Visit Biltmore House in Asheville, NC

Have you ever wanted to visit a classic French chateau but didn’t want to make the eight-hour overseas flight? All you have to do is visit Biltmore House in Asheville, NC. There, you can see what life was like nearly 150 years ago before there were cars with the backdrop of the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s just a short drive from Asheville and Arden, but it will seem like you’ve driven right into North Carolina’s past.

Read more about the Biltmore House history below with Sunshine Chevrolet, Llc before heading to Asheville to see the mansion in all its glory!

Biltmore House History

To understand the Biltmore House’s history, we have to go back to the family who founded it. George Washington Vanderbilt III, the youngest son of one of the wealthiest men in America at the time, William Vanderbilt, would make regular visits to see his widowed mother living in Asheville, North Carolina when he had time to step away from managing the family’s financial interests in New York City. George was also the grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who built his wealth on steamboats, transportation, and railroads.

After one visit to his mother in the late 1880s, George bought 125,000 acres of land that, at the time, was all woodland. Its sole purpose was to serve as the land for a lavish country estate. Having seen many wealthy houses in his life, the young Vanderbilt instructed architect Richard Morris Hunt to model the limestone mansion after the Chateau de Blois in the Loire Valley of France.

When Was the Biltmore House Built?

After purchasing the land in 1888, George Vanderbilt began the construction of Biltmore House in 1889. It would take six yearsbefore the Biltmore House was built, and a woodworking factory and brick kiln were constructed on-site to facilitate construction. The kiln produced 32,000 bricks per day. Being from a railroad family, George Vanderbilt had a 3-mile rail spur built to transport materials to the site. Around 1,000 people and 60 stonemasons constructed the home.

Read some interesting facts about the Biltmore House in Asheville, NC:

• 250 total rooms
• 35 bedrooms
• 43 bathrooms
• 65 fireplaces
• 170,000 square feet (4 acres inside the house!)
• 8,000 acres of surrounding land
• French Renaissance style
• Winery established in 1985
• First opened to the public by Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt (George’s only child), and her husband, John Cecil, in 1930

Who Owns Biltmore House?

So, who owns Biltmore house now? Bill Cecil Jr. is the current CEO of Biltmore Company, and he is the great-grandson of the estate’s first owner, George Vanderbilt. Known as “America’s Largest Home,” the Biltmore estate is a museum but the Vanderbilt family still owns the property.

Visit Biltmore House in Asheville, NC!

Set aside some time this weekend to visit Biltmore House in Asheville, NC. Even better, you could drive there in a new or used vehicle from our dealership near Fletcher. And if you like history, read about our 10-year anniversary celebration!