/2022/11/10/big-brunch-chef-j-chong-talks-dan-levy-diversity-great-food |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=www.out.com |language=en |archive-date=February 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218233939/https://www.out.com/television/2022/11/10/big-brunch-chef-j-chong-talks-dan-levy-diversity-great-food |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Points of interest===
* [[The Arras]], tallest structure in Asheville
* [[Biltmore Estate]], largest privately owned house in the United States, and listed as U.S. National Historic Landmark
* [[Blue Ridge Parkway]], a national parkway noted for its scenic beauty, known as "America's Favorite Drive"
* [[Botanical Gardens at Asheville]], non-profit botanical gardens initially designed by Doan Ogden
* [[Demens-Rumbough-Crawley House]], "Hanger Hall", built by [[Peter A. Demens]], listed on the National Register of Historic Places
* [[Grove Park Inn]], hotel listed on U.S. National Register of Historic Places
* [[Jackson Building (Asheville, North Carolina)|Jackson Building]], first [[skyscraper]] in western North Carolina
* [[McCormick Field]], one of the oldest minor-league stadiums still in regular use
* [[North Carolina Arboretum]], arboretum and botanical garden located within the Bent Creek Experimental Forest
* [[Smith-McDowell House]], the city's first mansion and oldest surviving house, and the oldest brick structure in Buncombe County
* [[Thomas Wolfe House]], boyhood home of American author Thomas Wolfe, and a U.S. National Historic Landmark

==Sports==
===Current teams===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Club
! Sport
! Founded
! League
! Venue
|-
| [[Asheville Tourists]]
| [[Baseball]]
| align=center|1897
| [[South Atlantic League]]
| [[McCormick Field]]
|-
| [[Asheville City SC]]
| [[Association football|Soccer]]
| align=center|2016
| [[USL League Two]]
| [[Memorial Stadium (Asheville)|Memorial Stadium]]
|-
| [[Asheville City SC]] (Women's Team)
| [[Association football|Soccer]]
| align=center|2017
| [[Women's Premier Soccer League]]
| [[Memorial Stadium (Asheville)|Memorial Stadium]]
|}

===Previous teams===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Club
! Sport
! Founded
! League
! Venue
! Years in Asheville
|-
| [[Asheville Smoke]]
| [[Ice Hockey]]
| align=center|1991
| [[United Hockey League]]
| [[Harrah's Cherokee Center|Asheville Civic Center]]
| align=center|1998-2002
|-
| [[Asheville Aces]]
| [[Ice Hockey]]
| align=center|2004
| [[Southern Professional Hockey League]]
| [[Harrah's Cherokee Center|Asheville Civic Center]]
| align=center|2004-2005
|-
| [[Asheville Altitude]]
| [[Basketball]]
| align=center|2001
| [[NBA G League|National Basketball Developmental League]]
| [[Harrah's Cherokee Center|Asheville Civic Center]]
| align=center|2001-2005
|}

===Other sports===
Area colleges and universities, such as the [[University of North Carolina at Asheville]], compete in sports. UNCA's sports teams are known as the Bulldogs and play in the [[Big South Conference]]. The Fighting Owls of [[Warren Wilson College]] participate in mountain biking and [[Ultimate (sport)|ultimate sports]] teams. The college is also home of the Hooter Dome, where the Owls play their home basketball games. The Blue Ridge Rollergirls, Asheville's first women's flat-track roller derby team, was established in 2006.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Blue Ridge Rollergirls |url=https://wftda.com/wftda-leagues/blue-ridge-rollergirls/ |access-date=2020-10-23 |website=WFTDA |date=August 22, 2016 |language=en-US |archive-date=October 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026192523/https://wftda.com/wftda-leagues/blue-ridge-rollergirls/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Parks and recreation==
Asheville is a major hub of whitewater recreation, particularly [[whitewater kayaking]], in the eastern US. Many kayak manufacturers have their bases of operation in the Asheville area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mountainx.com/features/2007/031407kayak |title=Rocking the boat |work=Mountain Xpress |date=March 14, 2007 |access-date=June 23, 2007 |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927234740/http://www.mountainx.com/features/2007/031407kayak |url-status=live}}</ref> Some of the most distinguished whitewater kayakers live in or around Asheville.<ref name="autogenerated1">American Whitewater Journal July/August 2006 (not published on the web yet)</ref> In its July/August 2006 journal, the group American Whitewater named Asheville one of the top five US whitewater cities.<ref name="autogenerated1" />

Asheville is also home to numerous [[disc golf]] courses.

Soccer is another popular recreational sport in Asheville. There are two youth soccer clubs in Asheville, Asheville Shield Football Club<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ashevilleshieldfootballclub.org/ |title=Asheville Shield Football Club |access-date=February 24, 2017 |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225130112/http://ashevilleshieldfootballclub.org/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> and HFC.

The Asheville Hockey League provides opportunities for youth and adult inline hockey at an outdoor rink at Carrier Park. The rink is open to the public, and pick-up hockey is also available. The Asheville Civic Center has held recreational ice hockey leagues in the past.

