Visit the Primary Museum of General Local History in Buncombe County
223 W State St
Black Mountain
NC
March – December: Wed-Sat, 10:00am-5:00pm
January – February: Saturday, 10:00am-5:00pm
ADMISSION: FREE (Donations Appreciated)
Founded in 1989, the Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center is the primary museum of general local history in Buncombe County. We are a 501c3 non-profit organization governed by an 18-member board of directors and funded primarily by generous donations from our members and our extensive special event program. We are located in the Town of Black Mountain’s 1921 fire house, which was designed by Richard Sharp Smith, supervising architect on the Biltmore Estate.
We mount at least one major temporary exhibition annually in our first floor gallery and continually enhance our second floor permanent exhibit exploring the general history of the Swannanoa Valley. We also maintain an active archive of original primary source materials – including photographs, oral histories, ledgers, and ephemera – as well as vertical files of research materials and a local history library.
Every month we organize hikes to historic locations throughout the valley as well as events that take place inside and outside the museum.