Foster's_Log_Cabin_Court

Foster's Log Cabin Court

Foster's Log Cabin Court

United States historic place


Foster's Log Cabin Court (now the Log Cabin Motor Court) is located at 330-332 Weaverville Road in Woodfin, North Carolina, about five miles north of the City of Asheville.[1] One of the first auto-oriented tourism facilities in the Asheville area, it features a number of one and two bedroom Rustic Revival log cabins and a dining lodge.[2] It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. [3] [4]

Quick Facts Location, Coordinates ...

Historic Background

A Buncombe County, North Carolina couple, Zebulon and Audrey Foster, purchased land in the Pine Burr Park area of Woodfin in 1920. They both worked in Asheville, and were looking for a more rural lifestyle for themselves and their young daughter. Initially they lived in a small house on the property, gardened, and had a dairy cow. [2]

The land bordered what became a section of the Dixie Highway, a scenic driving route for tourists from northern states. After a number of people asked to camp on the site, which featured a grove of pine trees and views of the mountains, the Fosters decided to construct some small cabins around 1931. The first seven one-room cabins with porches, built from pine logs, were served by two outhouses. Each cabin rented for $1 per night. [2]

Six more cabins were built in 1932. All the cabins were improved over the next few years, with additions such as bathrooms, brick chimneys, and wood floors. A dining facility was constructed on an adjoining lot in 1937; it operated as a restaurant until 2021. [5] [6][3] [1] Part of the movie Thunder Road, starring Robert Mitchum, was filmed in one of the cabins in the summer of 1957; it was then called Top-o-the-Hill cabin, and is now known as the Thunder Road cabin. [3]

Audrey Foster operated the Log Cabin Court until she retired in 1970 (Zebulon Foster died in 1941.) [2] It has continued to provide moderately-priced tourist accommodations under subsequent owners.[1]

National Register of Historic Places Listing

Foster's Log Cabin Court was nominated for the National Register in December 2016, and was listed on May 1, 2017. [3] There are twenty-two contributing buildings and three non-contributing buildings in the property listing.

The historic significance of the property was described in the nomination:

As an intact example of twentieth-century automobile-based tourism, Foster’s Log Cabin Court meets National Register Criterion A in the area of Entertainment/Recreation. Foster’s Log Cabin Court also meets Criterion C for architecture as an intact tourist court with Rustic Revival style buildings characterized by saddle-notched pole-log construction. The rustic log construction has appealed to the romantic nature of passing motorists since the court’s inception, offering tourists a welcome opportunity to experience the pioneer heritage of the region. As one of the region’s earliest and best-preserved tourist courts, the buildings of Foster’s Log Cabin Court remain scattered among tall pine trees, and the wooded setting compliments the rustic architecture of the tourist court.[3]


References

  1. Observer (MCT), By Kathleen Purvis, The Charlotte. "Sleep like a log in these old-timey tourist cabins near Asheville, N.C." orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved 2020-11-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. Acme Preservation Services, August 2017. Historic Structures Survey Report for US 19-23 (Future I-26) Improvements from Exit 24 in Asheville to Exit 13 Buncombe County. Prepared for the NC Department of Transportation. p137-150. https://files.nc.gov/ncdcr/historic-preservation-office/PDFs/ER%2013-2173.pdf
  3. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Office of Archives and History Department of Cultural Resources. National Register of Historic Places: Foster's Log Cabin Court. Woodfin, Buncombe County, BN1406, Listed 5/1/2017. https://files.nc.gov/ncdcr/nr/BN1406.pdf
  4. Hinton, Justin (2017-07-19). "3 mountain locations added to National Register of Historic Places". WLOS. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  5. "Bavarian Dining". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  6. Clark, Paul (2013-07-01). "Pining to Return to Log Cabin Motor Court". Blue Ridge Country. Retrieved 2020-12-26.

See also


Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Foster's_Log_Cabin_Court, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.