[Governor Dinwiddie]

Ashville's "secret" is that it is located in the mountains in an area with a traditional Scots-Irish demographic. It's not tobacco or cotton country, with the usual "residual problems".
 

[CarolinaPeach]

What are the ‘residual problems’?

Peach

[Rebelbase]

“Wonder what was key in Asheville’s resurrection?”

Tourism.

Asheille city government finally paid off it’s Depression era bonds in the early 80’s and didn’t have the money to bulldoze 1/2 the downtown and replace with ugly red brick buildings like happened in many cities during the 1960’s.

With block after block of 1920’s buildings and a rising economy in the mid to late 80’s to 2000 the money moved in and so did rejuvenation.