Montford Area Historic District
Encyclopedia
The Montford Area Historic District is a mainly residential neighborhood in Asheville
, North Carolina
that is included in the National Register of Historic Places
.
the origin of the name Montford is unknown. In 1893 Montford was incorporated as an autonomous village to the north of Asheville. This was a tiny community of about 50 people, mainly local businessman and their families.
In 1889 the Asheville Loan, Construction, and Improvement Company, began to develop the neighborhood. The firm purchased and subdivided tracts of undeveloped land north of the Battery Park and sold lots. The enterprise languished until it was taken over by George Willis Pack
, a lumber tycoon from the midwest who moved to Asheville in 1885. He is best know today as a philanthropist and benefactor of the Asheville Library and principal public square. He also donated land for Montford Park on the southern end of Montford Avenue.
In 1905 the village of Montford was annexed to the city, and though a few structures survived from the original village, Montford lost its autonomous identity. Today, Montford is bounded by U.S. Routes 19/23, I-240, and Broadway.
Most of the district's 600 buildings—primarily residences—were constructed between 1890 and 1920 . The people who bought lots and built in the Montford area in its building prime were for the most part middle class individuals who carried out the day-to-day activities of the city--businessman, lawyers, doctors, and a few architects. Several residents found immortality in Thomas Wolfe
's autobiographical Look Homeward, Angel
. Early city directories indicate a mixed population of working class citizens, and highly paid professionals, whites and African-Americans.
Though predominantly single family homes, land use in Montford has been mixed since the earliest days of development. The old Highland Hospital, located off the northern end of Montford Avenue, was the scene of a deadly fire in 1948, among the victims was Zelda Fitzgerald
, wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald
.
The homes in the neighborhood represent an amalgam of architectural styles including Victorian
, Queen Anne, Arts and Crafts
, Neoclassical
, and Colonial Revival. Also common are homes built to resemble castles. The neighborhood was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
In 1977, much of the Montford neighborhood was designated as a Historic District and listed in the National Register of Historic Places
. In 1981 the Asheville City Council designated the Montford Historic District a local historic district, as well.
Today the Montford community is home to several homes and businesses including many bed and breakfasts.
" neighborhood. While some of these architectural features do abound in Montford, the term does not do full justice to the neighborhood's complex overall character, which is that of a late and post-Victorian suburb. The architects and builders of Montford were strongly influenced by a variety of progressive styles and design ideas that were emerging nationally in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
The neighborhood mirrors in subtle ways Asheville's cosmopolitan character at the turn of the century. Artistic influences in the town, including details from national architectural trendsetters like Bruce Price
, Bernard Maybeck
, Frank Lloyd Wright
, and others exist in Montford houses, but were relatively unknown in other parts of the state.
The Rankin House at 192 Elizabeth Street is Montford's oldest home, a Greek Revival style residence built around 1846 with Italianate embellishments.
When Montford's development began full force in 1889, the dominant building fashion around the country was what is generally called the Queen Anne style. This was a building mode with many variations, but one generally characterized by irregular, complex massing and rooflines, corner turrets or towers, a mixture of surface textures, and a lavish use of ornamental devices.
The appearance of English architect Richard Sharp Smith
to Asheville in the late nineteenth century profoundly affected the city's subsequent architectural development. Best known as supervising architect for the Biltmore House, Smith opened an office afterwards and a few homes in Montford can be directly traced to him. His favorite motifs were gambrel roofs, hipped gables, pebbledash or stucco
walls, heavy porch brackets and simple Colonial Revival details.
The use of shingles, stone, stucco, earth colors and informal composition became an established tradition in Montford.
Among the most numerous and most important houses in the district are those executed in the Shingle style. This prevalence reflects both the prosperity of the town and the presence of architects and clients acquainted with this fashionable trend.
A variety of houses in Montford are in the Colonial Revival style, which became popular in the first few decades of the twentieth century. The earliest examples of this style have an informal quality, and are identified chiefly through the use of the gambrel roof and shingle wall coverings.
The Montford Hills sub-division of Montford, developed in the mid to late 1920s, incorporates designs found in Montford's original homes.
studied piano with Carroll's wife. In 1939, Carroll gave the hospital to Duke University
's Neuropsychiatric Department.
The hospital is perhaps best known for a 1948 fire in which Zelda Fitzgerald
, the wife of The Great Gatsby
author F. Scott Fitzgerald
, perished along with eight other patients. Duke sold the property in the 1980s, and it is now the home office for Genova Diagnostics and part of the Asheville Historic Trolley Tours.
