Before the Civil War, The Henrietta, owned by the Patton family, stood on Biltmore Avenue where the French Broad Coop operates today. NC Collection, Pack Memorial Library, Asheville, NC

A picture of The Henrietta, later called White House Inn before it became the first headquarters for the YWCA in Asheville, may be viewed on the Library of Congress American Memory Projectt. Over 300 documents, pictures, maps and eye witness accounts about Buncombe County are in that collection.

Transcript of Letter of Recommendation for Isaac (Dixon) Dickson. Black Highlanders Collection, Ramsey Library, UNC Asheville

By the early 1880's, Thomas Walton Patton had sold the slave quarters behind The Henrietta to Isaac Dickson. The City Garage is located on what was once "Dicksontown."

Isaac Dickson and nephew James Wilson in front of the coal shop on Valley Street (now South Charlotte Street) in Dicksontown, circa 1880's. Black Highlanders Collection, Ramsey Library, UNC Asheville

The census of 1870 and 1880 indicates that Black populations in Buncombe County grew at much the same rate as the White population. One of those newcomers in the late 1860’s was Isaac Dickson. Born a slave in 1839, his Dutch immigrant father was the slave owner of his mother. Unusual for its time, Dickson arrived with a letter of recommendation. In 1886, records indicate that he purchased the former slave quarters of Thomas Walton Patton along Valley Street that was soon known as “Dicksontown” for the houses he rented to Freedmen. Dickson also owned stores that sold coal and groceries and eventually accumulated enough wealth that he could afford a $500 loan to W. C. Campbell.

Return to YMICC main

Visit the Center for Diversity Education