==Government==
===Local government===
The City of Asheville operates under a [[council–manager government]], via its charter. A [[List of mayors of Asheville, North Carolina|mayor]] and a six-member city council are elected at-large for staggered four-year terms. The City Council appoints a city manager, a city attorney, and a city clerk.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ashevillenc.gov/Government/AboutCityGovernment.aspx |title=About City Government |publisher=Ashevillenc.gov |access-date=June 29, 2013 |archive-date=August 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801014928/http://ashevillenc.gov/Government/AboutCityGovernment.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref> The City Council appoints a vice-mayor from among its members. In the absence or disability of the mayor, the vice-mayor performs the mayoral duties. City Council determines the needs to be addressed and the degree of service to be provided by the administrative branch of city government.

In 2005 Mayor Charles Worley signed the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement and in 2006 the City Council created the Sustainable Advisory Committee on Energy and the Environment. In 2007 the Council became the first city on the East Coast to commit to building all municipal buildings to [[Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design|LEED]] Gold Standards and to achieve 80 percent energy reduction of 2001 standards by 2040. Also in 2007 the Council signed an agreement with [[Warren Wilson College]] stating the intent of the city and college to work together toward climate partnership goals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Warren Wilson College to Partner with Asheville on Climate {{!}} Greenbiz |url=https://www.greenbiz.com/article/warren-wilson-college-partner-asheville-climate |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=www.greenbiz.com |language=en |archive-date=November 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106155450/https://www.greenbiz.com/article/warren-wilson-college-partner-asheville-climate |url-status=live }}</ref>

Following President [[Donald Trump]]'s decision to remove the United States from the [[Paris Agreement]], Mayor Esther Manheimer was one of the original 61 mayors to commit to uphold the agreement in the city.<ref name="468 US Climate Mayors commit to adopt, honor and uphold Paris Climate Agreement goals">{{cite web |url=https://climatemayors.org/actions-paris-climate-agreement/ |website=Climate Mayors |access-date=12 February 2021 |title=468 US Climate Mayors commit to adopt, honor and uphold Paris Climate Agreement goals |date=June 2017 |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224075536/https://climatemayors.org/actions-paris-climate-agreement/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On July 14, 2020, the Asheville City Council voted unanimously to approve [[Reparations for slavery in the United States|reparations]] to the city's Black citizens. The move came during the [[George Floyd protests|2020 George Floyd protests]]. The resolution called for increased investment in Black communities in the city. The [[Buncombe County, North Carolina|Buncombe County]] Board of Commissioners soon followed the adoption of the measure.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Burgess |first1=Joel |title=In historic move, North Carolina city approves reparations for Black residents |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/15/asheville-passes-reparations-black-residents-historic/5441792002/ |website=USAtoday.com |publisher=USA Today |access-date=14 February 2021 |archive-date=July 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715163907/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/15/asheville-passes-reparations-black-residents-historic/5441792002/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The protest also started a move to remove and replace the [[Zebulon Baird Vance Monument|Vance Monument]] in the city; that decision is still underway.

====City Council members====
{{See also|List of mayors of Asheville, North Carolina}}
* Mayor: [[Esther Manheimer|Esther E. Manheimer]] (2013–present; councilor 2009–present)<ref name="CityCouncil"/>
* Vice mayor: Sandra Kilgore (2022–present; councilor 2020–present)<ref name="CityCouncil"/>
* Councilor: S. Antanette Mosley (2020–present)<ref name="CityCouncil"/>
* Councilor: Kim Roney (2020–present)<ref name="CityCouncil"/>
* Councilor: Sheneika Smith (2017–present)<ref name="CityCouncil"/>
* Councilor: Sage Turner (2020–present)<ref name="CityCouncil"/>
* Councilor: Maggie Ullman (2022–present)<ref name="CityCouncil"/>

====Controversy====
In 2009, a group of Asheville citizens challenged the legitimacy of [[Cecil Bothwell]]'s election to the City Council,<ref name="Schrader091209">{{cite news |author1=Jordan Schrader |author2=Dale Neal |title=Critics of Cecil Bothwell cite N.C. bar to atheists |work=[[Asheville Citizen-Times]] |date=December 8, 2009 |url=http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20091208/NEWS01/912080327 |access-date=December 10, 2009 |archive-date=August 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20110807020225/http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20091208/NEWS01/912080327 |url-status=live}}</ref> citing the [[Constitution of North Carolina]], which does not permit [[Atheism|atheists]] to hold public office.<ref>{{cite web |title=Article VI: Suffrage and Eligibility to Office - Sec. 8. Disqualifications for office. |quote=The following persons shall be disqualified for office: First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God. |url=http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Legislation/constitution/ncconstitution.html |work=North Carolina State Constitution |publisher=State of North Carolina |access-date=February 15, 2014 |archive-date=February 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209114622/http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/legislation/constitution/ncconstitution.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Bothwell has described himself as a "[[Post-theism|post theist]]" rather than an atheist,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20091208/NEWS01/912080327?nclick_check=1 |title=Critics of Cecil Bothwell cite N.C. bar to atheists |work=The Asheville Citizen-Times |access-date=April 13, 2013 |archive-date=January 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130110214247/http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20091208/NEWS01/912080327?nclick_check=1 |url-status=live}}</ref> and is a member of a local [[Unitarian Universalist]] congregation. The opponents to his election never filed suit. In response to the charge, legal scholars explained that the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] held in ''[[Torcaso v. Watkins]]'' that religious tests for political office are unconstitutional.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20091214/NEWS01/312140021/Asheville-councilman-atheism-debate-goes-viral-Cecil-Bothwell-gets-wide-audience |title=Asheville councilman atheism debate goes viral: Cecil Bothwell gets wide audience |work=citizen-times.com}}</ref>

