Our Region

Spanning North Carolina’s majestic western mountains, the Land-of-Sky Region is a dynamic center of tourism, manufacturing trade and education. The 1,867 square mile region encompasses Buncombe, Henderson, Madison and Transylvania Counties and almost 320,000 people. Once known as the "Land Beyond" due to its isolation, today the region is accessible from any direction by major interstates, rail lines and air service.

The region focuses on the city of Asheville, which lies near its geographic center. The city has been a crossroads of economic activity for two centuries. Long noted for its extraordinary environmental setting and urban amenities, in 1981 it was rated the number one "Small Metropolitan Area" in the U. S. in Rand McNally’s Places Rated Almanac and was an All-America City in and 1997. Other communities like Hendersonville and Brevard have received high national ratings as "retirement places" and have diversified economies.

The region’s name stems from the area’s early popularity as a summer resort. "Land-of-Sky" became a common term describing the Southern Appalachian region, following the publication of a fictionalized account of summer touring through the area in 1876.

Today the "Land-of-Sky" can attribute much of its vitality to its unique geographic setting. Extending from Tennessee on the north and the South Carolina border on the south, its topography ranges from fertile valleys to rugged mountains. The region is framed by the Blue Ridge Mountains on the east and the Great Smoky Mountains on the north and west. The highest point in eastern North America, Mount Mitchell, (6,684 feet) is located a few miles north in Yancey County.

The presence of an ancient plain, a long flat stretch of land known as the Asheville peneplain, allowed the region’s core to develop differently from the surrounding mountain counties. The plateau, with an elevation of approximately 2,000 feet, averages about forty-five miles in width. It is bisected from south to north by the winding French Broad River and from east to west by two major tributaries, the Swannanoa River and Hominy Creek.

It was on the French Broad River that the first recorded settler acquired land in 1787. The City of Asheville was laid out at the point where two Indian trails intersected, offering access to outlying areas. The site was well drained and safely elevated from flooding. Early settlers could travel in all directions along the river valleys radiating from Asheville, and today the city extends four directions from its downtown hub.

Because of extremes in elevation, the climate varies widely from one section of the region to another. The mean elevation of Asheville, for instance, is about 2,300 feet. Here the summers are cool and the winters are moderate, with small amounts of snow. Higher elevations receive considerable amounts of snow and the summers are much cooler. Annual rainfall near the southern edge of the region is almost double that in Asheville. A ski resort is located in Madison County, with another in nearby Haywood County.

By 1886, an estimated 30,000 "summer people" were descending upon the region annually, and Asheville’s population increased four-fold during the decade between 1880 and 1890. Building boomed as hotels, inns, boarding houses, summer homes, sanitoria, golf courses, bridle paths, and religious retreats were constructed. News of the region’s potential attracted developers, builders, engineers and businessmen from all over the world.

Soon visitors recognized that the winters were also mild. Gradually the number of winter visitors increased. Eventually some who came "just for a visit" decided to stay. Visitors were generally well-to-do and brought with them new ideas and visions for the future. Subsequent to their settling in the area, many became enthusiastic businessmen and community leaders.

George Vanderbilt was one of those who visited the region and decided to spend more time in the area. In 1890, he began construction of his 250-room "chateau," the foundation of which covers almost five acres. Today the Biltmore Estate is the region’s biggest tourist attraction along with the half million acre Pisgah National Forest, much of which was part of the original Vanderbilt estate, covers extensive portions of the region.

It and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, an hour to the west, attract millions of tourists who enjoy the wide expanses of mountain scenery from the Buncombe Turnpike (1827), a "plank road" to Greenville, South Carolina (1851), the Western North Carolina Railroad and later the federal and interstate highways and aviation.

Today, the highway network includes the intersection of Interstates 40 and 26 (with the latter being completed north to the Tennessee line early in the new millennium), US 25, US 70, US 19/23, and other major thoroughfares. The renowned Blue Ridge Parkway, which traverses the region, brings millions of tourists each year to enjoy mountain vistas. The Asheville Regional airport has three airlines and many flights daily. The area also has strong telecommunications infrastructure.

The early decades of the Twentieth Century brought boom and bust to the region as financial markets crashed following a period of development and land speculation. The middle decades brought  moderate growth as the economy diversified. The latter decades produced growth in much of the region that exceeded national rates, in part due to tourism and retirement living.

The growing economy and projections of continued growth are encouraging local governments of the region to work together to manage that growth in a way that provides for the required infrastructure and yet maintains the quality of life and the natural beauty for which the region is known.

Each major transportation improvement has ushered in an era of growth and economic prosperity in the Land-of-Sky region.

Unique to the mountains are traditional crafts, which in recent decades have gained national attention. Because life in the mountains before the era of easy accessibility required inventiveness, mountain craftsmen made many of the goods they needed. Skilled craftsmen made banjos, fiddles, dulcimers, and recorders. Potter’s clay was plentiful and there were a number of potteries. Baskets were made of oak splits, willow switches and wild honeysuckle vines, and women carded, spun and wove wool into unique patters. Today, using techniques pioneered by early residents, an increasing number of individuals engage in the production of traditional crafts throughout the region. "Heritage Trails" have been designed so visitors can see craftsmen work in their studios.

During this century the Land-of-Sky Urban Center has developed a diversified economic base with large and small firms manufacturing products which range from medical devices, cassette tapes, fine papers, computerized automotive brakes, x-ray film and electrical equipment. At the same time the region continues to serve as an important commercial, medical and educational center for an area which stretches from Piedmont North Carolina into the Tennessee Valley, and from the Virginia border into South Carolina and Georgia.

Bob Shepherd

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