Black Mountain College Historic District
Why it's listed
Lake Eden, near Black Mountain in the Great Craggy Mountains, holds a group of buildings from two eras. In 1923-1924 developer E. W. Grove built summer lodges, a stone octagonal Round House, a dining hall and stone cottages with native stone foundations. Black Mountain College later used them as classrooms, dormitories, faculty homes and a performance space. The college added its own modern buildings in the 1940s. The largest is the Studies Building of 1940-41, designed by faculty architect A. Lawrence Kocher. It stands on concrete pilotis, has Transite sheathing and steel-sash windows, and contained fifty-five studios. Students also built the stone Quiet House and the low-cost Minimum House in 1942, and the college ran a farm with barns and silos. The property is now Camp Rockmont, a boys' summer camp. Several buildings have been altered, but the district still shows the mix of rustic cottages and International Style design from the college years.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · catalog entry. Generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29).
| Styles | International Style (1940s BMC buildings) alongside 1920s vernacular wood-shingle and native stone summer cottages |
|---|---|
| Areas of significance | Art, Literature, Education, Architecture |
| Acreage | 586.9 |
| Boundary source | NPS cultural-resource GIS polygon |
| Full listing page | Black Mountain College Historic District (property record) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.