“Hog Drovers” is a reproduction of an engraving from Harper’s New Monthly Magazine [October 1857]. The Buncombe Turnpike opened in 1827 as a route to Greenville, Atlanta, Charleston, and places farther south. Tens of thousands of livestock from Western North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky were driven to market annually along the route. Livestock, mainly hogs and turkeys, crossed at Smith’s Bridge to access the Buncombe Turnpike.
Published July 2016.