Welcome to the first stop on our five-part audio guide to Asheville, North Carolina. And where better to start than at the beginning? In this episode of Unpacked by Afar, host Aislyn Greene sets out on foot to trace Asheville history from the ground up, and to answer a simple question: How did a remote, hard-to-reach valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains become one of the most creative small cities in America?

Aislyn’s first guide reveals the deep Asheville history hiding in plain sight downtown. There are the ancient mountains and rivers, the Cherokee crossroads that predated the city by thousands of years, the rowdy cattle-drive era that gave the town its early reputation, and the arrival of the railroad in 1880, which brought the Vanderbilts, the Groves, and the money that built landmarks like the Grove Arcade.

From there, Aislyn drives out to the Biltmore Estate, America’s largest privately owned home, to meet Chase Pickering, a fifth-generation member of the Vanderbilt family. He shares what it was like to grow up on the estate, and why stewardship and sustainability still shape the property today.

But no honest telling of Asheville history is complete without the Black community that helped build the city, including Biltmore itself. Aislyn rides through the historically Black neighborhoods of Eagle Street and Burton Street with DeWayne Barton of Hood Huggers, meets community elder Clifford Cotton, grandson of the pioneering entrepreneur E.W. Pearson, and hears a song from Asheville artist Virtuous.

It all adds up to a rich piece of cultural travel and the story of how Asheville became Asheville: a place ringed by mountains where people have both passed through and put down deep roots. Consider this your starting point for planning Asheville travel, and your first look at one of the South’s most distinctive travel destinations. It’s also your reminder that the best trips start with knowing where to go and why a place is the way it is.

Unpacked by Afar is a travel podcast that unpacks one destination at a time. This Asheville audio guide continues across four more episodes, so look for the rest of the series waiting in the feed.

GUESTS

• Tebbé Davis, guide and storyteller, Asheville By Foot walking tours
• Chase Pickering, Vice President of Guest Experience at the Biltmore Estate, and fifth-generation Vanderbilt family member
• DeWayne Barton, founder, Hood Huggers
• Clifford Cotton, community elder and grandson of E.W. Pearson, Burton Street Community Center
• Virtuous, songwriter and performing artist

PLACES WE VISITED//WHERE WE STAYED

• Grove Arcade
• Biltmore Estate
• Eagle Street
• Basilica of Saint Lawrence
• Burton Street Community Center
• Peace Gardens & Market
• Stay: AutoCamp Asheville, Airstream lodging on the river
• Stay: The Windsor Boutique Hotel, apartment style lodging downtown

CHAPTERS

(00:00) Welcome to Asheville

(01:05) The oldest mountains in the world

(02:40) A Cherokee crossroads and the “Las Vegas” of the 1800s

(05:00) Inside the Grove Arcade

(10:40) The Vanderbilts and the Biltmore Estate

(12:10) Chase Pickering on five generations at Biltmore

(17:50) The Black community that built Asheville

(19:00) Riding with Hood Huggers through Burton Street

(21:40) E.W. Pearson’s legacy and the Royal Giants

(24:40) The Peace Gardens Sculpture Park

(27:15) How Asheville became Asheville

MORE FROM AFAR

• Asheville Travel Guide
• Immerse Yourself in Asheville’s Culturally Diverse Experiences
• 10 Travel Itineraries for Exploring Asheville Your Way (including a music itinerary led by Virtuous)

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