~ The Majestic Biltmore ~

Boasting four ACRES of floor space, the 250 room mansion features 34 family and guest bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, three kitchens, and an indoor swimming pool. The surrounding grounds encompass a 100,000 acre forest, a 250 acre wooded park, six pleasure gardens and 30 miles of paved roadways.

The Vanderbilts were not only one of the best-known families in America, they were also among the oldest: Jan Aertsen van der Bilt emigrated to this country from Holland around 1650. Although his descendants prospered as farmers on Staten Island, New York, they lived modestly; it was only during the lifetime of Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) that the family name became synonymous with extraordinary wealth

Legend holds that Cornelius changed the family fortune at age 16 with a $100 loan from his mother. Strong willed and self-educated, the budding entrepreneur launched a ferry service across New York Bay, which he enventually parlayed into a fleet of more than 100 steamboats that traveled as far as Central American and Europe. Some 50 years later the "Commodore" as he came to be called, earned his second fortune investing in railroads.

For more information on this historic Estate, visit the Biltmore website. The source for the above information taken from "A Guide to Biltmore Estate" published by The Biltmore Company and copyrighted by same Back through North Carolina, the previous North Carolina or the FIRST North Carolina ... or explore more of Snuggems' Cove.