Notable archaeology undertakings include working with Asheville-Buncombe County Historic Resources Commission to survey Swannanoa Valley sites and historic potteries. The North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office also has assisted in the design and installation of an archaeological exhibit at the Western North Carolina Nature Center. Over 700 prehistoric and historic archaeological sites have been identified in the county.
The county's architectural resources were comprehensively surveyed in the late l970s under the supervision of the Historic Preservation Office and the results published in 1981. Downtown Asheville gained a separate survey and publication in the late 1970s. Since then, several neighborhoods in Asheville have been surveyed, including Grove Park and Hillside-Mount Clare. In 1997 to 1998, an architectural survey update project, assisted by a federal grant, recorded more that 3,000 buildings in several Asheville neighborhoods.
Federal grants totaling $217,604 and state grants totaling $426,200 have been awarded for various projects within the county. Major projects included the Buncombe County inventory and publication, restoration of the Smith-McDowell House, and rehabilitation of the Young Men's Institute building.
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
Eighty-one individual properties and districts in Buncombe County are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Asheville has a total of six National Register districts, including the Downtown Commercial Historic District, Montford Historic District, and the Grove Park Historic District.
LOCAL PRESERVATION COMMISSIONS
The Historic Preservation Office has reviewed and offered advisory comment on designation reports for thirty-seven local landmarks and three local districts. Biltmore Estate and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial in Asheville are also National Historic Landmarks. Buncombe County and the city of Asheville have an effective joint preservation commission, and are both Certified Local Governments.
Second in the state in the number of income-producing tax credit projects, and leading the state in total construction investment, 108 projects have been completed in Buncombe County at a total construction cost of $48,215,000, including the Manor Inn, the Grove Park Inn, Pack Square, and Richmond Hill, all in Asheville. Twenty additional income-producing tax credit projects are currently undergoing renovation, including the Grove Arcade, the Grove Park Inn, and the Biltmore House Conservatory. Two residential renovation projects have been completed utilizing the new state tax credit for non-income-producing historic structures, and nineteen residences are currently undergoing renovation for the credits. The Historic Preservation Office reviews and provides restoration technical services for all preservation tax credit projects.
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND PUBLICATIONS
The Historic Preservation Office assisted the city of Asheville in publishing the findings of the architectural survey in Historic Architectural Resources of Downtown Asheville, North Carolina in 1979, and Buncombe County in publishing Cabins and Castles: The History and Architecture of Buncombe County, N.C. in 1981. The Historic Preservation Office conducted a housing workshop in Asheville in 1994, and Historic Preservation Office staff participated in a conservation conference in Asheville sponsored by the National Park Service in 1994.
Fourteen state and federal grant-supported restoration projects in Buncombe County include the Young Men's Institute building and Richmond Hill. Numerous technical consultations have been provided for important structures, including All Soul's Episcopal Church and the Smith-McDowell House in Asheville.