Ridgecrest in Buncombe County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Swannanoa Gap
Photographed by Mike Stroud, May 19, 2012
1. Swannanoa Gap Marker
Erected 1956 by Archives and Highway Departments. (Marker Number N-32.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Natural Features • Roads & Vehicles. In addition, it is included in the North Carolina Division of Archives and History series list. A significant historical month for this entry is September 1776.
Location. 35° 37.216′ N, 82° 16.409′ W. Marker is in Ridgecrest, North Carolina, in Buncombe County. It is on Yates Avenue near Kitazuma Road, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Black Mountain NC 28711, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Mountains and in Greater Asheville. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: In Memoriam (a few steps from this marker); Swannanoa Tunnel (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); a different marker also named Swannanoa Gap Engagement (approx. 0.2 miles away); All Day Long: Building the Western North Carolina Railroad (approx. 0.2 miles away); Somebody's Dead: Swannanoa Tunnel (approx. 0.2 miles away); Wind Blowed Cold, Babe: The Swannanoa Stockade
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Another marker is no longer nearby. Swannanoa Gap Engagement (was approx. 0.2 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
Regarding Swannanoa Gap. Swannanoa Gap sits on the Buncombe-McDowell County line near the head of the Catawba River. In the Blue Ridge Mountains, Swannanoa Gap and Hickory Nut Gap were the primary passes through which early settlers and Indians traveled to reach the Asheville Plateau. With an elevation of 2,657 feet, the plateau is the dividing line between the waters that flow to the Atlantic and those that flow to the Mississippi River and into the Gulf of Mexico.
Swannanoa Gap played a role in conflicts of the Revolutionary and Civil wars. The expedition led by General Griffith Rutherford against the Cherokee passed through the gap in September of 1776. The Cherokee had allied themselves with the British and had attacked white settlers in the western parts of North and South Carolina. To put an end to this Rutherford led a militia of 2,500 men in scorched earth
Photographed by Mike Stroud, May 19, 2012
2. Swannanoa Gap Marker, looking southbound on Yates Avenue
One of the Civil Wars last cavalry raids occurred in April of 1865 at Swannanoa Gap. To protect Asheville from encroaching Federal troops led by Brigadier General Alvan Gillem, Confederate troops were placed in the gap. The confederate blockade of 500 men and four pieces of heavy artillery proved effective. However, Gillem moved his cavalry forty miles south and breached Confederate lines at Howards Gap. Confederate General James G. Martin surrendered soon after, but Federal troops still sacked Asheville. The Civil War slowed efforts to connect western North Carolina with the rest of the state. Finally, in 1880, the Western North Carolina Railroad passed through the Swannanoa Gap then up and over Old Fort Mountain, completing the railway. ( North Carolina Dept. of Cultural Resources)
Photographed by Mike Stroud, May 19, 2012
3. Swannanoa Gap Marker, northbound look
Photographed by Mike Stroud, May 19, 2012
4. Swannanoa Gap with todays railroad line
Credits. This page was last revised on January 18, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 2, 2012, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 1,591 times since then and 63 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 2, 2012, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.
