In 1888, George Vanderbilt began building a vast North Carolina estate; 26 years later, his widow sold 86,700 acres for $433,500, helping create the core of Pisgah National Forest in 1916

In 1914, Edith Vanderbilt completed a significant land transfer that fundamentally altered the landscape of North Carolina. She agreed to sell 86,700 acres of mountain forest, previously part of the private Biltmore Estate, to the federal government. The transaction totaled $433,500. This acquisition, initiated by a grieving widow more than a century ago, transformed a vast private wilderness into public land. The move is widely recognized as a cornerstone of American conservation history. Specifically, this land became the central foundation for the establishment of Pisgah National Forest in 1916, securing a major natural resource for public use and preservation.

The Biltmore Estate was a large private property in North Carolina owned by the Vanderbilt family, and Pisgah National Forest is a federally managed forest that protects millions of acres of Appalachian land.