Bothwell served his four-year council term and was re-elected in 2013.<ref>{{cite news |title=Wisler, Smith, Bothwell win council seats |url=http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20131106/NEWS/311060047/Wisler-Smith-Bothwell-win-council-seats |access-date=February 15, 2014 |newspaper=Asheville Citizens-Times |date=November 5, 2013}}</ref> He was defeated in the primary when he ran for a third term in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2017/10/10/kapoor-manheimer-run-away-vote-bothwell-roney-battle-spot/752262001/ |title=Kapoor, Manheimer dominate Asheville primary; Bothwell loses |first=Joel Burgess, Mark Barrett, Alexandria Bordas and Jennifer |last=Bowman |website=The Asheville Citizen Times |access-date=April 29, 2018 |archive-date=November 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120164827/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2017/10/10/kapoor-manheimer-run-away-vote-bothwell-roney-battle-spot/752262001/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

While the city council elections are non-partisan, party politics may enter into play, as Republican and Democratic party members back their registered members' candidacy. An effort by the council to return to partisan elections was defeated by voters in a referendum held in November 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McDaniel |first=Polly |date=2019-09-25 |title=Asheville City Council takes next step toward reinstating at-large elections and nonpartisan municipal primaries |url=https://www.ashevillenc.gov/news/asheville-city-council-takes-next-step-toward-reinstating-at-large-elections-and-nonpartisan-municipal-primaries/ |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=The City of Asheville |language=en-US |archive-date=November 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106155450/https://www.ashevillenc.gov/news/asheville-city-council-takes-next-step-toward-reinstating-at-large-elections-and-nonpartisan-municipal-primaries/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Law enforcement===
The Asheville Police Department (APD) was created in 1849. It has been accredited by the [[Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies]] since 1994.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ashevillenc.gov/departments/police/default.aspx?id=1802 |title=Asheville North Carolina |access-date=2008-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011082334/http://www.ashevillenc.gov/departments/police/default.aspx?id=1802 |archive-date=2007-10-11 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===State government===
In the [[North Carolina Senate]], most of Asheville is in the [[North Carolina's 49th Senate district|49th district]], represented by [[Julie Mayfield]] ([[North Carolina Democratic Party|D]]), and a small portion of the eastern part of the city is in [[North Carolina's 46th Senate district|46th district]], represented by [[Warren Daniel]] (R). In [[North Carolina House of Representatives]], Asheville is split between the [[North Carolina's 114th House district|114th]], [[North Carolina's 115th House district|115th]], and [[North Carolina's 116th House district|116th]] districts, represented by [[Eric Ager|J. Eric Ager]] (D), [[Lindsey Prather]] (D), and [[Caleb Rudow]] (D), respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Buncombe County Representation |url=https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/CountyRepresentation/Buncombe |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804034029/https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/CountyRepresentation/Buncombe |archive-date=August 4, 2023 |access-date=August 4, 2023 |website=North Carolina General Assembly}}</ref>

===Federal government===
In the [[2012 United States presidential election|2012 presidential election]], [[Barack Obama]] won the entirety of Buncombe County with 55% of the vote. Obama visited the city on a few occasions.<ref>{{cite news |last=James |first=Frank |url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2011/10/17/141415067/obama-hearts-north-carolina-but-it-may-have-lost-that-loving-feeling |title=Obama Hearts North Carolina But It May Have Lost That Loving Feeling : It's All Politics |newspaper=NPR |date=October 17, 2011 |access-date=June 29, 2013 |archive-date=August 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813230903/http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2011/10/17/141415067/obama-hearts-north-carolina-but-it-may-have-lost-that-loving-feeling |url-status=live}}</ref> In April 2010, he and his family vacationed in the city.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/16/obama-vacation-first-fami_n_541131.html |work=Huffington Post |first=Nicholas |last=Wing |title=Obama Vacation: First Family To Visit Asheville, North Carolina |date=April 16, 2010 |access-date=October 25, 2011 |archive-date=March 20, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320101352/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/16/obama-vacation-first-fami_n_541131.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the United States presidential election of 2016, [[Hillary Clinton]] won 54% of the vote in Buncombe County and Donald Trump 40%, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. In 2020, Joe Biden won 59.74% of the vote in Buncombe County and Donald Trump 38.63%.

Asheville is a college town that, similar to many other American college towns, has seen its partisan lean since 2000 shift from Republican leaning to solidly Democratic — where [[George W. Bush]] won the county by 11 points in 2000, [[Joe Biden]] won the county by 21 points in 2020 — a 32-point swing in two decades.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mahtesian |first1=Charlie |last2=Alexander |first2=Madi |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/07/21/gop-college-towns-00106974 |title='This Is a Really Big Deal': How College Towns Are Decimating the GOP |newspaper=[[Politico]] |date=July 21, 2023 |access-date=July 22, 2023 |archive-date=July 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722111016/https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/07/21/gop-college-towns-00106974 |url-status=live }}</ref>

North Carolina is represented in the [[United States Senate]] by [[Thom Tillis]] ([[North Carolina Republican Party|R]]–[[Huntersville, North Carolina|Huntersville]]) and [[Ted Budd]] (R–[[Advance, North Carolina|Advance]]). The city of Asheville is located in [[North Carolina's 11th congressional district]], which is currently represented by [[Chuck Edwards]] (R–[[Flat Rock, Henderson County, North Carolina|Flat Rock]]).

