The mountains and foothills of North Carolina boast some of the richest collections of historic resources in North America. Home to the ancient Cherokee civilization, the mountains were explored by the Spanish in the 1500s and have seen waves of Euro-American settlers since that time, most notably the Scots-Irish.

The North Carolina mountains saw some of the fiercest guerilla fighting during the Civil War. Railroads came to the mountains by 1880 and soon after began to bring thousands of visitors in search of better health, inspiration, and renewal. One of those visitors, George Vanderbilt, elected to build his home in Asheville—the Biltmore Estate—which became the largest private residence in America. Today, visitors continue to come to the mountains for inspiration and renewal, but they also aim to deepen their understanding of our shared history and cultural heritage.

The rich and complex history of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area is brought to life in hundreds of historic sites, dozens of museums, and several historic trails that wind across the region.