Welcome to the Thomas Wolfe Memorial, a site that offers a fascinating glimpse into the life and times of one of America’s literary giants. Located in downtown Asheville, North Carolina, this historic house was once the childhood home of Thomas Wolfe, a towering figure in 20th-century American literature.
The house, known as the ‘Old Kentucky Home,’ was built in 1883 in the Queen Anne style, a popular architectural choice of the time. Originally a seven-room family dwelling, it was later expanded to serve as a boarding house. In 1906, Julia Wolfe, Thomas’s mother, purchased the property and ran it as a boarding house. This bustling environment provided young Thomas with a rich tapestry of characters and stories that would later inspire his writing.
Thomas Wolfe was born on October 3, 1900, just a stone’s throw away from the boarding house. He lived here until he left for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1916. Wolfe’s formative years spent in the ‘Old Kentucky Home’ were immortalized in his autobiographical novel, “Look Homeward, Angel,” published in 1929. In this novel, he fictionalized his childhood home as ‘Dixieland,’ painting a vivid picture of life in early 20th-century Asheville.
The house itself has a storied history, surviving a devastating fire in 1998 that destroyed part of its original structure. It was painstakingly restored and reopened in 2003, allowing visitors to step back in time and experience the world that shaped Wolfe’s narratives.
As you explore the rooms of the Thomas Wolfe Memorial, imagine the young writer absorbing the sights and sounds of bustling boarders, the clatter of horse-drawn carriages on cobblestone streets, and the whispers of the Blue Ridge Mountains encircling the city. Wolfe’s editor, Maxwell Perkins, famously noted that understanding Wolfe’s work required a visit to his Asheville roots.
Today, the Thomas Wolfe Memorial serves as a beacon for literary enthusiasts and historians alike, preserving the legacy of a writer who captured the essence of the human experience in his work. It stands as a testament to the enduring power of storytelling and the indelible impact of one’s early environment on their creative journey.
