The Legacy of the Vanderbilts #AVL

Having lived in Manhattan (for 13 years) and Asheville (full-time for 5 years, owned property for 18 years), I am in the unique position of knowing a lot about the legacy of the Vanderbilt Family in both of these great cities.

Here in Asheville, the Vanderbilts (now Cecils) don’t seem to have a good reputation. The Biltmore House is derided as an icon to excessive wealth and the family is often criticized for their lack of philanthropy in the local community. While Biltmore prices are over the top crazy, that’s unfortunate because it’s mostly untrue.

Where to begin? In New York City, I’d say. The Vanderibilts were nouveau riche. “The Vanderbilt family gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthropy.” They were not accepted by the long-established powerful elite. Therefore, when it came time for the family to establish a summer residence outside of the heat and humidity of New York, George Vandervilt did not choose Newport, RI, but Asheville.

Several decades earlier, the Vanderbilts were founding members of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church on Park Avenue, the same church that my husband Tom and I joined when we left the Roman Catholic Church and became Episcopalians. At St. Bart’s, the Vanderbilts sponsored the creation of a soup kitchen, food pantry, and homeless shelter. On Park Avenue. This was not well-received by the elite. They did it anyway and those ministries exist today at St. Bart’s. www.stbarts.org

As they established their footprint in Asheville, what did the Vanderbilts do?

George and his wife Edith did so much for Asheville. They put us “on the map,” created the first US National Park, brought talented artisans and craftsmen to the area, and created Biltmore Village to house them. Biltmore Estate Homespun was started as a school on the property, and was later sold to Fred Seely (E. W. Grove’s son-in-law) which later became Biltmore Homespun Industries. Asheville’s Harry Blomberg, also a noteworthy philanthropist, later purchased that business and the family still owns the Grovewood Village property and operates other businesses from this location.

The Vanderbilts transformed the community and established Asheville as a healthy destination for travelers, as many of us were when we decided to make Asheville our home. When George (Vanderbilt) died unexpectedly after an appendectomy, Edith took charge and did an amazing job bringing the family businesses out of difficult straits. To raise funds, she sold Biltmore Estates land that became Pisgah National Forest. That's another story.

The Cecil Family has been quite generous in supporting local causes, but they do so quietly and without fanfare. Do you know how much they give? No, you don’t, and it appears that’s the way they want it.

Before you judge the Vanderbilts and their heirs, I encourage you to think about their legacy with this context in mind.

To learn more, read “The Last Castle” and “Land on the Hill”