The fate of George Vanderbilt’s visionary estate featuring Biltmore House set like a jewel amidst a breathtaking landscape might have been very different if Mr. Vanderbilt’s grandson William A.V. Cecil had not returned to Asheville to take on the management of America’s largest home and all that it entailed.

The white elephant

After Biltmore House was opened for public viewing in 1930, it became a well-known attraction in the southeast. By the late 50s, however, the numbers of visitors were dwindling and a decision had to be made: sell the property and turn what many considered a “white elephant” into a state or national historic trust—or find a way to preserve the estate and put it back on its feet financially.

Against most well-meaning advice, Mr. Cecil decided to leave his successful career with Chase-Manhattan Bank in Washington, DC and return to his birthplace to see what he could make of it. According to Howard Covington’s book Lady on the Hill,

“Cecil brought a fresh and appreciative perspective to Biltmore. He saw the chateau not with the eye of a curator hired to present and explain a historic property but as a devoted family member who was proud of what his grandfather had left for him and others to enjoy. Like his father before him, William believed that visitors should be made to feel like guests rather than ticket holders and should be welcomed warmly and treated with courtesy.”

Recovery begins

To attract the numbers of guests needed to make the venture successful, Mr. Cecil had to become a one-man marketing department to promote Biltmore House and Gardens to the public. He was more than equal to the challenge, and in the summer of 1960, Biltmore welcomed its one-millionth visitor since tickets were first made available 30 years earlier. The growth was important for the success of Biltmore, because the dairy operation that had sustained the estate for many years was becoming less profitable in the face of new regulations and increased competition.
 

The legacy continues

Now nearly six decades later, Biltmore welcomes more than one million guests annually, and the estate is a glowing tribute to George Vanderbilt’s original vision, the groundbreaking work of his grandson William Cecil, and the Cecil family’s continued commitment to their mission of preserving Biltmore as a privately owned, profitable, working estate. The property includes Antler Hill Village, which features the award-winning Winery and Antler Hill Farm; the four-star Inn on Biltmore Estate; Village Hotel on Biltmore Estate; Equestrian Center; numerous restaurants; event and meeting venues; and Biltmore For Your Home, the company’s licensed products division.

Featured image: William A.V. Cecil in front of Biltmore House, circa 1980s

Right: Cornelia and John Cecil open Biltmore House to the public in 1930

Left: William Cecil works discusses the possibilities of raising prawns at Biltmore, circa 1980s

Right:  William Cecil in the winery he envisioned, circa 1985

This year, we join the National Park Service in celebrating its centennial anniversary.

With an emphasis on strict preservation, the National Park Service focuses on protecting natural and cultural resources “unimpaired for future generations,” including many historic properties that illustrate the nation’s heritage. Biltmore has been recognized as a designated National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service since 1963.

Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt, George and Edith Vanderbilt’s only child, was born in August 1900. And with her arrival, Biltmore Superintendent Chauncey Beadle soon found himself nurturing the young girl with the same tenderness and care with which he nurtured the flora of the estate.

A Little Girl's Garden

Before Cornelia was born, Beadle and Edith shared a mutual love of flowers. While travelling, Edith often wrote Beadle about the plants she had seen and admired, asking if they could be planted at Biltmore. Beadle would write Edith, asking her to name new varieties of flowers that he had developed.

After Cornelia was born, Beadle helped the young girl to cultivate that love as well. The pair spent much time together, exploring the outdoors and enjoying nature’s beauty. A trained botanist and horticulturalist, Beadle personally assisted Cornelia in planting and caring for her own flower garden.

While the exact location of Cornelia’s garden is unknown, it was most likely near one of the borders of the Walled Garden, if not closer to the house, according to Bill Alexander, Biltmore’s Landscape and Forest Historian.

Blooms Abroad

When Cornelia was travelling with her parents, Beadle wrote letters detailing her garden’s growth. He would also often include pressed flowers so that she could enjoy the colorful blooms. Here are excerpts from the charming letters Beadle wrote to Cornelia just before her sixth and seventh birthdays:

August 17, 1906 – To Cornelia in Paris, France: “I promised you just as you were leaving Biltmore to send you some pressed flowers from your garden, that you may see some of the results of the seeds we planted last spring. Almost all of the seeds grew and thrived and, in particular, I wish you could have seen some large double sunflowers as large as breakfast plates … They were so large that I could not press them and I fear that before your return they will have faded and gone. The little package which I am sending you, however, contains some of the smaller flowers that were easily pressed and, perhaps, before your home-coming, I can send you another lot so that you may be able to enjoy the garden even though you were in Europe…”

August 14, 1907 – To Cornelia at Point D' Acadie, the Vanderbilt’s home in Bar Harbor, Maine: “I have sent you by mail a package containing a number of pressed flowers from your garden which you painstakingly planted and watered. Very many of the plants have made a splendid showing… In the package you will find handsome Larkspurs of various shades and mottled colors… and several other flowers that were in blossom…. You will find the names of the flowers written on the inside of the sheets of paper which contain them, and I am very sure that you will soon know them all by name and will be able to recognize them wherever you may see them growing…”

A Continued Correspondence

George Vanderbilt passed away unexpectedly in 1914 and Edith began spending more time in Washington, DC, where Cornelia attended The Madeira School. Beadle continued corresponding with the pair through the years, bringing Edith up-to-date on estate business and describing the gardens in great detail so both ladies could enjoy them even when they were far from home.

