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The Drover’s Road – A River of Hogs

History Drover's Road - A River of Hogs

Story by John Turk | Photo by Paul M. Howey

During the early 1800s, the population of Asheville stood at fewer than 500. The rest of Western North Carolina was also sparsely populated and isolated from the rest of the country. Most folks here toiled on small plots of land trying to make it from one season to the next. There were no tourists. The only asset of any major significance (other than the glorious mountains) was the drover’s road that connected farmers of the area to markets farther south.

Huge plantations were flourishing in the South and, to be effective workers, the slaves needed a diet high in protein. Hogs could have been raised there, but plantation owners felt that every acre not planted in cotton was a financial loss. As a result, most of the hogs were raised farther north in Eastern Tennessee and North Carolina. Each fall, the drover’s road was used to drive these hogs to railroad connections in South Carolina.

It was a sight to behold. Newspapers of the day referred to it as “a river of hogs.” It was estimated that the number of hogs marching through downtown Asheville was nearly 60 thousand per month! They were driven along a path that took them right through the center of Asheville along what are today Broadway and Biltmore Avenues.

Tour guides are frequently asked, “What would that have smelled like?” The answer is, “Not good.” The citizens of Asheville, however, were familiar with animal smells. And they knew that smell meant money.

The drover’s road was the centerpiece of an amazing economic system. Nearly everyone profited—the farmers who raised the hogs, the owners of hotels (called stands) along the road, local farmers who grew the corn to feed the traveling hogs, and the agents who eventually bought the hogs.

The bronze hogs, created by artist Margery Torrey-Godwin, that are featured at the Urban Trail station at the west end of Pack Square remind us of the importance of the drover’s road during Asheville’s early days.

John Turk, Professor Emeritus, Youngstown State University, is vice president of the Western North Carolina Historical Association and leads city walking and bus tours with History@Hand (history-at-hand.com). He can be reached at jrturk@ysu.edu.

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