After years of receiving guest requests, “Engadine: Early Days With The Hoyt Family” is now available for visitors to view and enjoy for themselves on our website.
It’s hard for us to imagine, but later this year we will celebrate the fifth anniversary of our arrival at Engadine. Time does, in fact, seem to fly! During that time, we’ve worked hard to be good stewards of this special place by making needed changes and improvements to acknowledge its historical significance and to ensure that its legacy is protected for future visitors to appreciate and enjoy.
But ours is only the latest in a line of the many stories that have been told at Engadine. That line of stories began in 1885 with John and Mary Hoyt when they moved to Asheville from New York City to begin their adventure in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Fortunately for us, many of the Hoyt’s stories were carefully noted and collected in diaries and journals kept as they built and lived at Engadine…documents which were passed down to descendants who, in about 2010, published the paperback book, “Engadine: Early Days With The Hoyt Family”.
Most who visit Engadine are captivated by its old world charm and appeal and immediately become curious about its rich and colorful history. The stories of the family members alone are worth the time taken to read about their days at Engadine. But what also makes the book so compelling is how it describes the many important connections the place helped establish with important people and places in Asheville in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s…people and places whose influences are still felt today. For example…
- The Biltmore Estate and George Vanderbilt- both business and personal relationships were established and the Vanderbilts were known to serve Engadine Wine to their guests.
- The Margo Terrace Hotel- then, a hotel often frequented by Mrs. Hoyt and her daughters on overnight visit to Asheville, it was located at the corner of Haywood and French Broad Streets. Sold in 1925 to E.W. Grove (builder of the Grove Arcade and the Grove Park Inn). today the site, still surrounded by the hotel’s elegant original stone walls, is a parking lot across from the Hotel Indigo.
- 113 Central Avenue- then, the “new attractive house” to which the Hoyts moved after leaving Engadine in 1908…today, the lot on which the house once stood is across the street from two fellow Asheville Bed and Breakfast Association member inns, the Chestnut Street Inn and 1889 Whitegate Inn and Cottage, each of which is across the street.
- 530 Biltmore Avenue- then, the address of the home built by Mary Hoyt’s un-married daughter, Mary Louise, where Mrs. Hoyt died in 1938…today, the property is owned by and across the street from Mission Hospital.
- Riverside Cemetery– then, Asheville’s city cemetery created in 1885…today, it is the final resting place of the Hoyt’s daughter, Mary, and that of notable Asheville authors Thomas Wolfe and William Sidney Porter, famed photographer of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park George Masa, and many well known North Carolina historical figures.
It’s a fascinating look back in time. And If you, too, have a love for Engadine, we encourage you to enjoy reading about the place we call “home”. After doing so, give us a call or BOOK DIRECT online to plan your next stay with us!
