Buck Springs Overlook: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Blue Ridge Parkway - Pisgah District, National Park Service
The Jaeger Company, Contractor and Pond and Company, Contractor. 2011. Buck Springs Overlook: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Blue Ridge Parkway - Pisgah District, National Park Service. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 550222. NPS Southeast Regional Office. Southeast Regional Office/CLI Database
The Buck Springs Overlook is a twenty-nine acre component landscape of the Blue Ridge Parkway, located in the North Carolina section at Milepost 407.6. The component landscape is part of the Mount Pisgah District. Buck Springs Overlook is a developed overlook area that has vehicular parking, trailhead access, a view of Mount Pisgah to the north, as well as a view of the southern mountains and the Pink Beds. The Pink Beds is a unique bog area to the south of the overlook named for the pink blooms of rhododendron and mountain laurel that are visible in late spring and early summer. It also retains the remnants and features of several notable eras of development in the region. The Buck Springs Overlook has two distinct periods of significance. The first, 1896 - 1959, is associated with the George Vanderbilt ownership of the property, marking the first formal development in the area. The site contains the remnants of the late nineteenth century hunting lodge built during this time; the lodge was demolished in 1961. The one existing building remaining on the component landscape is a springhouse that dates from the Vanderbilt period of significance. Several stone retaining walls and stone steps remain from this time at the site, as well. The second period of significance, 1962-1987, is associated with a period of park development and landscape architecture. During this time, the present overlook was developed under NPS Mission 66/Post WWII initiatives. Completion of the Blue Ridge Parkway brought more travelers to the vicinity, and site improvements were made to support these visitors. The Buck Springs Overlook is currently in good condition. Although integrity of the Vanderbilt-era landscape has been lost due to the demolition of historic structures and the loss of the once open landscape, the landscape retains integrity as a part of the Blue Ridge Parkway designed landscape. The landscape has changed little since its development as a parkway overlook, and views and trails evoke the parkway planners’ design intent. The district’s proximity to Ashville, North Carolina and the views of Mount Pisgah and Pink Beds, features that originally drew George Vanderbilt to the area, continue to beckon visitors to the overlook.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- The Jaeger Company, Contractor; Pond and Company, Contractor
- Date of Issue
- 2011-09-23
- Publisher
- NPS Southeast Regional Office
- Units
- BLRI , SER
- Keywords
- Asheville, Automobile Age, Carriage Road, Conservation, George Vanderbilt, Haywood County, Hiking Trails, Historic Designed Landscape, Historic Preservation, Historic Vernacular Landscape, Interpretive Landscape, Landscape architecture, Lodge, Mission 66, National Forest, North Carolina, overlook, parkway, Protection of Natural and Cultural Resources, Recreation, Scenic Preservation, Springhouse, Touring Road, Transportation, Transylvania County, Vista