The mountains in and around Asheville, North Carolina, according to Deanne, are a spiritual vortex with a lot of light and crystalline energy. The huge amounts of quartz in the Blue Ridge Mountains are well-known. Quartz is a material that combines science and spirituality.
Before You Continue...
Do you know what is your soul number? Take this quick quiz to find out! Get a personalized numerology report, and discover how you can unlock your fullest spiritual potential. Start the quiz now!
Asheville, like Sedona, Arizona, is thought to be a spiritual vortex hub where ancient energy channels connect, according to New Agers. DeAnne Hampton's excursions in the mountains and woods outside of Asheville blend her healing and intuition skills with the energy of Asheville to create customized spiritual adventures. With options ranging from two-hour sessions to multi-day packages, each of her six guided tours has a unique energy signature.
What is Asheville NC known for?
Asheville, North Carolina is a mountain town in the western part of the state. Asheville is best known for the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Biltmore Estate. It also has a thriving craft beer culture.
Check out the art scene and architecture while you're there, and spend an afternoon lounging in Pack Square Park. What's a historic town without a ghost tour, right?
I consider myself extremely fortunate to reside within two hours of Asheville. With so much to do, you'll be wondering how you'll fit it all in during your visit!
Why is Asheville important?
Asheville, North Carolina is a city in Buncombe County. It is the county seat as well as Western North Carolina's major metropolis and business center. The population is estimated to be around 87,000 people. It also houses the US National Climatic Data Center, the world's largest weather data archive.
Until the Spanish explorer de Soto arrived in the area in the mid 1500s, the land on which Asheville now stands was part of the Cherokee Nation.
Colonel Samuel Davidson arrived in the area in 1784, and the town of Asheville was born. The US Census of 1790 counted 1,000 persons in this region, but Native Americans were not included. Buncombe was established as an official county in 1792, and the county seat was renamed “Asheville” in 1793 after North Carolina Governor Samuel Ashe.
By 1861, the population had risen to around 2,500 people, and because the town was located in the mountains, there were few people who held slaves.
The Confederate States Army received troops from the area, as well as a smaller number from the Union Army.
There had been a “In April 1865, the “Battle of Asheville” was fought. The Union forces were expected to capture Asheville if they could do so without suffering too many casualties. They ran into opposition and withdrew into Tennessee. Union General Stoneman did conquer Asheville later that month.
The first railroad between Salisbury and Asheville was completed in 1880. This facilitated industrial development, with textile and wood factories springing up as a result.
Asheville also had the first electric street railway lines in the state of North Carolina. They were in service from 1889 until 1934, when they were replaced by buses.
The Biltmore House was erected in 1895, and Asheville was the third largest city in North Carolina by the early 1900s. It became one of the most important Art Deco architectural centers in the world, second only to Miami Beach, Florida.
Except for the Civic Center, all of the structures north of College Street to I-240 were demolished in the early 1980s by a referendum.
The downtown area was to be revitalized with the construction of a new mall.
Thankfully, the referendum was defeated, or Asheville would have lost a lot of its quirkiness forever.
Many things make Asheville famous around the country. It was dubbed “the” by Rolling Stone magazine “In the year 2000, it was dubbed “Freak Capital of the United States.” CBS News coined the phrase “In 1996, he published “A New Age Mecca.” Many magazines have rated it as a great place to live for a variety of reasons during the last 20 years. It is considered by some to be “Because of the hundreds of microbreweries scattered across the city, it is known as “Beer City USA.” The two largest breweries in the area are New Belgium Brewing Company and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. Thousands of visitors visit Asheville solely to partake in the beer scene.
People come for the outdoors as well as the beer and the Biltmore House and Gardens.
Some consider it the United States' whitewater capital.
Due to the abundance of rugged landscape and the Pisgah National Forest, motorcycles, cycling, and hiking are particularly popular.
The Blue Ridge Parkway runs right through Asheville's south end.
It is regarded as the most beautiful noncommercial road in the Eastern United States.
The month of October is the busiest for leaf tourists, with thousands flocking to take in the sights.
What celebrities live in Asheville?
Asheville's magnificent mountain isolation has long enticed a wide range of interesting people to live and visit, including well-known artists and musicians. It's also the birthplace of one of America's most well-known authors and singers.
Celebrity Sightings in Asheville
The following celebrities have been spotted in Asheville in recent years, enjoying all that the Blue Ridge Mountains have to offer.
- Former basketball superstars Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing are now linked with the Charlotte Hornets.
- Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson, Ken Marino, Devin Ratray, and Lorne Michaels make up the Masterminds cast.
- Minka Kelly, Noah Wylie, Haley Joel Osment, and Jeremy Irvine are among the cast members of The World Made Straight.
- Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, and Amandla Stenburg star in The Hunger Games.
Asheville Celebrity Connections
Warren Haynes is a living legend in our era. He is the current lead singer and lyricist for Gov't Mule, as well as a long-time member of the Allman Brothers Band and The Dead. For the past 20 years, Asheville has celebrated the holidays in a unique way, with national acts and local talent at the annual Christmas Jam, thanks to Warren Haynes.
Gladys Knight, dubbed the “Empress of Soul,” lives in Fairview, just outside of town. Her R&B and soul music made her famous in the 1960s and 1970s. Gladys earned a lot of fame as an actress in addition to being a Grammy-winning performer.
