Thomas Wolfe
Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
Thomas Wolfe House has been designated a Registered National Historic Landmark under the provisions of the Historic Sites Act of August 21, 1935 this site possesses exceptional value in commemorating or illustrating the history of the United States
Erected by Department of the Interior National Park Service
The Story
This Asheville house is the boyhood home immortalized as the boardinghouse in Thomas Wolfe's autobiographical novel Look Homeward, Angel. So closely did Wolfe draw on the people and rooms of his real Blue Ridge upbringing that the book caused a local uproar upon publication. Recognized as a National Historic Landmark, the house preserves the world that shaped one of America's most distinctive literary voices.
Why it matters
It is a rare case where a single home is both a preserved historic site and the living setting of a landmark American novel.
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Related people
- · Thomas Wolfe
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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