Welcome to Asheville

MADISON COUNTY

County Offices
Madison County Courthouse
One Main Street
Marshall 828-649-2200
www.madisoncountync.org

Chamber of Commerce
56 South Main
Mars Hills 828-689-9351
www.madisoncounty-nc.com

More than 1,500 picturesque family farms and vast tracts of protected forestland make Madison County a comfortable, welcoming, and naturally beautiful home. Madison County is situated 15 miles north of Asheville along the North Carolina and Tennessee border in the Great Smoky Mountains of Appalachia.

Services
Madison County offers a rural paradise with easy access to major interstates 26, 40, and 81 for quick trips or commutes to regional urban centers. Close proximity to Asheville ensures state-of-the-art healthcare services and facilities via a short drive or in emergencies, by helicopter link to Memorial Mission Hospital. The average flight to Memorial Mission from the helipad on the campus of A-B Tech’s Madison, and the county is blanketed by ambulance and paramedic service. Closer to home, many routine healthcare services as well as some dedicated specialized facilities are operated through the non-profit Hot Springs Health Program. Medical, dental, and pharmaceutical offices combine with a long-term care home and the county’s hospice program. Several licensed nursing facilities and care homes dot the landscape, taking advantage of the area’s natural tranquility to offer a comfortable, peaceful haven.

Madison County is a wonderful place to raise a family, including access to a world of educational opportunities from preschool through college. Favorable teacher/pupil ratios are the hallmark of the Madison County Public School District, where a dedicated staff focuses on developing each student’s potential and encouraging children to be responsible, productive adults. Madison County is the proud home of Mars Hill College, founded in 1865 and distinguished as the oldest institution of higher education in Western North Carolina. The school is a private, liberal arts coeducational college with a Baptist heritage that enjoys an expansive 180-acre campus in the community of Mars Hill. The college not only stimulates the environment intellectually, it provides a wealth of special programs and cultural enrichment that benefits the entire county.

Lifestyle
Thriving on agricultural activity, Madison County offers a quintessentially country lifestyle where nature’s bounty combines with small family enterprises. The area is filled with bountiful farms that offer U-pick orchards, markets, tours, activities, and special programs. The county seat of Marshall features the charm of an historical Main Street lined with unique shops and eateries. Madison County is proud of its distinctive cultural legacy in dance, music, and rural life. Truly a “mountain music” haven, the county draws enthusiastic participants to the autumn Lunsford Festival, a joint effort between Mars Hill College and town. The festival honors famous native son Bascom Lamar Lunsford, “Minstrel of the Appalachians” and his remarkable musical collection. The college adds a kaleidoscope of cultural activities and centers to the county, including the Rural Life Museum, the Orchard Hill Folk Art Collection, the Weizenblatt Art Gallery, the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre, the Hester Retreat Center, Moore Auditorium, and the Southern Appalachian Center. Another feather in the hat of Mars Hill College is the Bailey Mountain Cloggers group of national champions.

Madison County residents enjoy many recreational programs and preserved sites for athletic leagues, lifetime sports, leisure recreation, special community events, and special programs for all ages. Nearly one-quarter of the county is protected as public land and managed by the US Forest Service, ensuring abundant opportunities for outdoor adventure. Even the colder winter months are anticipated in Madison County, where Wolf Laurel Ski Resort in Mars Hill offers skiing and snowboarding. Horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking, fishing, and camping are all popular activities. Remote streams or rolling rivers like the French Broad are ideal for guided fishing trips. The world-famous Appalachian Trail passes from one end of Madison County to the other, and many hikers stop at the hostel in Hot Springs. From the crowning glory of its historic courthouse, a Neo-Classical Revival brick structure in the heart of Marshall, to the splendor of its forests and the cornucopia of farm goods, Madison County is filled with rural delights.

Town of Hot Springs
Town Hall
828-622-7591
www.townofhotsprings.org

Chamber of Commerce
828-689-9351
www.madisoncounty-nc.com

The town of Hot Springs is a haven for visitors who are looking for a healthy mountain retreat with rejuvenating spas and outstanding access to outdoor recreation. Local residents join vacationers in such activities as whitewater rafting, canoeing the French Broad River, and hiking through the four-season beauty of nearby forest trails. The town even offers a hiker’s hostel for those who are traversing long stretches of the spectacular Appalachian Trail, which runs down Main Street before crossing the French Broad River and climbing back to the ridgetops. North Carolina’s only hot mineral baths are waiting at day’s end if the destination happens to be Hot Springs Spa and Resort. The Bluff Mountain Music Festival held at the resort is a major Madison County event each summer. Once a destination for wealthy Southerners who appreciated the hot springs and cool mountain air, Hot Springs is once again booming as a therapeutic, relaxing retreat and recreational paradise.

Town of Mars Hills
Town Hall
828-689-2301
www.townofmarshill.org

Chamber of Commerce
828-689-9351
www.madisoncounty-nc.com

Mars Hill is most famous for the historic college that has graced the town with its lovely campus since the 1800s: Mars Hill College. The collegiate influence in this small town spills over to the entire county because of the first-rate cultural facilities and events the campus provides. Mars Hill College is actually well-known for the vibrancy of its artistic heritage and cultural treasures. The college is home to the Rural Life Museum, the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre, a major performing arts auditorium, and colorful musical and arts festivals. The town of Mars Hill enjoys an idyllic location, nestled in the rolling ridges and valleys of the picturesque and peaceful Southern Appalachian Mountains. Visitors and residents alike enjoy the local ski resort when the snow flies. This quaint town maintains the bustle and charm of a village atmosphere, adding an undeniable appeal to friendly neighborhoods of well-kept homes or beautiful rural properties. Mars Hill is 18 miles north of Asheville, and residents have the advantage of access to Interstate 26 with a connection to Interstate 240 through downtown Asheville.

Town of Marshall
Town Hall
828-649-3031
http://townofmarshall.org

Chamber of Commerce
828-689-9351
www.madisoncounty-nc.com

Serving as the seat of Marshall County government, the town of Marshall blends a rich historic legacy with a progressive attitude toward maintaining a competitive small-business climate. The pace of living is slower in Marshall, where visitors and residents alike enjoy a relaxing setting of natural beauty and country pleasures. Marshall is surrounded by mountain splendor and the scenic French Broad River, just 22 miles northwest of Asheville. The architectural showpiece of the town is the Madison County Courthouse, a 1906 Neo-Classical Revival style with a polygonal cupola in four stages—widely recognized as one of the most impressive in North Carolina. Marshall is home to a lively business district with wonderful shops and convenient businesses. Local residents benefit from the Madison County Arts Council efforts as well as close proximity to Mars Hill College and its wealth of artistic and cultural events and programs.