==Education==
[[File:Asheville High School, Asheville, NC (45917754964).jpg|thumb|Asheville High School, designed by [[Douglas Ellington]]]]
Students (K–12) are assigned to one of two public school systems in the city of Asheville, Buncombe County Schools or Asheville City Schools, based on address.

Public [[Asheville City Schools]] include [[Asheville High School]] (known as Lee H Edwards High School 1935–1969), School of Inquiry and Life Sciences at Asheville, Asheville Middle School, Claxton Elementary, Randolph Learning Center, Hall Fletcher Elementary, Isaac Dickson Elementary, Ira B. Jones Elementary, and Vance Elementary.

The [[Buncombe County Schools System]] operates high schools, middle schools and elementary schools both inside and outside the city of Asheville. [[North Buncombe High School]], [[T. C. Roberson High School]] and [[A. C. Reynolds High School]] are three Buncombe County schools located in Asheville.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Schools Directory |url=http://www.buncombeschools.org/about/our_schools/schools_directory |access-date=2020-10-23 |website=www.buncombeschools.org |language=en-US |archive-date=October 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031000243/https://www.buncombeschools.org/about/our_schools/schools_directory |url-status=live}}</ref>

Asheville was formerly home to one of the few [[Sudbury school]]s in the Southeast, Katuah Sudbury School. It is also home to several [[charter school]]s, including Francine Delany New School for Children (one of the first charter schools in North Carolina), ArtSpace Charter School, Invest Collegiate Imagine, and Evergreen Community Charter School, an [[Outward Bound]]-Expeditionary Learning School, recognized as one of the most environmentally conscious schools in the country.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.evergreenccs.org/ |title=Evergreen Community Charter School, Asheville North Carolina - Evergreen Community Charter School, Asheville North Carolina |publisher=Evergreenccs.org |access-date=June 29, 2013 |archive-date=July 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706022851/http://www.evergreenccs.org/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Two private residential high schools are located in the Asheville area: the all-male [[Christ School (North Carolina)|Christ School]] (located in [[Arden, North Carolina|Arden]]) and the co-educational [[Asheville School]]. Other private schools include [[Carolina Day School]], Veritas Christian Academy, Asheville Catholic School,<ref>{{cite web |title=Asheville Catholic School |url=http://www.ashevillecatholic.org/ |access-date=June 16, 2020 |archive-date=June 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616094615/http://www.ashevillecatholic.org/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Canongate Catholic High School,<ref>{{cite web |title=Canongate Catholic Highschool |url=https://canongatecatholic.org/ |access-date=February 1, 2023 |archive-date=February 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202020557/http://www.canongatecatholic.org/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Asheville Christian Academy]].

===Colleges===
Asheville and its surrounding area have several institutions of higher education:

* [[Asheville–Buncombe Technical Community College]]
* [[Black Mountain College]] ([[Black Mountain, North Carolina|Black Mountain]]: 1933–1957)
* [[Blue Ridge Community College (North Carolina)|Blue Ridge Community College]] ([[Flat Rock, Henderson County, North Carolina|Flat Rock]])
* [[Brevard College]] ([[Brevard, North Carolina|Brevard]])
* [[Lenoir–Rhyne University]], center for Graduate Studies of Asheville
* [[Mars Hill University]] ([[Mars Hill, North Carolina|Mars Hill]])
* [[Montreat College]] ([[Montreat, North Carolina|Montreat]])
* [[Shaw University]], college of Adult and Professional Education or C.A.P.E.
* [[South College]] (Asheville campus)
* [[University of North Carolina at Asheville]]
* [[Warren Wilson College]] ([[Swannanoa, North Carolina|Swannanoa]])
* [[Western Carolina University]] ([[Cullowhee, North Carolina|Cullowhee]])

==Media==
{{see also|List of newspapers in North Carolina|List of radio stations in North Carolina|List of television stations in North Carolina}}
Asheville is in the "Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville-Anderson" television [[media market|DMA]] and the "Asheville" radio [[List of United States radio markets|ADI]] for the city's [[Template:Asheville Radio|radio stations]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arbitron.com/radio_stations/mm001050.asp |title=Market Ranks |work=arbitron.com |access-date=September 2, 2007 |archive-date=July 10, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710153242/http://www.arbitron.com/Radio_Stations/mm001050.asp |url-status=live}}</ref>

The primary television station in Asheville is [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate [[WLOS-TV]] Channel 13, with studios in Biltmore Park and a transmitter on [[Mount Pisgah (mountain in North Carolina)|Mount Pisgah]]. Other stations licensed to Asheville include [[WUNF]], a [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] ([[UNC-TV]]) station on Channel 33 and [[The CW]] affiliate [[WYCW]] on Channel 62. Asheville is also served by the [[Upstate South Carolina]] stations of [[WYFF]] Channel 4 ([[NBC]]), [[WSPA-TV]] Channel 7 ([[CBS]]), [[WHNS-TV]] Channel 21 ([[Fox Television Network|FOX]]), [[MyNetworkTV]] station [[WMYA]] Channel 40 and [[3ABN]] station Channel 41. [[SCETV]] PBS affiliates from the Upstate of South Carolina are generally not carried on cable systems in the North Carolina portion of the DMA, though are accessible via an HD antenna in some areas.

