EDITOR’S NOTE: Western North Carolina is weird – and it always has been. From Cherokee myths to Bigfoot and alien encounters, the Blue Ridge Mountains host the quirky and bizarre from past and present. We would not have it any other way, and neither would you. Join us in unfolding the histories and unraveling the mysteries of this strange land we call home.
Corbin, Kentucky will forever be known as the home of the first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, although that chain could have just as easily become North Carolina Fried Chicken.
In 1930, Harland Sanders, before he was bestowed with colonel status, opened a motor court in southeastern Kentucky at the crossing of three roads heading toward Johnson City, Knoxville and Lexington. After a few years of successful operations, Sanders turned his eyes further down Highway 25, past Knoxville to the tourist destination of Asheville.
From Motor Courts to Motels
As road trips became feasible for an increasing number of Americans, new services were needed to accommodate their travels. Gas stations began popping up rapidly on street corners, along with motor courts.
A now defunct relic of the interwar era, motor courts do still exist, yet their name has shifted. Today, you can stop at a motel in nearly any city in the United States.
While motels are the literal successor to motor courts, they lack many of the luxuries their predecessors had. Motor courts often included gas pumps and full-service restaurants. You would be lucky to get a continental breakfast at a motel today.
Fried Chicken in Asheville
After failing to expand his restaurant business venture in Kentucky, and having not yet invented his famous chicken recipe, Sanders returned to the motor court business which he had prior success in.
Looking for another advantageous crossroads to set up shop, Sanders settled on the intersection of Weaverville Highway (U.S. Highway 25) and the Old Marshall Highway in Woodfin, just north of downtown Asheville. Until Interstate 26 entered “The Land of the Sky,” this intersection saw thousands of tourists annually, making it the perfect location for an inn. Highway 25 still connects Corbin to Asheville, although there are significantly quicker routes to take.
Opened in 1939, Sanders Court and Cafe in Asheville boasted around 80 rooms with postcards stating, “Offer complete accommodations with tile baths, (abundance of hot water), carpeted floors, ‘Perfect Sleeper’ beds, air conditioned, steam heated, radio in every room, open all year, serving excellent food.”
“Harland Sanders was apparently going back and forth between our Sanders’ Court in Asheville and the gas station he owned in Corbin, Kentucky during the 1930s and 40s, which became the first KFC,” Terry Roberts wrote, a local author with a deep connection to the facility.
While it is unclear where Sanders officially came up with his chicken recipe, it was served at his Asheville motor court. “By 1940, Colonel Sanders had perfected his fried chicken recipe, with 11 herbs and spices and the use of a pressure fryer instead of a pan, making Asheville the 2nd place in the world to enjoy the Colonel’s Secret Recipe,” according to Atlas Obscura.
With World War II in full swing, the U.S. Government began rationing gasoline, causing a significant decrease in sales for gas stations and motor courts. Given the situation, Sanders closed his Asheville outlet.
Colonel Sanders returned to Kentucky to expand the chicken restaurant chain we know today as “finger-licking good.” It is unclear what became of the inn after Sanders’ closure in 1942.
New Management
Lee and Helen Roberts bought Colonel Sanders’ motor court in 1948, according to an article written by their son, Terry, who grew up in Sanders Court. The Colonel not only sold the building, but also a large swath of land that stretched from “the old Weaverville Highway all the way to top of Baird Mountain.”
“They also operated a restaurant in the kitchen and living room of the house I grew up in, which had been Colonel Sanders’ residence,” Roberts explained.
In the mid-1950’s, Sanders Court burned. Roughly eighty percent of the complex was razed. The family rebuilt the inn, repurposing it into apartments. Their home kitchen restaurant would not reopen.
The Roberts owned and operated the inn until 1975, after which, a series of revolving owners ran the property. Over time, the additional land beyond the perimeter of the buildings was sold off.
Sanders Court in the Twenty-First Century
Today, the former motor court remains open at 375 Weaverville Highway as an apartment complex, owned and operated by Asheville Rentals.
For many years, Sanders Court lost its “s,” standing at the highway intersection as “Sander Court.” At some point recently, the sign was corrected to its original name.
Do you have a bizarre, weird or extraordinary story about Western North Carolina? Let us know by emailing jvander-weide@avlradio.com. Your tall tale could be the next Strangeville story.