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HISTORIC PRESERVATION
SECTION
Multiple Property Documentation Form: Section E
Ashe County Historic Architectural Survey
Introduction
Dr. Elisha Mitchell, for whom Mount Mitchell, the state’s highest peak, is named, visited
Ashe County and much of western North Carolina during the early nineteenth century. At times
derogatory and at other times glowing, Mitchell's diary of his visit to Ashe County in 1828 tells
much about the character of the place. From his vantage point atop Mount Jefferson, Mitchell
exclaimed:
Nearly the whole county of Ashe lay at our feet, the
Merryanders of the river could be traced as on a map.
Some of the plantation in view also presented a noble
appearance, but oh, what an ocean of mountains. 1
Mitchell's description still has meaning for the Ashe County of today. The place is
organized by its geography of mountains and the winding routes of the New River and its many
tributaries. Formed in 1799, the county seat of Jefferson and the outlying community of North
Fork thrived during the nineteenth century, but were superseded by the growth of the railroad
town of West Jefferson after the completion of Virginia-Carolina Railroad in 1915.
The early settlers were farmers and agrarian life dominated the county well into the
twentieth century. Even today the county is rural with the modest farm complex from the late
nineteenth or early twentieth century being the most numerous property type. These farms were
served by decentralized communities with general stores, post offices, schools, and churches.
Many examples of each of these building types are still found in the county.
Once described as a “Lost Province” because of its remoteness, the county was never cut
off or isolated from trade. Although difficult transportation routes are part of the county's history,
there were thriving stores and businesses by the 1 830-1850 period and the Ore Knob Copper
Mine flourishing during the 1870s. The timber industry boomed during the 1915-1930 period
after the construction of the Virginia-Carolina Railroad into the county in 1914. Many of these
enterprises are illustrated by the county's extant historic buildings.
An “Ocean of Mountains”: the Topography, Geography, Prehistory,
and Settlement of Ashe County through 1860
Topography and Geography
The landscape of western North Carolina has inspired artisans, naturalists, tourism
promoters, and residents alike with its rolling hills, clear rivers and streams, and endless
mountains. The complex geology of western North Carolina also helped define settlement
patterns and the culture of this mountainous region. The distinct mountains, ridges, and valleys
are part of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain that runs diagonally from Alabama to eastern
Canada. In western North Carolina, this chain consists of parallel ranges. The Great Smokey
1 Elisha Mitchell, Diary of a Geological Tour by Dr. Elisha Mitchell in 1827 and 1828 with Introduction and
Notes by Dr.
Kemp P. Battle. LL.D.. (Chapel Hill: James Sprunt Historical Monograph No. 6, by the University
of North Carolina, 1905), accessed via New River Valley Notes website.
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