THE HISTORY OF WHITEMONT LODGE

WHITEMONT LODGE

Whitemont Lodge is located just east of Asheville, NC near Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, NC.

This grand lodge is set in the midst of its own 2 ½ acre old-growth forest. As was originally intended, it remains non-visible from any vantage point except from the sky.

The lodge was originally built by local businessmen and polititions from Asheville during Prohibition as a “gentlemen’s club.” No cost was spared in building this structure, as evidenced by the 13” steel eye-beam infrastructure, beautiful river rock exterior, huge fireplace, walls bordering the terrace, and the handmade brick walls throughout the main floor. The living room is 2000 square feet, and features a large atrium open to the 40+foot eaves. The second floor gallery is flanked by doors leading to the bedrooms and other “necessary” rooms.

There is no record of this structure ever being built, as it was built secretively by people of obvious local power.

Since Prohibition was enacted in North Carolina in 1908, eleven years before it was enacted nationally, pinpointing the exact date of construction is even more difficult to determine.

The rockwork appears to be exactly like that of structures built by E.W. Grove, famous for building historic Grove Park Inn in Asheville. The rock itself was apparently gathered from the Swannanoa River, and the style of the masonry work is remarkably similar to that of the rock masons who worked for Grove.

With the help of a professional local historian, it has been confirmed that the Lodge was indeed built on part of what was then “Alexander Farms”, a 1500 acre farm owned by my great-grandfather, Charles Alexander. Therefore, it turns out that my great-grandfather allowed these men to build their Lodge on his property! Much of the farm property was sold to Warren Wilson College in 1957, after Charles Alexander’s death. The ruins of his home and out-buildings are visible near the trail entrance to Jones Mountain.

The first record of this structure appears in the Buncombe County deeds in 1935, when Charles Alexander sold the property to two women from St. Louis, Genevieve Lawler and Ruth Lionberger. They operated a fine arts school on the property until 1945. It was called “Associate Arts Studio-Camp”. These women had previously operated an art school in St. Louis called “The Workbench” for the ten years previous to buying this property. We have the entire brochure for the Studio-Camp, including many pictures of the 18-acre property with its out-buildings.

In 1945 the property, which then included 18 acres, was bought by a couple from Florida- Peter and Elizabeth White. They operated a girls’ tennis camp called “Whitemont Lodge Camp for Girls” until the late 1960’s. Photos and brochures for the Camp from those years have been preserved. Toward the end of the 1960’s the Whites tried to sell the property as what we now call a “time-share.” A copy of the prospectus regarding this is also preserved.

The property did not sell, and was basically abandoned for almost 20 years. During this time local high school and college kids enjoyed the use of the Lodge as a “secret” place to meet and do what kids naturally do. The property subsequently became overgrown with huge vines and other overgrowth, as the Lodge was vandalized. By the time it was bought in approximately 1987 the Lodge was so overgrown with vines one could not even discern that there was a structure underneath it all. Photos of this also exist.

At this time a developer from Florida bought the Lodge and its acreage with the intention of tearing down the Lodge and making two building lots where it stands. It was “saved” from demolition by a local realtor, who did some initial clean-up of the Lodge. He then sold it in 1988 to a family from New Hampshire. This couple worked on the Lodge for 3 years bringing it up to standard living code. Soon after the family was able to move in to the Lodge, the father/husband died, leaving his wife and 2 teenage daughters. His widow had the property on the real estate market for 5 years before Nancy Alexander bought it and started the ongoing renovation of the Lodge and grounds in 1997. The Lodge is located on 2.5 acres in the center of what is now a development with 10 other homes.

Whitemont Lodge is now a favorite gathering space for dinners, small weddings, and general enjoyment of the atmosphere, both inside and out. It has been the subject of several newspaper articles, the backdrop for photo shoots, and has appeared on Home and Garden Television’s “Building Character”. In 2006 the home and gardens were chosen to be toured by delegates from the Keep America Beautiful national convention, held in Asheville.

Asheville is known for its fine local artisans, and many of their works are incorporated in the design and decor of this whimsical yet remarkably beautiful place. A common comment made by visitors is that the entire place has such a “good feeling” that they don’t want to leave. Many evenings continue to be enjoyed on the terrace listening to the symphony of the relaxing sounds of water spilling over the rock waterfall, crickets, tree frogs, owls, and other wildlife that exist in its own ecosphere on the property surrounding Whitemont Lodge.

Nancy Alexander

August 21, 2008