The Black Mountain Firehouse

The Black Mountain Fire Department was created in 1912 in response to a devastating fire that destroyed most of the town’s buildings along Sutton Ave. across the street from the train depot.

In 1920, the volunteer firemen solicited the townspeople for funds to build a firehouse, and in 1921, Asheville’s premiere architect, Richard Sharp Smith, designed and built the building that now houses the Swannanoa Valley Museum.

The architecture set a model for other buildings in downtown Black Mountain built in the 1920s that today give the community its “small town, old-time charm.”

The fire house served the town for 63 years, but was vacated in 1984 when the Fire Department moved to new quarters on Montreat Road. The Town of Black Mountain leased the building to the Swannanoa Valley Museum’s governing board in 1989, and gave them the deed in 2000.

Located in the Historic District of Black Mountain, the building is listed both locally and nationally as a contributing building in the Black Mountain Downtown Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Swannanoa Valley Museum considers the building its most important artifact. Recently, structural work was completed and a new 50-year roof was installed to protect the historic structure from further deterioration and to restore the façade to the original Richard Sharp Smith design.

Further work is needed to renovate and upgrade the interior, and plans call for additions that will more than double the Museum’s space. To that end, the Museum is engaged in a Capital Campaign to raise funds to complete the project.