Buncombe

Formed January 1, 1791 (54^th county)

Buncombe County (269,446), Asheville (94,481)

A skyscraper tan brick and masonry courthouse was erected in 1927 to replace a 1903 facility.  The courthouse is on College Street at Davidson Street.  United States Highway 25 passes three blocks to the west of the site.  The building was enlarged in 2013 with an Administration/Judicial building.  Frank Pierce Milburn provided the Neo-Classical Revival designs.  Veteran memorials are located across the street.  The county was founded on January 1, 1791 from Burke and Rutherford counties as the 54^th county with Asheville as the only county seat.  Buncombe County is named for American Revolutionary War Colonel Edward Buncombe.  The county seat is named for Governor Samuel Ashe.  He is also the namesake of Ashe County and the county seat of Randolph County.  Buncombe County was the birthplace for 3 North Carolina Governors, David L. Swain, Zebulon B. Vance, and Daniel K. Moore. 

Buncombe County government consists of a manager, a register, a sheriff, an attorney, and a clerk (executive).  It has 7 Commissioners (legislative.)  Twenty-seven Superior Court Judges serve Buncombe, Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, and Yancey counties and Twenty District Court Judges and a court clerk serve Buncombe County (judicial.)  Buncombe County is in western North Carolina.  Charlotte, North Carolina is southeast and Greensboro, North Carolina is northeast of the county.  The county center is 5.5 miles East of Asheville.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Madison, Yancey, McDowell, Rutherford, Henderson, and Haywood counties. 

The area of the county is 660 square miles.  It is 22 out of 100 in the state.  It ranks 7 out of 100 in population in the state.  It has a density of 408.3 persons per square mile making it 10 out of 100 in the state.  Buncombe County has 43.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 26 goes north to south in the county from Madison County to Henderson County.  Interstate Highway 40 passes east to west from McDowell County to Haywood County.  United States Highway 19 is joined with Interstate Highway 26 from Madison County, splits and goes west into Haywood County.  United States Highway 23 originates and joins United States Highway 19 into Haywood County.  United States Highway 25 parallels Interstate Highway 26 from Madison to Henderson counties.  United States Highway 70 enters joined with United States Highway 25 from Madison County, splits and exits east into McDowell County.  United States Highway 74 is joined with Interstate Highway 26 from Henderson County, south, splits and joins Interstate Highway 40 into Haywood County.  United States Highway 74 Alternate enters from Henderson County and terminates.  The county is an overall rectangle.  Asheville is located in the southwest quarter of the county.  Asheville is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 35.1% of the county population.  The county is pronounced BUN-COM.  This county is in the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.