The district also includes the 87 acres (352,076.8 m²) Riverside Cemetery, established in 1885. Thirteen thousand people are buried in the cemetery. The cemetery is the final resting place of a wide cross-section of prominent Carolinians: authors Thomas Wolfe
and William Sydney Porter (better known by his pseudonym O. Henry
); former North Carolina governor and Senator Zebulon Baird Vance
; Senator Jeter Connelly Pritchard
; Governor Locke Craig; Confederate
generals Robert B. Vance
, James Green Martin
and Thomas Lanier Clingman
; and George Masa
, a photographer known for documenting the Blue Ridge Mountains
.
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
that is included in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
History
According to the National Park ServiceNational Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
the origin of the name Montford is unknown. In 1893 Montford was incorporated as an autonomous village to the north of Asheville. This was a tiny community of about 50 people, mainly local businessman and their families.
In 1889 the Asheville Loan, Construction, and Improvement Company, began to develop the neighborhood. The firm purchased and subdivided tracts of undeveloped land north of the Battery Park and sold lots. The enterprise languished until it was taken over by George Willis Pack
George Willis Pack
George Willis Pack was a second-generation timberman in Michigan's Lower Peninsula. His father, George Pack had established two sawmills outside of Lexington, Michigan, in a place known as Pack's Mills. After years of working with his father, in 1860 George Willis Pack, together with John L...
, a lumber tycoon from the midwest who moved to Asheville in 1885. He is best know today as a philanthropist and benefactor of the Asheville Library and principal public square. He also donated land for Montford Park on the southern end of Montford Avenue.
In 1905 the village of Montford was annexed to the city, and though a few structures survived from the original village, Montford lost its autonomous identity. Today, Montford is bounded by U.S. Routes 19/23, I-240, and Broadway.
Most of the district's 600 buildings—primarily residences—were constructed between 1890 and 1920 . The people who bought lots and built in the Montford area in its building prime were for the most part middle class individuals who carried out the day-to-day activities of the city--businessman, lawyers, doctors, and a few architects. Several residents found immortality in Thomas Wolfe
Thomas Wolfe
Thomas Clayton Wolfe was a major American novelist of the early 20th century.Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels, plus many short stories, dramatic works and novellas. He is known for mixing highly original, poetic, rhapsodic, and impressionistic prose with autobiographical writing...
's autobiographical Look Homeward, Angel
Look Homeward, Angel
Look Homeward, Angel: A Story of the Buried Life is a 1929 novel by Thomas Wolfe. It is Wolfe's first novel, and is considered a highly autobiographical American Bildungsroman. The character of Eugene Gant is generally believed to be a depiction of Wolfe himself. The novel covers the span of time...
. Early city directories indicate a mixed population of working class citizens, and highly paid professionals, whites and African-Americans.
Though predominantly single family homes, land use in Montford has been mixed since the earliest days of development. The old Highland Hospital, located off the northern end of Montford Avenue, was the scene of a deadly fire in 1948, among the victims was Zelda Fitzgerald
Zelda Fitzgerald
Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald , born Zelda Sayre in Montgomery, Alabama, was an American novelist and the wife of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. She was an icon of the 1920s—dubbed by her husband "the first American Flapper"...
, wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
.
The homes in the neighborhood represent an amalgam of architectural styles including Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
, Queen Anne, Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
, Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
, and Colonial Revival. Also common are homes built to resemble castles. The neighborhood was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
In 1977, much of the Montford neighborhood was designated as a Historic District and listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. In 1981 the Asheville City Council designated the Montford Historic District a local historic district, as well.
Today the Montford community is home to several homes and businesses including many bed and breakfasts.
Architecture
Montford is popularly called a "VictorianVictorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
" neighborhood. While some of these architectural features do abound in Montford, the term does not do full justice to the neighborhood's complex overall character, which is that of a late and post-Victorian suburb. The architects and builders of Montford were strongly influenced by a variety of progressive styles and design ideas that were emerging nationally in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
The neighborhood mirrors in subtle ways Asheville's cosmopolitan character at the turn of the century. Artistic influences in the town, including details from national architectural trendsetters like Bruce Price
Bruce Price
Bruce Price was the American architect of many of the Canadian Pacific Railway's Château-type stations and hotels...
, Bernard Maybeck
Bernard Maybeck
Bernard Ralph Maybeck was a architect in the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 20th century. He was a professor at University of California, Berkeley...
, Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
, and others exist in Montford houses, but were relatively unknown in other parts of the state.
The Rankin House at 192 Elizabeth Street is Montford's oldest home, a Greek Revival style residence built around 1846 with Italianate embellishments.
When Montford's development began full force in 1889, the dominant building fashion around the country was what is generally called the Queen Anne style. This was a building mode with many variations, but one generally characterized by irregular, complex massing and rooflines, corner turrets or towers, a mixture of surface textures, and a lavish use of ornamental devices.
The appearance of English architect Richard Sharp Smith
Richard Sharp Smith
Richard Sharp Smith was an English then American architect. He relocated to the United States in 1882. He became "resident architect" of the Biltmore estate after the 1895 death of architect Richard Morris Hunt....
to Asheville in the late nineteenth century profoundly affected the city's subsequent architectural development. Best known as supervising architect for the Biltmore House, Smith opened an office afterwards and a few homes in Montford can be directly traced to him. His favorite motifs were gambrel roofs, hipped gables, pebbledash or stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
walls, heavy porch brackets and simple Colonial Revival details.
The use of shingles, stone, stucco, earth colors and informal composition became an established tradition in Montford.
Among the most numerous and most important houses in the district are those executed in the Shingle style. This prevalence reflects both the prosperity of the town and the presence of architects and clients acquainted with this fashionable trend.
A variety of houses in Montford are in the Colonial Revival style, which became popular in the first few decades of the twentieth century. The earliest examples of this style have an informal quality, and are identified chiefly through the use of the gambrel roof and shingle wall coverings.
The Montford Hills sub-division of Montford, developed in the mid to late 1920s, incorporates designs found in Montford's original homes.
Highland Hospital
In addition to residential buildings, the historic Highland Hospital is located in Montford. The historic hospital, originally "Dr. Carroll's Sanitorium" after Asheville psychiatrist Robert S. Carroll, located in Montford in 1909 and was renamed Highland Hospital in 1912. The campus of Highland Hospital included Dr. Carroll's home, where jazz singer Nina SimoneNina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
studied piano with Carroll's wife. In 1939, Carroll gave the hospital to Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
's Neuropsychiatric Department.
The hospital is perhaps best known for a 1948 fire in which Zelda Fitzgerald
Zelda Fitzgerald
Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald , born Zelda Sayre in Montgomery, Alabama, was an American novelist and the wife of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. She was an icon of the 1920s—dubbed by her husband "the first American Flapper"...
, the wife of The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922....
author F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
, perished along with eight other patients. Duke sold the property in the 1980s, and it is now the home office for Genova Diagnostics and part of the Asheville Historic Trolley Tours.
Riverside Cemetery
Thomas Wolfe
Thomas Clayton Wolfe was a major American novelist of the early 20th century.Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels, plus many short stories, dramatic works and novellas. He is known for mixing highly original, poetic, rhapsodic, and impressionistic prose with autobiographical writing...
and William Sydney Porter (better known by his pseudonym O. Henry
O. Henry
O. Henry was the pen name of the American writer William Sydney Porter . O. Henry's short stories are well known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings.-Early life:...
); former North Carolina governor and Senator Zebulon Baird Vance
Zebulon Baird Vance
Zebulon Baird Vance was a Confederate military officer in the American Civil War, the 37th and 43rd Governor of North Carolina, and U.S. Senator...
; Senator Jeter Connelly Pritchard
Jeter Connelly Pritchard
Jeter Connelly Pritchard was a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of North Carolina between 1895 and 1903. He was the only Republican to represent a southern state in the United States Senate during that time....
; Governor Locke Craig; Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
generals Robert B. Vance
Robert B. Vance
Robert Brank Vance , nephew of the earlier Congressman Robert Brank Vance and brother of Zebulon Baird Vance, was a North Carolina Democratic politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for six terms . He was chairman of the United States House Committee on Patents...
, James Green Martin
James Green Martin
James Green Martin was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
and Thomas Lanier Clingman
Thomas Lanier Clingman
Thomas Lanier Clingman , known as the "Prince of Politicians," was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1843 to 1845 and from 1847 to 1858, and U.S. senator from the state of North Carolina between 1858 and 1861...
; and George Masa
George Masa
George Masa , born Masahara Izuka, in Osaka, Japan, was a businessman and professional large format photographer.-Creating a new life in America:Masa arrived in the United States in 1901....
, a photographer known for documenting the Blue Ridge Mountains
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
.