A snapshot of Biltmore in the 1960s

The Biltmore Estate bills itself as a timeless treasure. And based on this postcard photo, taken in the early 1960s, it is just that. No longer can you park your Chevy Bel Air directly in front of the home. And gone are the larger trees on each side of the frame. But other than that, the home has not changed much.

But this postcard reveals more than what was intended by the postcard company. On the back, the sender jots down several notes about the estate. It is likely that some facts were shared during a tour of the property. But others were certainly not sanctioned by management for wide distribution. Suffice it to say, the sender’s friend in Arkansas got an earful of local gossip.

Today, let’s concentrate less on what we can learn from stamps and postmarks. Instead, I want to break down the message on the card and fact check it to the best of my ability. Here we go.

What did the sender write?

‘Twas nice how millionaires lived before taxes. Biltmore home & estate are lovely. Home has 250 rooms filled with priceless possessions. Estate has 12,000 acres, 4,000 used for dairy-cows imported from Isle of Jersey. Caretakers of home & dairy live in small mansions. Son still lives on 3rd floor most of time, friendly, & town people love him. Daughter is snooty & lives in Europe (local gossip). Wish you were with us.

Let’s break it down: How much was accurate?

Twas nice how millionaires lived before taxes. 

Income taxes were actually established in 1861 to help pay for the government’s war efforts during the Civil War. That predates the construction of the home by a quarter century. (But I get what she means….)

Biltmore home & estate are lovely.

Yep. Checks out.

I actually lived in Asheville several years before I visited the Biltmore Estate. I was reticent about glorifying what I thought was just abject decadence. But after having lived here, learning about the home’s role in the development of the town, and gaining a better understanding of how much effort it takes to keep a prime chunk of the county from development, I’ve come to appreciate the estate for what it offers. And what it offers is, indeed, very lovely.

Home has 250 rooms filled with priceless possessions. 

This is also true. The room count includes 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces. Not to mention an indoor swimming pool, home gym, bowling alley, and smoking room (for the gentlemen). Completed in 1895, the house is also a fascinating combination of the opulence of traditional European design paired with what were innovative and state-of-the-art home features at the time. A self-guided tour of the house, which runs at least 90 minutes, shows off fine furniture, priceless first-edition books, and fine art fit for a national museum.

Estate has 12,000 acres, 4,000 used for dairy-cows imported from Isle of Jersey. 

At its acquisition, Biltmore originally encompassed approximately 125,000 acres (nearly 30% of Buncombe County). More than 86,000 acres of the property was later sold to the federal government to create Pisgah National Forest, one of the first national forests east of the Mississippi. Currently, the estate covers approximately 8,000 acres, including a full 75 acres of manicured gardens. But in the 1960s, it stands to reason that there were still 12,000 acres dedicated to the estate.

George Vanderbilt understood that his estate should be centered around an agricultural heart. To that end, he began construction on the main dairy and horse barn in 1900. Collectively named Biltmore Farms, original agricultural operations included sheep, hog, and poultry farms, as well as a substantial market garden for produce. According to the estate, “Biltmore Dairy was the most successful of all of Biltmore’s enterprises.” And yes, Vanderbilt had what was believed to be the largest herd of registered Jersey dairy cows in the world. “Of all major dairy breeds, Jerseys produce the richest milk—high in butterfat, protein, and calcium. They also produce a higher volume of milk per each pound of body weight than other types of cattle.” Only the best for ol’ George.

Son still lives on 3rd floor most of time, friendly, & town people love him. 

George Vanderbilt was 33 when the house was completed in 1895 and lived there with his family until his death in 1914. He and his wife, Edith, had one daughter, born Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt, who lived on the estate until it opened to the public in 1930. (The estate opened as a destination both to ​​increase area tourism during the Depression and to generate income to preserve the estate.) It seems likely that it’s one of Cornelia’s two sons with her first husband, John A.V. Cecil, to whom the postcard author refers. 

In 1960, Cornelia’s younger son, William Amherst Vanderbilt Cecil, was tasked with managing the estate. (His older brother, George W. Vanderbilt Cecil, took control of Biltmore Farms.) In addition to transforming Biltmore into the largest tourist draw in the state, Bill Cecil, Sr. began Biltmore’s winery in 1971. Bill Cecil, Sr. was indeed beloved by the community until his death in 2017. Bill Cecil, Jr. is the current President and CEO of The Biltmore Company.

While there is evidence that the family still lived in the house for a few years after “going public,” I can find no direct evidence that Bill Cecil lived in the house during the 1960s. However, Biltmore has never opened all rooms to the public at the same time, so it’s certainly possible that he could have. More likely, the author of the postcard could have heard that both Bill and George lived within a stone’s throw of the estate throughout their lives.

Daughter is snooty & lives in Europe (local gossip).

Backing up, since Cornelia Vanderbilt Cecil only had two sons, I’m left to imagine that the “daughter” mentioned on the card is George and Edith’s daughter, Cornelia herself. Even Wikipedia starts an entry about her with “She was known for her eccentric behavior.” When her sons were about seven and four years old, Cornelia left her “dull” life at Biltmore for New York City. “A few months later, she moved to Paris where she divorced her husband in 1934, dyed her hair bright pink, and changed her name to Nilcha. After her 1934 move abroad, she never returned to Biltmore or the United States again.” She was married twice more over the next 40 years, including her third marriage to a waiter 26 years her junior.

It’s hard to verify most local gossip 60 years after the fact. But I can tell you that I showed this card to a friend who used to work in the local newspapers. And his first reaction was, “Yeah, I used to hear people talk about how ‘snooty’ she was.” So, whether or not the gossip was accurate of the time, it’s certainly true that that was the local sentiment.

Overall, I’d say the information in the message on this postcard is fairly accurate to what was known or said about the estate in 1963. Its authors were quick to take note of both facts and opinions during their visit to the home.

What else is worth knowing about Biltmore?

I could write a whole book about the history of the Biltmore Estate. In fact, several authors have! However, since I’m not a Biltmore expert, and this blog post is getting a little long, let me just share a few of my favorite factoids before I wrap up:

Biltmore played a role in the war effort – During World War II, national leaders recognized that if the war were brought to the U.S. mainland, it was possible that large metropolitan centers could be bombed like those in Europe. As an effort to preserve national treasures, many were moved to less central locations. The Biltmore House stored a number of priceless works on behalf of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, during this time.

You may recognize Biltmore from film – Over the years, many movies have been filmed in part on the Biltmore Estate. From the grandeur of the house itself to the thousands of acres of manicured grounds, Biltmore is perfect for the screen. Among the projects welcomed on the estate were The Swan, Being There, Last of the Mohicans, Forrest Gump, Richie Rich, and Hannibal (2001).

The FBI is on the case – Another movie filmed at the Biltmore House was the 1980 Sherlock Holmes spoof Private Eyes, starring Tim Conway and Don Knotts. Inadvertently during a cast party, 233 priceless books from the library were discovered missing, including a 1756 edition of Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language, a book of Goya etchings, and rare copies of Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, and The Brothers Grimm. After an FBI investigation (apparently the actors did not donate their detective skills to the effort), a night watchman/antique bookseller was charged with the thefts. He served about five years in prison. 

What do you think? Are you a fan of the Biltmore Estate? Do you have any additional fun facts or local gossip to report? Let me know your thoughts!