About Our Charming Inn Filled With Rich History
This nearly 200-year-old building has been well maintained, updated, and features carefully chosen decor and attention to detail.
Originally designed as a stagecoach stop, the inn was built circa 1830 and underwent several transformations for more than 100 years. At the turn of the 20th century, it operated as the Franklin Humanitarian Home (a TB sanatorium) for several years.
Notably, in 1940, as the famed Black Mountain College approached its zenith, the property was purchased by Mary Aleshire and Daisey Erb. Mrs. Aleshire was the manager of the Norton Art Gallery in Palm Beach, Florida, and she artfully restored and updated the historic property. In 1942, the house was opened as the Oak Knoll Art Studio, which served primarily as a summer artist's retreat for Mrs. Aleshire and her many famous guests; Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Norman Rockwell, Helen Keller, Anne Sullivan, and Joan Sutherland, among them.
In 1965, wishing to preserve the house and prevent commercial development, the Aleshire's sold the house to their caretaker Jim Reid.
The house was purchased again in 1989 and lovingly restored by its current owners, who transformed it into the Black Mountain Inn. Since then, we have been privileged to return this wonderful inn to the tradition of welcoming guests to the magnificent Blue Ridge Mountains.