Thanks to their mutual fondness of flowers, Edith and Cornelia Vanderbilt remained connected with Beadle through the superintendent’s retirement and beyond. Experience the beautiful blooms that were the basis for this bond, flowers lovely enough to be pressed, packaged, and shared. Visit Biltmore House & Gardens and see what’s blooming now.

Images
Featured: Portrait of Edith and Cornelia Vanderbilt, 1906
Right: Chauncey Beadle, 1906
Left: Cornelia Vanderbilt, 1906

In the late 1800s, it was fashionable for families like the Vanderbilts to have a getaway “great camp” or lodge in the Adirondacks so that they could enjoy outdoor activities such as  fishing, hunting, and boating. With Biltmore House complete, George Vanderbilt was able to focus on creating a similar getaway lodge so that family and friends could enjoy the beautiful, remote wilderness that comprised much of his 125,000-acre estate in Western North Carolina. Photo above of Buckspring Lodge, ca. 1920; donated by Mrs. William Todd Ashby.

Richard Howland Hunt (son of Biltmore architect Richard Morris Hunt) designed such a camp structure completed in 1896 and named Buckspring Lodge. Located on Mount Pisgah about 20 miles from Biltmore, the lodge was made from chestnut, yellow poplar, and hemlock logs and consisted of three connected buildings; a main lodge, kitchen, and dining building. Later, an assistant ranger's house was built in 1900, with a stable and additional four-room house added in 1903. Perched on the side of the mountain, Buckspring Lodge afforded guests spectacular views of the pristine wilderness. Photo above, ca. 1920; donated by Mrs. William Todd Ashby.

In today’s terms, Buckspring Lodge would probably be described as “rustic elegant” in design. Inside, there were wood-burning fireplaces. Eventually the lodge was equipped with electricity, telephone service, indoor plumbing, and hot water, all powered by onsite sources. Outside, there was an orchard, tennis and croquet courts, garden, and beehives. In the summers, sheep grazed on the open land at this high elevation, and a Jersey cow was sometimes kept here when the Vanderbilts were in residence. Photo above, ca. 1920; donated by Mrs. William Todd Ashby.

In 1910, a major construction project was undertaken to build a road from Stoney Fork in the Hominy Valley west of Asheville to Buckspring Lodge so it could be accessed by motor vehicle. Mr. Vanderbilt purchased the old Stoney Fork log school and church building in 1911, and had it rebuilt at the lodge for a guest house that later became known as the “Honeymoon Cottage.” In 1912, a log cabin knowns as the ranger's house was erected with hewn logs from three cabins located on Vanderbilt property elsewhere. A full-time ranger and caretaker lived at Buckspring, and a cook and other staff came to stay while the family was at the lodge.

​After George Vanderbilt’s death in 1914, Edith sold around 90,000 acres of land to the U.S. government for the creation of Pisgah National Forest. But she retained Buckspring Lodge and nearly 500 acres surrounding it, and the family continued to enjoy this retreat for decades. When the Blue Ridge Parkway was being developed in the 1950s, Buckspring Lodge and its surrounding property was sold to the state of North Carolina and then transferred to the U.S. Department of the Interior to be incorporated in the Parkway property.

Restoration of the lodge proved to be too costly for the Park Service, and it was razed in 1961. Robert C. (Bob) Allen procured logs and materials from the Ranger's Cabin and erected a log cabin in Asheville's Royal Pines neighborhood in the early 1960s. The Allen family, represented by Ernest H. Allen and his sons, Bob and William E. (Bill) Allen, were  longtime estate residents. Ernest and Bill both served as farm managers for decades and Bob drove a truck for Biltmore Dairy. Bob and his wife Phyllis lived in the Royal Pines cabine until his death in 1990. Upon Phyllis’ passing in 2014, Bob’s children Dick and Susie Allen inherited this historic cabin and contributed it, plus many furnishings, to Biltmore in memory of the Allen family.

In 2015, Biltmore dismantled the cabin and carefully reassembled it piece-by-piece on the estate. It now serves as the Outdoor Adventure Center in Antler Hill Village, where guests can arrange outdoor activities including fly-fishing lessons, trail rides, Segway rides, and much more. Stop by to see this cherished part of Biltmore’s history, and plan your own adventures in our 8,000-acre backyard.