Buncombe Turnpike
Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
Buncombe Turnpike. Opened up western N.C. Built, 1824-28; the 75-mi. long route from S.C. line to Tenn. line, used by settlers & livestock drovers, passed nearby.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
Built between 1824 and 1828, the Buncombe Turnpike ran some 75 miles from the South Carolina line to the Tennessee line, threading the French Broad valley and opening the isolated mountains of western North Carolina to the outside world. Settlers, travelers, and above all livestock drovers herding hogs and cattle to market crowded the road each fall. It became the region's commercial lifeline for a generation.
Why it matters
The turnpike transformed western North Carolina from a frontier backwater into a link in a broader southern economy, showing how a single road could reshape a region's fortunes.
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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