I recently shared our day of going to my daughter’s marimba concert, a street concert held right in the middle of downtown Asheville at Pack Square. The ‘Square’ is a special place because it actually belongs to the people of Asheville as it was given to the people by George Willis Pack in 1900 with these words in the deed: “…the County will dedicate to the public forever to be used for the purposes of a public square.” Though a Long Island native, he lived in Asheville for twenty years and was instrumental in many facets of this area’s development, much of it as a philanthropist. As for me, the greatest gift he gave the city was the creation of the Asheville Public Library, housed in a building he owned which was originally a bank. Up till that time, the library had moved from location to location until the collections were consolidated in their new home in 1899, which many years later became my home away from home as I related in an earlier post here.
In front of Pack Memorial Library, standing beside a monument dedicated to Thomas Wolfe’s ‘Look Homeward Angel’.
In the center of the ‘Square’ is the Zebulon Baird Vance Monument. Vance was a three-term governor of North Carolina, later a senator, and Pack himself donated the seed money for the building of the monument and helped in the campaign to raise the additional funds to complete it, much to the amazement of many, for Pack and Vane were of different political persuasions. But both men shared a deep empathy for their fellow man and Pack was impressed by many of Vance’s speeches and statements concerning tolerance.
The tall obelisk in the center is the Vance Monument.
The Pack Square Park covers an area of 6.5 acres and hosts many events other than street performances and is truly the central hub of Asheville. And just a couple of blocks away is another piece of the city’s history: The Thomas Wolfe Memorial, a National Historic Landmark and a North Carolina Historic Site. Originally a boardinghouse owned by his mother called Old Kentucky Home, he grew up there and he made it famous in his first novel, Look Homeward Angel, in which the boardinghouse was called Dixieland, located in the city of Altamont. The angel in the title refers to a carved work his dad created in his tombstone shop which was located in the Pack Square area, and I’ve seen the original angel located in a graveyard near the factory where I work.
Old Kentucky Home, the Thomas Wolfe Memorial.
Being the reader I am, ironically, it took me over fifty years to read Look Homeward Angel, made famous by a hometown author. And I’ve also been remiss in visiting the boardinghouse where he grew up even though it almost right in my backyard. But one place I have visited even closer to my backyard is Riverside Cemetery where not only is Wolfe buried but also Zebulon Vance, and many other historic Asheville natives. I’m a history lover and I’ve been surrounded by it my entire life yet I’ve taken it for granted. Therefore, next on my to-do list is to reread Look Homeward Angel and then make a visit to Old Kentucky Home to get in touch with the spirit of one who speaks my language, the written word. And who knows? Maybe I’ll be inspired and become the next famous native son author of Asheville. Yeah, right, dream on. But hey! Dreams are free.
Visiting Asheville is definitley on my bucket list! I would love to explore some of that history and eat some amazing southern food.
I would love to visit Asheville. My daughter has been writing and editing a story she started 5 years ago, and her town is sort of based on Asheville. She’s only done internet research. I think we need to make the trip! Thanks for sharing the history here.
Hi Harry, my daughter could definitely learn from reading your posts. She loves historical stuff like this.
We love Asheville. We’ve been there a couple of times, and it’s gorgeous. There’s also so much to see there.
I love the fact that he gave the Square to the town to be used by the townspeople! Where we live, there are houses being built nonstop. I would love it if our town had a dedicated space where no development could happen, but the community could use it just for gatherings or picniking or whatever!
Asheville looks like a great place to visit. I will see if I can get a copy of that book.
I need to explore and visit more of the USA. I want to go to this Asheville place!
What a really neat place. Looks peaceful and relaxing way to spend some time. I wish there was a place like that in my area.
Asheville is beautiful! I didn’t spend much time there, we just popped in for a little while visiting friends in East Tennessee, but I would love to go back. Thanks for the great photos to inspire me even more.
We’ve always loved visiting Asheville! My daughter and her boyfriend were in Asheville last weekend visiting Biltmore. There’s always so much to do and see (and eat!).
sounds like a great place! I love reading posts like this, I get to travel through the lens! Thanks for sharing!
I have never heard of or been to Asheville before. It sounds and looks like a lovely place filled with tons of history!
I didn’t realize this town had so much history to it. I need to make a point of visiting. It’s within driving distance after all.
We are in Tennessee, so Asheville is not too far from us. What a gorgeous place to take the family for the weekend.
Asheville looks like an amazing place to live and a great place to visit. Thank you for sharing.
I love towns with history. Great post and now I am adding Asheville to my lis tot places to visit!!
What a beautiful town. As long as the square belongs to the people there will always be a place to gather and socialize.
I love learning about the history of older American towns. So much to learn from them. Asherville looks like a beautiful and charming town. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing this experience with us. I love to look at historical monuments and buildings. I think that having them around is a great reminder of where we’ve come from.
I’ve been through Asheville but didn’t have the pleasure of stopping! We frequent North Carolina, for family. I’m going to need to stop in Asheville next time!
I had never heard of Asheville until your posts. Looks like a nice little place to visit. I love history so finding out about history is a lot of fun for me while visiting places!
This looks like a fun place to visit. I think our whole family would love it. My daughter loves historical places and I like to get away from the norm every once in a while.
I’d love to take a long road trip through the South. There’s just so much history there.
I lived in North Carolina for 8 years. I got to drive through Ashville a few times but I didn’t get to stop for a tour. It looks like a beautiful city.
Wow! This sounds like a great place. I would love to visit!
This is an an awesome post and what a gorgeous place indeed. I love the history of places which has always been interesting to me. I have never been to Asheville before but may have to go just to see these place and learn the history. Thanks for sharing.
I am a big history buff, Ashville looks like a great spot to check out. So rich in historical content and looks very tourist friendly!
It’s so neat to learn about other places. I had never heard of Asheville before now!
I fell in love with Asheville when I met a CVB rep at a meeting planners gathering a few months back. Seems like the perfect place to host functions and just unwind whiling learning a little history.
Asheville looks like a beautiful place with definitely lots of history! I love visiting towns like that!
Asheville looks beautiful! It must be lovely to visit and I love all the history!
This sounds like a place the whole family will enjoy visiting. We all love historical places.
THis is interesting I had no idea there was a place like this in NC, looks like a good place to visit this summer.