Black Mountain's Past
Coney Island in the clouds
Wendell Begley
Guest contributor
The Valley Echo
June 28, 2024
Raised at the foot of Sunset, I’ve been climbing the summit or looking down on this ole’mountain (from my Camp Branch home) most all my life. I composed this picture from the height of Sunset in February 2015. The view from the top looks northwest across downtown Black Mountain, the town’s golf course, Allen Mountain and to the south end of the Great Craggy Range (skyline). Photo courtesy of the Wendell Begley Collection
As the subject of this week’s series, I chose to take readers back to the early 1900s when the apex of Sunset Mountain, also known as Miami Mountain, was Black Mountain’s most developed and well-known mountaintop. Back then, it was commonly referred to as Sunset Park or the Sunset Park Hotel. To portray this ol’ mountain and its earliest history, I have included a kaleidoscope of rare photographs and news clips.
So, here goes… Interestingly, in a July 19, 1913, feature story the Charlotte Observer headlined the following: “Mountain Park 3,500 Feet above Sea Level … Sunset Resort Near Black Mountain Officially Opened - Is Only Place of Kind in This Country.”
This 115-year-old picture was taken from South Dougherty Street near the Old Depot (ca. 1909) above the railroad tracks (ca. 1879-80). Sunset Mountain looms above the old McKoy Building (ca. 1890). If readers look closely, you can make out the Sunset Park Hotel and the “white washed” rocks spelling “Miami” embedded into the top face of the mountaintop. The large rocks were placed there sometime between 1921 and 1926. During WWII, the rocks were painted black and left for nature to hide. Photo courtesy of the Wendell Begley Collection
This all took place 111 years ago after Black Mountain’s July 4th celebration in 1913. It was then, that over 200 folks from Black Mountain and Montreat made an inaugural, late afternoon trip of over 2.5 miles from the Black Mountain Station (today’s Old Depot) to a newly built road that switched-backed upwards over 700 feet in elevation to the pinnacle of Sunset Mountain. Locals and visitors alike made the adventurous journey experiencing a mountaintop evening of dancing, fellowship and tasty food. Most importantly, written accounts spoke of a stunning sunset that was witnessed by all. Views of the Great Smoky Mountains could be seen on the distant horizon some 44 miles to the west.
An early 1920s picture of the Sunset Park Hotel. The remarkable hotel was situated just below the summit on the western side of the mountain facing Asheville. It contained many sleeping rooms, a large dining room, reception room, dance hall and restaurant. Photo courtesy of the Wendell Begley Collection
How it came to be…
After purchasing 80 acres on the west face of Sunset Mountain in 1911, Peter M. Mashburn (1867-1918) and his wife, Margaret C. Creasman Mashburn (1848-1929) had the vision of turning the mountain into a beautiful “park.” In fact, for a brief period of time locals called the place Mashburn’s Mountain. After two years into the development, the top of the mountain hosted a three-story frame structure or hotel (15 rooms) with a 12-foot wrap around viewing deck, restaurant, café, picnic houses, large gazebo dance hall and a nearby 30 foot tall tower to view the East’s highest peak, Mount Mitchell (6,684 feet elevation located 10.75 miles to the northeast).
A rare 1920’s photo revealing the famous large, round gazebo that was situated on the very top of Sunset Mountain. Photo courtesy of the Wendell Begley Collection
At the time, the Farmer and Mechanic Newspaper (Raleigh) reported that Black Mountain boasts the only real “Mountain Park” of its kind in the nation. The Carolina Watchman Newspaper (Salisbury) stated that the grand opening of the mountaintop park, held July 17, 1913, was lit by hundreds of glowing Japanese lanterns. The paper further stated that other improvements would be added, and the place would soon take on the appearance of a regular “Coney Island in the Clouds.” Lastly, several ads appearing in the Asheville Citizen-Times during the summer of 1916 touted the Mountaintop Park as having views “unequalled and unsurpassed in all America.”
Another look at Sunset Mountain from south Broadway. The Black Mountain Lumber Company Building (ca. 1908) is featured in the bottom center of the picture (today’s site of Henson Building Supply) and the original Black Mountain Ice Company Building (ca. 1930, previously housed the Gingko Tree Gallery) is identified in the bottom right corner. The picture was taken in the early 1930s, not long after the famous Sunset Park Hotel burned to the ground. Photo courtesy of the Wendell Begley Collection
Well, after reading about Sunset Park, as it became more commonly known, one would wonder whatever happened to the mountaintop tourist attraction. Unfortunately, on April 4, 1928, a spectacular forest fire, which started from a camper’s unattended campfire on Camp Branch, raced up the mountain destroying the mountaintop hotel and gazebo. Over 200 men fought the blaze from about 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. People from Black Mountain to Fairview reported seeing the smoke and fiery glow.
Since boyhood (over 60 plus years ago), I refer to the mountain simply as “Sunset” … the place that rises high above the valley floor, a piece of landscape where our earliest pioneers may have looked west at day’s end and treasured a memorable moment. Sunsets witnessed from the summit of this grand ole’ Mountain are beyond the descriptive words my mind can conjure up … We are so fortunate to live in this place we call “Home.” Cheers! Photo courtesy of the Wendell Begley Collection
Ironically, today (96 years later) the pyramid shaped mountain and its 3,130-foot summit are privately owned and stand as a stark difference to the era when thousands of folks annually visited the Mountaintop Park.
Black Mountain Savings Bank
P.O. Box 729 • 200 East State Street • Black Mountain, NC 28711 • 1.828.669.7991
“Established in 1908, We are One of the 47 Oldest FDIC Insured Banks in America” (that’s Out of 4,620 FDIC Insured Banks) …Too, We are the Town’s Oldest Continuing Business and the Only “Community Owned Bank.” We Have Been Taking Savings Deposits and Making “Local Home Loans” for 116 Years”
Copyright: M. Wendell Begley, series 877, VE17, June 28, 2024