The ''[[Asheville Citizen-Times]]'' is Asheville's daily newspaper, which covers most of [[Western North Carolina]]. The ''[[Mountain Xpress]]'' is the largest weekly in the area, covering arts and politics in the region. The ''[[Asheville Daily Planet]]'' is a monthly paper. ''Asheville Watchdog'' is an online-only publication.

The ''[[Biltmore Beacon]]'' is a weekly newspaper specifically written to be of interest to residents and businesses in the various Biltmore communities including [[Biltmore Forest]], [[Biltmore Park]], Biltmore Lake, and [[Biltmore Village]].

WCQS: [[Blue Ridge Public Radio]] is Asheville's public radio station. It airs [[National Public Radio]] news and other programs, classical and jazz music. WYQS ([[BPR News]]) is the sister station to WCQS, offering local news and NPR programming.

Friends of Community Radio created [[WSFM-LP]], a volunteer-based, grassroots community radio station. The station is licensed under the "Free Form" format. There are also a variety of broadcasts dedicated to poetry, interviews, selected topics, children's radio, and comedy. The staff have remote broadcast many local concerts including [[Monotonix]] from Israel, [[JEFF the Brotherhood]] from Nashville, [[Screaming Females]] from New Jersey, and local acts.

==Infrastructure==
===Transportation===
Asheville is served by [[Asheville Regional Airport]] in the southernmost portion of the city,<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.gcr1.com/5010ReportRouter/AVL.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319120255/https://www.gcr1.com/5010ReportRouter/AVL.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 19, 2023 |title=FAA5010_1 (Airport Master Record) |date=3 December 2020 |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration |id=AVL (Local ID) |access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref> and by [[Interstate 40 in North Carolina|Interstate 40]] (east-west),<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=31 December 2018<!--according to https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/interstate_highway_system/routefinder/index.cfm --> |title=Table 1 - Main Routes - FHWA Route Log and Finder List - Interstate Highway System - National Highway System - Planning - FHWA |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/interstate_highway_system/routefinder/table01.cfm |access-date=2020-12-28 |website=National Highway System |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration |archive-date=July 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703213613/https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/interstate_highway_system/routefinder/table01.cfm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Rp|I-40}} [[Interstate 240 (North Carolina)|Interstate 240]] (north loop from I-40),<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 December 2018<!--according to https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/interstate_highway_system/routefinder/index.cfm --> |title=Table 2 - Auxiliary Routes - FHWA Route Log and Finder List - Interstate Highway System - National Highway System - Planning - FHWA |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/interstate_highway_system/routefinder/table02.cfm |access-date=2020-12-28 |website=National Highway System |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration |archive-date=July 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703182115/https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/interstate_highway_system/routefinder/table02.cfm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{RP|I-240}} and [[Interstate 26 in North Carolina|Interstate 26]] (north-south).<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|I-26}} Additional major roadways providing access to Asheville include U.S. routes [[U.S. Route 19 in North Carolina|19]] and [[U.S. Route 74 (North Carolina)|74]], and North Carolina state routes [[North Carolina Highway 191|191]] and [[North Carolina Highway 280|280]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 October 2020 |title=Asheville, NC |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/nhs_maps/north_carolina/asheville_nc.pdf |access-date=30 December 2020 |website=National Highway System |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration |type=Map |archive-date=October 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022123011/https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/nhs_maps/north_carolina/asheville_nc.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Passenger rail service is not available for the city. The city operates [[Asheville Rides Transit]] (ART), which consists of sixteen bus lines,<ref>{{cite web |title=Maps & Schedules |url=http://www.ashevillenc.gov/Departments/Transit/MapsSchedules.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306235408/http://www.ashevillenc.gov/Departments/Transit/MapsSchedules.aspx |archive-date=March 6, 2014 |access-date=March 6, 2014 |work=ashevillenc.gov}}</ref> providing service throughout the City of Asheville and to [[Black Mountain, North Carolina]].

