Pack Square Park

The Cherokee called this place Untokiasdiyi — "Where they race" — and used the confluence as open hunting and meeting ground. European Americans arrived in 1784. Asheville was incorporated in 1797 at the spot where two Indian trails crossed. The square has held that intersection ever since.

George W. Pack donated the land in 1901. The earlier courthouse was demolished and rebuilt east; the vacated parcel became Pack Square Park in 1903. Local tradition holds that a Confederate hospital operated here during the Civil War — Asheville contributed companies to both armies, though the fighting stayed away until April 1865, when Union forces withdrew after encountering resistance from Confederate reserves.

The park was redesigned in 2009 under the guidance of Pack Square Conservancy. It now covers 6.5 acres: the Roger McGuire Green in front of City Hall, the Reuter Terrace mid-park, and a granite Veterans' Memorial near the courthouse. A covered stage occupies the eastern side. Shindig on the Green, the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, and the Goombay Festival all happen here — the old racing ground still gathers a crowd.