Ashe Metamorphic Suite
Neoproterozoic - Cambrian
1,000 to 488 million years old
Bakersville, Mitchell County
Thanks to Vulcan Materials Company
Spruce Pine Quarry — — Map (db m209890) HM
On Sutton Avenue just east of Cherry Street, on the right when traveling east.
You Have Arrived
The Swannanoa River Valley was known as "Grey Eagle" in the time when the Cherokee and Catawba people lived here. By the late 1800s, surveyors had deemed the neighboring Black Mountains range the highest in the Eastern . . . — — Map (db m209919) HM
At the height of rail travel, as many as 10 trains a day stopped at Black Mountain.
Horse-drawn buggies and, later, motor car taxis would line up to wait for disembarking passengers to take them to one of the many boarding houses, hotels, and . . . — — Map (db m179640) HM
Tectonic events beginning over 1 billion years ago influenced the
type and structure of rock that formed, guiding where mountains,
valleys, streams, and rivers developed. Take a look at the first rock in
our garden, which was mined right here in . . . — — Map (db m209886) HM
On Sutton Avenue at Cherry Street, on the right when traveling east on Sutton Avenue.
"My father lived and breathed Southern Railways. He would take us to the Black Mountain Train Depot and the Swannanoa Tunnel to watch the trains go by. I remember him saying, "I've walked track through these tunnels many a day."
Leslie Allen . . . — — Map (db m176984) HM
Earlier Gap Biotite Gneiss
Mesoproterozoic
1 to 1.6 billion years old
Asheville, Buncombe County
Thanks to Hedrick Industries
North Buncombe Quarry — — Map (db m209887) HM
On Sutton Avenue, on the left when traveling west.
This community was incorporated n March 4, 1893 as the town of Black Mountain with its limits measuring one mile from this point. In 1993, the town's Centennial Commission dedicated this monument to the following first century families.
Marcus . . . — — Map (db m209915) HM
On Sutton Avenue at Cherry Street, on the left when traveling west on Sutton Avenue.
Across the street from the depot, passengers could grab a last-minute souvenir or soda at the local drug store, dine at the New York Café, or rent a room above the Star Café, which advertised, "Locks on All Doors."
Train travel was the primary . . . — — Map (db m176971) HM
Ashe Metamorphic Suite
Neoproterozoic - Cambrian
1,000 to 488 million years old
Black Mountain, Buncombe County
Thanks to Hedrick Industries
Grove Stone & Sand — — Map (db m209889) HM
Henderson Gneiss
Cambrian
542 to 488 million years old
Henderson, Henderson County
Thanks to Vulcan Materials Company
Hendersonville Quarry — — Map (db m209891) HM
Spruce Pine Pegamatitic
Devonian
416 to 359 million years old
Spruce Pine, Mitchell County
Thanks to The Quartz Corp
Spruce Pine, NC — — Map (db m209893) HM
On State Highway 9 south of Interstate 40, on the right when traveling south.
Builder who developed tile construction method widely used in vaults & domes. Designed vaulted ceilings at Biltmore in 1894. Lived 1 mile SE. — — Map (db m203542) HM
Black Mountain's original depot was rebuilt in 1898 and rebuilt again, for the final time in 1909.
This depot still stands here today and conformed to plans from the Southern Railway's Washington office, which mandated two waiting rooms, one . . . — — Map (db m176985) HM
In an effort to save money, the track to Black Mountain was laid by convicts leased from the state. It cost 30 cents per day to house an inmate, whereas a free laborer made about $1.00 a day.
More than 500 convicts at a time, primarily . . . — — Map (db m179638) HM
Prior to the coming of the railroad, Black Mountain was known as Grey Eagle, and its development centered around the stagecoach route through the valley (now State Street).
Once the railroad established a station in 1880 at this location, the . . . — — Map (db m179639) HM
On Sutton Avenue at Cherry Street, on the right when traveling east on Sutton Avenue.
Celebrating 25 Years of Service to the Community April 27, 1976 to April 27, 2001
Dedicated to the efforts of the original members of the Old Depot Association who were instrumental in saving The Old Depot from destruction. — — Map (db m176977) HM
Connecting Black Mountain to the growing network of railways across the nation proved to be a nearly impossible task.
Stalled by the Civil War, embezzlement, and -finally- by the extremely steep grade between Old Fort, at the foot of the Blue . . . — — Map (db m179637) HM