A milestone was achieved in 2003, when Interstate 26 was extended nine miles from [[Mars Hill, North Carolina|Mars Hill]] (north of Asheville) to [[Johnson City, Tennessee]], completing a seven-year {{frac|1|4}}-billion dollar construction project,<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 August 2003 |title=Interstate 26 |edition=Final |volume=134 |page=A5 |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |publisher=Gannett |issue=215 |location=Asheville, North Carolina |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66231033/fullpagei262003/ |access-date=28 December 2020 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=September 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928171149/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66231033/fullpagei262003/ |url-status=live }}</ref> part of a twenty-year {{frac|1|2}}-billion dollar construction project through the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]]. Work continues to improve Interstate 26 from Mars Hill to Interstate 40 by improving [[U.S. Route 19]] and [[U.S. Route 23]] and the western part of Interstate 240. This construction will include a multimillion-dollar bridge to cross the [[French Broad River]].<ref>{{cite web |title=I-26 Connector, Asheville, NC |work=Public Information Website |publisher=North Carolina Department of Transportation |date=n.d. |url=http://www.ncdot.org/projects/I26Connector/default.html |access-date=August 20, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060706042334/http://www.ncdot.org/projects/I26Connector/default.html |archive-date=July 6, 2006 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The [[Norfolk Southern Railway]] passes through the city, but passenger service is no longer available in the area. The city was last served in 1975 by the [[Southern Railway (US)|Southern Railway]]'s ''[[Asheville Special]]'' ([[New York City|New York]]-[[Washington, D.C.|Washington]]-Asheville, ended, 1970; Asheville-Salisbury, ended, 1975). Before that, it was served by the Southern's ''[[Skyland Special]]'' (Asheville-[[Columbia, South Carolina|Columbia]]-[[Jacksonville]], ended, 1959) and ''[[Carolina Special]]'' ([[Cincinnati]]-Goldsboro and Charleston branches, ended, 1968). In 1968, passenger service shifted from Asheville's station to the nearby [[Southern Railway Passenger Depot (Asheville, North Carolina)|Biltmore station]]. The Asheville station, built in 1905, was demolished.<ref>{{cite news |title=Portrait of the past: Southern Railway passenger station |last=Neufeld |first=Bob |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/life/2015/02/05/portrait-past-southern-railway-passenger-station/22925973 |publisher=[[Asheville Citizen-Times]] |date=February 6, 2015 |access-date=February 4, 2022 |archive-date=January 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102050132/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/life/2015/02/05/portrait-past-southern-railway-passenger-station/22925973/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[North Carolina Department of Transportation]] has proposed the [[NC By Train#Salisbury – Asheville|restoration of train service]] between Asheville and [[Salisbury, North Carolina|Salisbury]], as has [[Amtrak]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Comprehensive State Rail Plan |url=https://connect.ncdot.gov/resources/Rail-Division-Resources/Documents/2015%20Comprehensive%20State%20Rail%20Plan-%20Full%20Report.pdf |publisher=NCDOT Rail Division |access-date=11 August 2021 |date=August 2015 |pages=3–21 |archive-date=August 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810130156/https://connect.ncdot.gov/resources/Rail-Division-Resources/Documents/2015%20Comprehensive%20State%20Rail%20Plan-%20Full%20Report.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lacey |first1=Derek |title=New plan adds Amtrak rail service from Asheville to Salisbury |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2021/04/05/amtrak-service-asheville-salisbury-possibility-joe-biden-american-jobs-plan/4850514001/ |access-date=11 August 2021 |work=Citizen Times |date=5 April 2021 |archive-date=January 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102050124/https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2021/04/05/amtrak-service-asheville-salisbury-possibility-joe-biden-american-jobs-plan/4850514001/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2020, the city received a $US1 million grant from the [[Federal Transit Administration]] to be used primarily on the ART bus transit system.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Whitehead |first=Brittany |date=15 October 2020 |title=Asheville Rides Transit bus system to undergo $1.25m in upgrades |publisher=MSN |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/asheville-rides-transit-bus-system-to-undergo-24125m-in-upgrades/ar-BB1a3l1n |access-date=30 December 2020 |archive-date=January 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102050038/https://www.msn.com/en-us |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Public services and utilities===
The residents of Asheville are served by the Buncombe County Public Libraries, consisting of 11 branches located throughout the county; the headquarters and central library, [[Pack Memorial Library]], is located in downtown Asheville.<ref>{{cite web |title=Libraries - Branch Locations |url=https://www.buncombecounty.org/Governing/Depts/Library/Locations.aspx |publisher=Buncombe County |access-date=March 28, 2016 |archive-date=March 29, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329150326/https://www.buncombecounty.org/Governing/Depts/Library/Locations.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref> The system includes a law library in the [[Buncombe County Courthouse]] and a genealogy and local history department located in the central library.

Drinking water in Asheville is provided by the Asheville water department. The water system consists of three water treatment plants, more than {{convert|1600|mi}} of water lines, 30 pumping stations and 27 storage reservoirs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Water Production |url=http://www.ashevillenc.gov/Departments/Water/WaterProduction.aspx |publisher=City of Asheville, NC |access-date=March 28, 2016 |archive-date=March 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323113444/http://www.ashevillenc.gov/Departments/Water/WaterProduction.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[sanitary sewer|Sewer]] services are provided by the Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County, power provided by [[Duke Energy]], and natural gas is provided by [[PSNC Energy]].

Asheville offers public transit through the ART ([[Asheville Rides Transit]]) bus service that operates across the city and to the town of [[Black Mountain, North Carolina|Black Mountain]]. Routes originate from a central station located at 49 Coxe Avenue.<ref>{{cite web |title=Asheville Transit |url=http://www.ashevillenc.gov/Departments/Transit.aspx |publisher=City of Asheville |access-date=March 28, 2016 |archive-date=March 31, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331011849/http://www.ashevillenc.gov/Departments/Transit.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Sister cities==
Asheville's [[Sister city|sister cities]] are:<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Sister Cities |url=https://www.ashevillesistercities.org/our-sister-cities/ |publisher=Asheville Sister Cities Inc. |access-date=2020-10-25 |archive-date=October 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028204925/https://www.ashevillesistercities.org/our-sister-cities/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

* {{flagicon|SCO}} [[Birnam, Perth and Kinross|Birnam]], Scotland, United Kingdom
* {{flagicon|SCO}} [[Dunkeld]], Scotland, United Kingdom
* {{flagicon|GRC}} [[Karpenisi]], Greece
* {{flagicon|NGR}} [[Osogbo]], Nigeria
* {{flagicon|MEX}} [[San Cristóbal de las Casas]], Mexico
* {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Saumur]], France
* {{flagicon|MEX}} [[Valladolid Municipality, Yucatán|Valladolid]], Mexico
* {{flagicon|RUS}} [[Vladikavkaz]], Russia

