The Swannanoa Valley Museum has served the Western North Carolina community since 1989 as Buncombe County’s primary museum of general local history. The history of the region is interpreted in a unique collection of photos and artifacts from the Swannanoa Valley that relate in microcosm the history of the settlement not only of the Swannanoa Valley, but also of Buncombe County and Western North Carolina.

The Museum is located at 223 W. State Street in Black Mountain, in the former Black Mountain Fire House, designed and built in 1921 by Richard Sharp Smith, supervising architect at the Biltmore Estate.

The Swannanoa Valley Museum is open April through October, Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday noon to 4 p.m.. Closed on Sunday and Mondays. Admission $2, Members and students free.

The Swannanoa Valley Museum preserves and interprets the social, cultural and natural history of the Swannanoa Valley, a pathway to Western North Carolina, by developing dynamic programs and engaging exhibitions for the education and enrichment of the community, its children, and future generations.