To understand the Shiloh community’s origins, it is important to look to the context in which it was established. Asheville began as a small, rural township nestled between mountains in a hard-to-navigate area. Most of the inhabitants were small production farmers, some of whom enslaved people to work on their farms. However, in 1827 the Buncombe Turnpike was built through Asheville, and the trajectory of slavery in Asheville changed considerably.

The Turnpike was largely intended to allow rural farmers to take their livestock and other products to markets. These travelers and traders passed through Asheville along the Turnpike at unprecedented rates, and a hospitality industry blossomed. White landowners of Buncombe county flocked to Asheville, bringing their enslaved workers with them to provide the labor required to operate businesses along the Turnpike.

By 1840, 12 percent of the population of Buncombe county was enslaved, many of whom worked in hotels and inns. Asheville’s economy quickly became dependent on this hospitality industry built on enslaved workers’ labor.