==Notable people==
{{Further|List of people from Asheville, North Carolina|University of North Carolina at Asheville#Notable alumni|label2=List of University of North Carolina at Asheville notable people}}<!-- NOTE - The long list of people was off-loaded to this new list article, which still needs to be sorted by occupation. Text should be added to this section talking about the MOST notable people of the city... it should be text in a paragraph format instead of a bullet list. --><!-- Please put college students in this list instead of the city article -->

==In popular culture==
Author [[Thomas Wolfe]] (d. 1938) was born and grew up here, writing about the city; he and [[O. Henry]] (d.1910) are buried in [[Riverside Cemetery (Asheville, North Carolina)|Riverside Cemetery]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://cityofasheville.github.io/riversidecemetery/Main/index.html |title=Riverside Cemetery |website=cityofasheville.github.io |language=en |access-date=2018-01-30 |archive-date=January 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130204453/https://cityofasheville.github.io/riversidecemetery/Main/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Other authors with Asheville ties include [[Charles Frazier]] (''[[Cold Mountain (novel)|Cold Mountain]]''), Chicago poet [[Carl Sandburg]] (d.1967 in his home in Flat Rock),<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/carl/faqs.htm |title=Frequently Asked Questions - Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service) |website=www.nps.gov |language=en |access-date=2018-01-30 |archive-date=November 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120164819/https://www.nps.gov/carl/faqs.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]] (who wrote while staying at the Grove Park Inn).

[[Thomas Wolfe]]'s debut novel ''[[Look Homeward, Angel]]'' (1929) is set largely in Asheville and features a protagonist recognizably similar to the author; the town is named Altamont in the book.

The 2008 film ''[[Anywhere, U.S.A.]]'' was locally produced,<ref name="Anywhere USA">{{cite web |title=Anywhere USA Sundance Award |url=http://history.sundance.org/films/5206/anywhere_usa |website=History.sundance.org |access-date=May 22, 2016 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083936/http://history.sundance.org/films/5206/anywhere_usa |url-status=live}}</ref> and won a Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Independence at the 2008 [[Sundance Film Festival]]. The character Harrison Shepherd, the narrator and protagonist of [[Barbara Kingsolver]]'s 2009 novel ''[[The Lacuna]]'', lived in Asheville.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.kingsolver.com/faq/about-the-lacuna.html#16 |title=About The Lacuna {{!}} Barbara Kingsolver |website=www.kingsolver.com |access-date=2018-01-30 |archive-date=January 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130204839/http://www.kingsolver.com/faq/about-the-lacuna.html#16 |url-status=live}}</ref> Asheville is featured as a location in the 2009 novel ''[[One Second After]]'' by [[William R. Forstchen]] (an area resident).<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://mountainx.com/news/community-news/070809apocalypse_wnc/ |title=Apocalypse WNC |work=Mountain Xpress |access-date=2018-01-30 |language=en-US |archive-date=January 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130204514/https://mountainx.com/news/community-news/070809apocalypse_wnc/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The 2012 film ''[[The Hunger Games (film)|The Hunger Games]]'' was filmed near Asheville,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/visit-north-carolina-locations-hunger-games-filmed/story?id=32473898 |title=Visit the North Carolina Locations Where 'The Hunger Games' Was Filmed |date=2015-07-16 |website=ABC News |language=en |access-date=2018-07-19 |archive-date=July 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719233755/https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/visit-north-carolina-locations-hunger-games-filmed/story?id=32473898 |url-status=live}}</ref> as was the 2017 film ''[[Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri]]''. The North Carolina tourism board has developed a guide for visitors interested in sites used in the film.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.visitnc.com/trip-idea/explore-authentic-locations-from-three-billboards-outside-ebbing-missouri |title=Explore Authentic Locations From 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing,... |work=VisitNC.com |access-date=2018-02-23 |archive-date=February 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223162537/https://www.visitnc.com/trip-idea/explore-authentic-locations-from-three-billboards-outside-ebbing-missouri |url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of municipalities in North Carolina]]
* [[Sunset Stampede]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Chase, Nan K. ''Asheville, a history'' (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. 2007).
* Epstein, Seth. "Urban Governance and Tolerance: The Regulation of Suspect Spaces and the Burden of Surveillance in Post–World War I Asheville, North Carolina." ''Journal of Urban History'' 43.5 (2017): 683–702. [https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/146662/Epstein_umn_0130E_13497.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y online]
* Martin, C. Brenden. ''Tourism in the mountain south: A double-edged sword'' (Univ. of Tennessee Press, 2007).
* Starnes, Richard D. "" A Conspicuous Example of What is Termed the New South": Tourism and Urban Development in Asheville, North Carolina, 1880–1925." ''North Carolina Historical Review'' 80.1 (2003): 52–80. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/23522584 online]

