[10][4] Before the arrival of the European Colonists, 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.

In that year, Colonel Samuel Davidson and his family settled in the 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.

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.

On the eve of the Civil War, James W. Patton, son of an Irish immigrant, was the largest enslaver in the county, and had built a luxurious mansion, known as The Henrietta, in Asheville.

[23][24] An engagement was fought later that month at Swannanoa Gap, as part of the larger Stoneman's Raid throughout western North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee.

After the war, he was hired by his former enslaver William W. McDowell to manage the South Asheville Cemetery, a public place for black burials.

[29] 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.

[30] Textile mills were built to process cotton from the region, and other plants were set up to manufacture wood and mica products, foodstuffs, and other commodities.

[47][48] In 1959, the City Council purchased property partially located in neighboring Henderson County for the development of Asheville Regional Airport.

In 2003, Centennial Olympic Park bomber Eric Robert Rudolph was transported to Asheville from Murphy, North Carolina, for arraignment in federal court.

[57] 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.

[60] In September 2024, Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic, record-breaking flooding of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, devastating Asheville and surrounding areas of Western North Carolina.

The full extent of the damage was difficult to gauge in the immediate aftermath due to loss of critical infrastructure, including electrical, cellular telephone, and other communications services.

[62] Buildings and bridges were washed away and landslides cut off access to several major interstates including I-40 and I-26, leaving the area largely isolated from the outside.

[69] 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; Grove Arcade, one of America's first indoor shopping malls;[73] and the Basilica of St. Lawrence.

[98] 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.

[99] 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.

"[102] 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.

Seasonal festivals and numerous nightclubs and performance venues offer opportunities for visitors and locals to attend a wide variety of live entertainment events.

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.

[108] Asheville plays host to The Warren Haynes Christmas Jam, an annual charity event which raises money for Habitat For Humanity, and features notable musicians.

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.

[130][131][132][133] Places of worship in Asheville include the Roman Catholic Basilica of St. Lawrence, the Episcopal Cathedral of All Souls and St. Luke's Church, and the Jewish Congregation Beth Israel.

[145] In 2009, a group of Asheville citizens challenged the legitimacy of Cecil Bothwell's election to the City Council,[146] citing the Constitution of North Carolina, which does not permit atheists to hold public office.

In response to the charge, legal scholars explained that the U.S. Supreme Court held in Torcaso v. Watkins that religious tests for political office are unconstitutional.

[179] Other authors with Asheville ties include Charles Frazier (Cold Mountain), Chicago poet Carl Sandburg (d.1967 in his home in Flat Rock),[180] 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.