Entry No. 2 — the Asheville file — filed under: free
Old Fort Arrowhead Monument
A pink granite arrowhead roughly 15 feet tall rides a 15-foot pedestal of river rock hauled from Mill Creek, planted beside the old Southern Railway depot since July 27, 1930. Somewhere north of 5,000 people watched the dedication, at which Cherokee chief Tahquittee and Catawba chief Sam T. Blue formally smoked a peace pipe and a nine-year-old descendant of the valley's settlers pulled the unveiling cord. The plaque claims it marks the site of the frontier fort that named the town; a 90-year-old resident disputed that on the record at the time, and the argument was never really settled. The depot beside it houses a free railroad museum, and mainline freights still roll past a few yards away.
→ Three more weird outdoor & roadside oddities in Asheville — never the same twice
The story
On July 27, 1930, an estimated six thousand people watched a nine-year-old named Margaret Marie Nesbitt — a direct descendant of the valley's first settlers — pull a cord and unveil a 14.5-foot arrowhead of Salisbury pink granite on a fifteen-foot base of rock hauled from the creek nearby. Twenty Cherokee and Catawba representatives sat on the speakers' platform, and Cherokee chief Tahquittee and Catawba chief Sam T. Blue formally smoked a pipe of peace between two historically hostile nations while bands from Marion, Old Fort, and Gastonia supplied the music.
The trouble is the plaque. It declares this 'the site of the old Indian fort built A.D. 1756... from which this town was named,' and the claim was contested before the unveiling: J. A. Dalton, a 90-year-old resident interviewed by the memorial association's own publicity chairman, insisted that building forts was 'against all their nature' and that white settlers built the original stockade. Modern researchers add that wherever the truth lies, the fort itself stood elsewhere — approximately where the Mountain Gateway Museum is today. The monument began as an idea of the town's Women's Club and was carried out by the Arrowhead Memorial Association.
Sometime before 1938 the Boone Trail Highway and Memorial Association added a tablet of Sequoyah beneath the words APPALACHIAN INDIAN ROAD, which is why the arrowhead is also catalogued as Boone Trail marker No. 30. It still stands in its fountain pool — designed for water that was never added — beside the old Southern Railway depot, now a volunteer-run free railroad museum, with mainline freight rolling past a few yards away.
What it's like
This is a fifteen-minute stop that works at any hour: the arrowhead stands in the open where Catawba Avenue meets West Main Street, ringed by a sidewalk so you can circle it and find both tablets — the disputed dedication plaque on the north face of the base, Sequoyah on the west side of the arrowhead. Street parking sits right by the depot. The broad faces run east-west along the tracks, so morning and late-afternoon light are kindest for photographs. The depot museum next door keeps thin volunteer hours; if it happens to be open it's free and worth twenty minutes, but don't build the trip around it. The tracks a few paces away are live mainline — expect a freight horn, and respect the crossing.
The move: Make it the opener of an Old Fort double-header: photo at the arrowhead, a pass through the depot's free railroad museum if it's open, then follow Mill Creek Road three miles up to Andrews Geyser with picnic supplies.
📍 Before you go Free, outdoors, viewable any hour — it stands in front of the depot where Catawba Avenue meets West Main Street (US 70), just off I-40 exit 73. The railroad museum next door keeps limited volunteer hours, so treat it as a bonus rather than the plan. Easy street parking by the depot; active tracks, so mind the crossing.
- 📍 Old Fort
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 25 W Main St, Old Fort, NC 28762
Hours: Added 2026-08-25 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Andrews Geyser — Three miles up Mill Creek Road through a one-lane tunnel, the town's other great railroad relic — an 80-foot gravity fountain — completes the Old Fort double-header.
- Brown Mountain Lights Overlook (NC 181) — Continue east to Morganton and up NC 181 at dusk and the day arcs neatly from carved-in-stone history to lights nobody has ever explained.
- The 1927 Lake Lure Inn and Spa — A pink granite arrowhead by day and a haunted stucco hotel by night make a tidy small-town-oddities loop southeast of Asheville.
More weird in Asheville
Good to know
What does it cost and when can I see it?
Nothing, and whenever — it's an outdoor monument on a public corner with no gate, viewable 24 hours a day. The railroad museum in the depot beside it is also free but keeps limited volunteer hours.
Does it actually mark the site of the original fort?
Almost certainly not. The claim on the plaque was disputed on dedication day in 1930 by a 90-year-old resident, and researchers now place the actual 1756 fort roughly where Old Fort's Mountain Gateway Museum stands — about a half-mile away. The arrowhead marks the town's enthusiasm more than its geography.
How do I get there and where do I park?
I-40 exit 73, drive north into town on Catawba Avenue, and the arrowhead appears on your left once you cross the railroad tracks, in front of the old depot at 25 W Main St. Easy free street parking beside the depot.
Is it worth combining with anything else in Old Fort?
Yes — Andrews Geyser is three miles up Mill Creek Road, the depot museum is steps away, and the Mountain Gateway Museum sits nearby on the likely site of the actual fort. The whole town circuit takes half a day with a picnic.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Roadside America · docsouth.unc.edu · 828newsnow.com
last checked: 2026-08-25