===Bibliography===
<!--please add authors, bibliography standard is alpha by author-->
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |title=Branson's North Carolina Business Directory |publisher=Levi Branson |location=Raleigh |edition=6th |year=1884 |chapter=Buncombe County |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H0Y9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA151 |access-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312131730/https://books.google.com/books?id=H0Y9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA151 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |title=Asheville City Directory |publisher=Southern Directory Co. |url=https://archive.org/stream/ashevillecitydir1887sout#page/n7/mode/2up |year=1887}}
* {{cite book |publisher=T.H. Lindsey |title=Lindsey's Guide Book to Western North Carolina |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3jMoAAAAYAAJ |year=1890 |location=Asheville |access-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312134344/https://books.google.com/books?id=3jMoAAAAYAAJ |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |publisher=J.D. Eggleston and J.S. McIlwaine |location=Atlanta |title=Asheville and Vicinity, a Handbook of Information, Containing an Exhaustive History of Asheville |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DfQxAQAAMAAJ |year=1897 |access-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312134557/https://books.google.com/books?id=DfQxAQAAMAAJ |url-status=live}}
* {{citation |title=Asheville's Centenary |work=Asheville Citizen |date=February 1898 |author=Foster A. Sondley}}
* {{cite book |title=Richardson's Southern Guide |author=F.H. Richardson |publisher=Monarch Book Company |location=Chicago |year=1905 |chapter=Asheville, N.C. |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/richardsonssouth00rich#page/50/mode/2up |via=Internet Archive}}
* {{Citation |publisher=[[List of Baedeker Guides|K. Baedeker]] |location=Leipzig |edition=4th |title=United States |oclc=02338437 |year=1909 |chapter=Asheville |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/unitedstateswith00karl#page/598/mode/2up}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Asheville |volume= 2 | pages = 731&ndash;732 | ref = {{harvid|Britannica|1910}}}}
* {{cite book |author=John Preston Arthur |title=Western North Carolina: a History (from 1730 to 1913) |publisher=Edwards & Broughton |location=Raleigh |year=1914 |chapter=County History: Buncombe County |pages=143–159 |isbn=9780722207826 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zX98AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA143 |access-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312135114/https://books.google.com/books?id=zX98AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA143 |url-status=live}} (Includes information about Asheville)
* {{cite journal |title=Everybody Helps: Asheville's Unique Method of Raising Money |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=du1t7fTVNwsC&pg=RA2-PA107 |journal=Town Development: A Magazine for the Man Who Believes in Himself and in His Town |oclc=52158201 |location=New York |volume=13 |date=December 1914 |access-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312132418/https://books.google.com/books?id=du1t7fTVNwsC&pg=RA2-PA107 |url-status=live}}
* {{citation |title=Asheville, North Carolina City Directory |url=https://archive.org/stream/ashevillenorthca1922pied#page/6/mode/2up |publisher=Commercial Service Co. |year=1921}}
* {{cite book |author=F.A. Sondley |author2=Theodore Davidson |year=1922 |title=Asheville and Buncombe County |location=Asheville |publisher=The Citizen Co. |url=https://archive.org/details/ashevillebuncomb00sond}}
* {{cite journal |title=Asheville Builds a New City |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Kg1AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA376 |journal=American City Magazine |oclc=29653835 |volume=35 |publisher=Civic Press |location=New York |date=September 1926 |access-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312131616/https://books.google.com/books?id=2Kg1AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA376 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |author=[[Federal Writers' Project]] |title=North Carolina: a Guide to the Old North State |series=[[American Guide Series]] |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |location=Chapel Hill |year=1939 |chapter=Asheville |page=137+ |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/northcarolinagui00fede#page/136/mode/2up}}
* {{citation |author=City of Asheville |title=Asheville 2025 Plan |year=2003 |url=http://www.ashevillenc.gov/departments/comm_public/city_plans.htm |access-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825234305/http://www.ashevillenc.gov/departments/comm_public/city_plans.htm |archive-date=August 25, 2017 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |author=Paul T. Hellmann |title=Historical Gazetteer of the United States |year=2006 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=1-135-94859-3 |chapter=North Carolina: Asheville |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=REtEXQNWq6MC |ref={{harvid|Hellmann|2006}} |access-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-date=August 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818182230/https://books.google.com/books?id=REtEXQNWq6MC |url-status=live}}
* {{citation |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of North Carolina |editor=William S. Powell |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |url=http://www.ncpedia.org/geography/asheville |title=Asheville |author=Lisa Gregory |year=2010 |ref={{harvid|Gregory|2010}} |access-date=August 25, 2017 |archive-date=August 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814125954/http://www.ncpedia.org/geography/asheville |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |author1=William S. Powell |author2=Michael Hill |title=North Carolina Gazetteer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KFvqCQAAQBAJ |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-0-8078-9829-1 |edition=2nd |year=2010 |chapter=Asheville |ref={{harvid|Powell|Hill|2010}} |access-date=August 25, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312131707/https://books.google.com/books?id=KFvqCQAAQBAJ}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Asheville, North Carolina}}
{{Wikivoyage|Asheville}}
* {{Official website|http://www.ashevillenc.gov/}}
* [http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/asheville/ Asheville, North Carolina, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary]
* [http://www.exploreasheville.com/ Asheville travel guide by Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau]
* [https://ncroom.buncombecounty.org North Carolina Room] at the [[Pack Memorial Library]] — collection includes history of Asheville, Buncombe County, and western North Carolina
* {{osmrelation|180348}}

{{Portal bar|Cities|North America|North Carolina|United States}}
{{Buncombe County, North Carolina}}
{{North Carolina}}
{{University of North Carolina at Asheville}}
{{All-American City Award Hall of Fame}}
{{Cherokee}}
{{North Carolina county seats}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Asheville, North Carolina| ]]
[[Category:Cities in Buncombe County, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Cities in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Western North Carolina]]
[[Category:North Carolina populated places on the French Broad River]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1784]]