Walk or drive the winding paths of this Victorian rural garden cemetery.
Described by Thomas Wolfe as “the lonely hill of the dead,” Riverside Cemetery is both a place of reflection and a scenic Buncombe County Treasure Tree Repository. It’s an active cemetery owned by the City of Asheville and maintained by the Parks and Recreation Department — a space for memory, history, and recreation.
Schedule
- Call 828-777-1014 or
- Email historyathand@charter.net
- Duration: 70 minutes
Pricing
- Adults: $30
- Students: $12
- Group rates available for more than 10 participants
Testimonials
“Trudy and I enjoyed this adventure into Asheville’s history.”
— Ross Terry
“Now we know when we have company we need to take them to the cemetery.”
— Lisa Bucki
Here the famous, the infamous and the humble rest together: financier and pauper, Christian and Jew, black and white, soldier and civilian, the powerful and the meek. It is the final resting place of Thomas Wolfe, O’Henry and Kenneth Nolan, as well as notable Asheville figures like Zebulon Vance, Richmond Pearson, Tempie Avery, Queen Maude Carson, and Thomas Clingman. Asheville’s character was built on the shoulders of those buried at Riverside and your tour will reveal some of their stories. You may also recognize the namesakes of our local streets: Starnes, Merriman, and Rankin to name a few.
A portion of Riverside cemetery belongs to Congregation Beth HaTephila and a video tour is available.