The Ghosts of The Biltmore House

Grand estates create romantic images of lavish balls, garden parties, and perfectly manicured gardens. The Biltmore Estate is no exception. The privately-owned estate encompasses 8000 acres and has been owned by the Vanderbilt family for more than 100 years. George Vanderbilt had the home constructed as a country home. He was the grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt. The house is a 250-room French chateau in gothic design. Construction of the home took place from 1889 to 1895 with around 1000 people working on it.

George Vanderbilt brought his mother to Asheville in 1888 to help her find relief from a respiratory problem. It was very common back in the day for people to come to Asheville when they had TB or other respiratory problems. There were a lot of sanatoriums here. But while here, he stayed at the old Battery Park Hotel. It was from his veranda of the hotel that he first saw the area to the south that would eventually become the Biltmore Estate.

Vanderbilt dispatched some New York lawyers to the area and they started to slowly buy up all the land. Not wanting any of the landowners to find out for whom or what the land was being purchased for, the lawyers bought each space in their own names, so that they wouldn’t drive up the prices. Once they had bought up 125,000 acres, the properties were transferred into George Vanderbilt’s name.