Tour Asheville’s first mansion and oldest surviving structure, now restored as a history museum. Take a fascinating, one-hour guided tour that can often be personalized to the your interests.

Built by one of antebellum North Carolina’s most influential citizens, this National Register property was once the home of mayors, a Confederate Major, and friends of the Vanderbilts at nearby Biltmore Estate.

In addition to restored period rooms spanning 1840 through 1900, the Museum also features special history exhibits in its Gallery Rooms. Be sure to visit for our acclaimed Victorian Christmas Celebration and other seasonal events.

Now undergoing restoration, the Museum’s grounds are an Official Treasured Tree Preserve and were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. in 1900. The Museum’s grounds are also home to the Buncombe County Civil War Memorial.

The four-story mansion was built on a plantation south of Asheville approximately 20 years before the Civil War. Constructed on a hill’s summit, ringed by picturesque mountains, the manse was constructed by slave labor. During a time when most people lived in log cabins, the imposing structure was composed of rare brick.

Today known as The Smith-McDowell House, it is the oldest surviving house in Asheville and the oldest brick house in Buncombe County, North Carolina.

Open Thursday through Saturday:
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Adult admission is $7/person, and $10/person for the Christmas season.