Editor’s Note: Western North Carolina is rich with untold stories—many resting quietly in local cemeteries. In this Tombstone Tales series, we explore the lives of people from our region’s past whose legacies, whether widely known or nearly forgotten, helped shape the place we call home.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW.com) – On a hillside in Riverside Cemetery, a 30-foot-long stone memorial stretches along the grass, its meaning often assumed, its story twisted by time.
For years, visitors were told a familiar version of events. The monument was placed by the Biltmore Estate to honor stonecutters killed in tragic construction accidents while building George Vanderbilt’s grand house. It was a compelling and dramatic story…