At his core, Steve Martin is a comic and entertainer. You might recognize him from flicks like It's Complicated and Bowfinger. Steve is also a seasoned Saturday Night Live host. Many moviegoers are unaware that he is also a talented musician who prefers to play the banjo. It's appropriate for a local in the Southern Appalachians. Steve now lives in Brevard.
Asheville is where Luke Combs, a multi-platinum country singer/songwriter, grew up. In 2019, he was nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist. Combs' debut album spent 37 weeks at the top of the Billboard Country albums list in a row. The first five singles from the album all charted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.
Bellamy Young is best known for her role as Millicent “Mellie” Grant in the famous ABC program Scandal. She was born and reared in Asheville before attending Yale University and embarking on a career as an actress.
Harry Anderson is most remembered for his role as the judge in the television series Night Court, which aired from 1984 to 1992, but he began his career as a magician. He relocated to Asheville from New Orleans because of the city's great vibes in a mountain setting. In 2018, he passed away in Asheville.
In his career as a journalist, Bernard Goldberg has received 12 Emmy Awards. He presently works as a correspondent for HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel and as a Fox News analyst.
Roberta Flack was born in Black Mountain and is an outstanding singer and songwriter. Her music is frequently classified as jazz, soul, R&B, or folk. With “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face” in 1973 and “Killing Me Softly With His Song” in 1974, she is the only artist other than U2 to win the Grammy Record of the Year two years in a row.
David Holt has devoted his life to the preservation and performance of classic American music and stories. This four-time Grammy winner is best renowned for his famous banjo abilities, which he employs to convey the spirit of Southern Appalachia. David, a native of Texas, has lived in the Asheville area since the late 1960s and has shared the stage with Doc Watson and other superstars.
The Blake House Inn is Andie MacDowell's childhood vacation house near Arden, North Carolina. She originally rose to prominence as a model in the early 1980s, and then as an actor in 1993, when the film Groundhog Day was released. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Andie lived in Biltmore Forest for several years.
Adam Copeland, aka “Edge,” is a professional WWE wrestler who just relocated to Asheville after a match at (what is now) the Harrah's Cherokee Center convinced him of the city's true worth. Even the most hardened of guys appear to feel at ease in this picturesque mountain village. “I've always admired this town,” he remarked in an interview with the Asheville Citizen-Times. We took a stroll through downtown and got a good sense of what it's like an old-fashioned downtown… We liked the art and thought it was culturally interesting plus we adore mountains and seasons.”
Celebrities in Asheville History
The Biltmore House, America's largest residence, was designed and built by George Vanderbilt. George could have constructed his ideal home anywhere because he was a Vanderbilt heir. After falling in love with the area throughout his visits here, he chose Asheville. To create his dream home, George enlisted the help architects Richard Morris Hunt and Frederick Law Olmsted. On Christmas Eve in 1895, he opened his doors to friends and family, despite the fact that the house was not yet finished. On his 125,000-acre estate, George was constantly entertaining visitors with state-of-the-art lodgings. Today, you may see this architectural marvel by going to Biltmore.
Zelda Fitzgerald lived in Asheville for the last twelve years of her life, seeking shelter from her famously tumultuous relationship with F. Scott Fitzgerald. Zelda, who was recognized for her free spirit and dazzling beauty, died tragically in a hospital fire in 1948, where she was institutionalized. Zelda Fitzgerald's lively vitality continues to flow through the city to this day, as an icon of the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties. You'll hear a little piece of Zelda anywhere people are moved by music, which happens every night in Asheville.
Thomas Wolfe was an early twentieth-century American novelist who was born and raised in Asheville. The Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site, where he grew up, is now a museum that gives visitors an insight into that era. His influence may also be seen at the Harrah's Cherokee Center's Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, which has hosted performers ranging from Phish to Phil Lesh. Wolfe's work was frequently based on his own experiences, with specific references to people from Asheville at the time. The natural scenery of Asheville, along with engaging personalities, created the ideal environment for telling stories that Americans could identify to.
What is the culture in Asheville North Carolina?
Asheville is home to a thriving community of artisans, guilds, galleries, and craft shops dedicated to promoting all forms of art, including classic and modern works by American and Western North Carolina artists in a range of media. Visitors can immerse themselves in our arts culture by visiting one of our prestigious museums, engaging with local artists in their galleries and work spaces, or participating in one of the many hands-on creative workshops available in the area.
Consider the River Arts District's working studios, where you can spend a day or more touring over 200 artists in former industrial and historical buildings along the French Broad River. While there are no set “open hours,” many artists welcome people to observe them work in a range of media, including paint, ceramics, and paper.
The Asheville Art Museum showcases an extraordinary collection of American art, as well as lessons and workshops for all ages, lectures, and performances, through innovative programming. The Center for Craft is a nationwide charity dedicated to advancing the area of craft by providing a public gallery, collaborative coworking space, lecture hall, classrooms, and conference rooms where creative ideas, enterprises, organizations, and projects can incubate and thrive.
What kind of city is Asheville?
-vil) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, that also serves as the county seat. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina and the state's 12th most populous city, located at the junction of the French Broad and Swant tonoa rivers. The city's population was 94,589 in the 2020 United States Census, up from 83,393 in the 2010 census. It is the largest city in the Asheville metropolitan region, which had a population of 424,858 in 2010 and is expected to grow to 469,015 by 2020.
When did Asheville turn hippie?
In the 1860 U.S. Census, Asheville had only 502 residents. By the year 1960, the population had grown to 60,000 people. Now, cue the hippy uprising across the country. It started in San Francisco in the mid-1960s and swiftly spread across the country, including to Asheville.