Flyer Distribution Asheville, NC

Asheville is the largest city in Western North Carolina and one of the state's most populous. It is located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers. Key statistics from the 2020 Census show that Asheville's population has significantly increased over the past decade. This is due to a high level of in-migration into the area, mainly consisting of young people coming to take advantage of lower housing costs and the growing tech and education industries. History of Asheville, NC The city was called Untokiasdiyi before being renamed 'Asheville' by European Americans, meaning 'Where they race,' up until the middle of the 19th century. The first group of European American settlers arrived in 1784. It was in 1792 when Buncombe County officially became a county. In the 1800 US Census, around 107 people were in the county, with 300 enslaved people. In 1797, Morristown was incorporated and renamed "Asheville" after Governor Samuel Ashe. The city contributed a lot of soldiers to the Confederate States Army and Union Army. The 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry captured Asheville in April 1865 and freed many enslaved people. The troops withdrew from the city with the enslaved people in tow and have been credited with more than 300,000 miles of travel during their engagement. On October 2, 1880, the Western North Carolina Railroad was completed in Asheville, making it the first railway to reach the city. In 1934, they were replaced by rail buses that were met with little success. Asheville was considered a smaller city in the 1900s. But it kicked off in the 1920s and quickly became a large city with an increased population, lots of manufacturing and industry, plus a significant university. During his presidency, Rutherford P. Hayes bought a property and allowed one of our nation's most prominent African-American businessmen to develop the land for residential housing. Hayes was involved in building the sanitary district in West Asheville, which became a town. It merged with Asheville in 1917. West Asheville, which became a town. It merged with Asheville in 1917. In July 2020, the Asheville City Council voted to provide reparations for the city's "historic role in slavery, discrimination and denial of basic liberties" for Black residents. City council members unanimously passed a resolution to invest in areas where Black residents must have access to "social, educational, health and economic advancement." In 2020, the city of Asheville started to take steps to remove or change a few Confederate statues that had been in the town for years. One was named Arthur Ashe, who had shared ancestry with an enslaver whose family established the town name. In June 2021, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer and 11 other mayors were able to form Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity (MORE), a coalition of mayors trying to start pilot reparations programs in their cities.