History of the Sulphur Springs Neighborhood

Until 2007, the Sulphur Springs Neighborhood was best known in Asheville as the home of the Rev. Robert Edward Harris (1923-2007) and the neighborhood church called The Chapel that he founded and pastored for 57 years. The Chapel still stands at the corner of Hi Alta Ave & Appalachian Way. Rev. Harris was a
Buncombe County native called “a legend in his own time.”

He was renown in Asheville and beyond as the:

  • Founder in 1960 of the Asheville Drive-In Church that met in the Westgate Plaza parking lot for many years with hundreds attending weekly in their cars
  • Last “circuit riding preacher” in Western NC who dressed as an old-time cowboy preacher, rode on horseback through the Hi Alta neighborhood inviting folks to come to church at The Chapel, and also preached on horseback at a nearby rest area on I-40
  • Founder who operated the Asheville Alzheimer’s Care Center for 30 years
  • Founder of Asheville’s Robert E. Harris Biblical Museum and namesake of the Robert E. Harris Evangelical Association, which owns and operates The Chapel and continues Rev. Harris’s ministry since his death in 2007.

    Read Harris’ obituary the Asheville Citizen Times.
Reverend Harris on horseback

Rev. Harris also owned the 4 acres of woods across from The Chapel on Hi Alta Avenue known as Sulphur Springs Park, which was central to the church’s ministry. During Harris’s life, Sulphur Springs Park was:

  • the site of numerous church revivals,
  • a picnic area where suppers and refreshments were served outdoors because food was not allowed inside The Chapel
  • a playground for neighborhood children, who were welcome to enjoy the woods as long as they “left it as they found it” (pristine with no underbrush during Harris’s life), and
  • a place of respite for all who enjoyed walking and relaxing in their neighborhood “park.”

Present

Rev. Harris told everyone that he wanted the Sulphur Springs parcel preserved forever as the sacred woods it was during his lifetime. But he died in 2007 without a will, and his next of kin sold the property in April 2008 to Ken Arrowood, who owns it unmaintained land held as a 401-K. Since July 2022, the 4-acre parcel has been for sale, described on MLS as level and “super developer friendly zoned RM-8 suitable for multi-family or single family” development. Since August 2022, the listing has been “active under contract” to a developer who is in the land grading business.

Sulphur Springs Park

Sulphur Springs Neighborhood Association is working diligently to:

  • Preserve the parcel as a neighborhood park or green space (neighborhood’s first choice)
  • See petition signed by nearly 500 https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/save-sulphur-springs-park
  • Prevent high-density development that would profit developers and property managers to the detriment of our neighborhood and city
  • Maximize preservation of the tree canopy and public green space in whatever development plans may be proposed
  • Partner with staff in the city’s Development Services Department to ensure that Sulphur Springs neighborhood residents’ voices are heard in any development process initiated, and that true compliance with the goals of Asheville’s Comprehensive Development Plan is achieved