When Vanderbilt first visited Asheville
in 1888, eight years after the Western North
Carolina Railroad had penetrated the
rugged mountains into Asheville, the town
was booming. Both the city and the surrounding
area had a national reputation as
a resort locale with the most healthful climate
in the country. The region, with its
picturesque mountain scenery, hot springs,
and grand hotels boasting the latest in modern
conveniences and recreational amenities,
was widely promoted in large cities in
both the North and the South. Newspaper
advertisements, magazine articles, and
other publications promoted Asheville and
western North Carolina with appealing slogans
like “Health-seeker’s Paradise,” “Poet’s
Dream,” and “Madonna in the Mountains,”
and “The Land of the Sky”—one that has
endured to this day.