Some people think it’s the chakras and vibrational energies. Others say it’s the altitude and clean mountain air. In Asheville, whether you’re talking to a TikTok influencer or a medical historian, everyone knows the idyllic Blue Ridge Mountains metropolis is ideal for rest and relaxation.
But a century ago, a trip to Asheville could mean a final and futile attempt to outrun death. At a time when “foul air” was thought to cause illness, Asheville attracted tuberculosis sufferers who thought the city’s “pure” mountain air would heal them. It didn’t always go as they hoped.
“If you had symptomatic tuberculosis, there was a 75% chance you’d be dead in five years,” said Dr. David Freedman, professor emeritus of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham…