Creating the Land of the Sky: Tourism and Society in Western North Carolina

258 Pages·2010·1.78 MB·English

by  Major Richard D. Starnes

Creating the Land of the Sky

Creating the Land of the Sky
Tourism and Society in Western North Carolina
RICHARD D. STARNES
the university of alabama press : tuscaloosa
Copyright © 2005
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0380
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Typeface: ACaslon
∞
The paper on which this book is printed meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Science—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
ISBN 978-0-8173-5604-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8173-8302-2 (electronic)
A previous edition of this book has been catalogued by the Library of Congress.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Starnes, Richard D., 1970–
Creating the land of the sky : tourism and society in western North Carolina / Richard D.
Starnes.
p. cm. — (The modern South)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8173-1462-8 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Tourism—North Carolina—History. 2. Tourism—Social aspects—North Carolina—
History. 3. Mountain life—North Carolina—History. 4. North Carolina—Social life and
customs. 5. North Carolina—Social conditions. 6. North Carolina—Economic conditions.
I. Title. II. Series.
G155.U6S66 2005
338.4´791756—dc22
2004029036
For Barbara, Emily, and Nathan

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
1. Sanitariums, Railroads, and the New South 9
2. Building Image and Infrastructure: Tourism, Development, and
Regional Identity, 1875–1930 35
3. Metropolis of the Land of the Sky: Tourism and Urban
Development in Asheville, North Carolina, 1880–1931 64
4. “The Fellowship of Kindred Minds Is like to That Above”:
Religious Tourism in God’s Country 92
5. National Parks, Ski Resorts, and Second Homes: Mountain
Tourism Development after 1930 117
6. Life, Labor, and Culture in the Land of the Sky 148
Epilogue 184
Notes 193
Bibliographic Essay 225
Index 233

Illustrations
Figures
1. Map of western North Carolina 3
2. Hot Springs Hotel 11
3. White Sulphur Springs Hotel 20
4. Battery Park Hotel 30
5. Swannanoa 45
6. Round Knob Hotel 46
7. “Resting” 46
8. “The Old Field Cabin” 46
9. “Stripes but No Stars” 47
10. Construction at the Grove Park Inn, 1913 51
11. Cross overlooking Lake Junaluska 109
12. Mountaineer Inn, Asheville, North Carolina 149
13. Biltmore weavers produce cloth for the tourist market 154
14. A Biltmore weaver demonstrates his craft to visitors 155
15. White mountaineer musicians and Cherokee “chiefs” 169
Tables
1. Asheville City Population, 1870–1930 66
2. Charges for Selected Crimes in the City of Asheville, 1916 78