Editor’s Note: Western North Carolina is rich with untold stories—many resting quietly in local cemeteries. In this Tombstone Tales series, we explore the lives of people from our region’s past whose legacies, whether widely known or nearly forgotten, helped shape the place we call home.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. —Dr. Lewis M. McCormick helped change the way Asheville approached public health. More than a century after he took aim at one of the city’s dirtiest problems, his story remains one of innovation, service, and lasting impact.
Born in 1863 in northern Virginia, McCormick pursued an early interest in science. He studied in Washington, D.C., and earned a degree from Oberlin College in Ohio. Before settling in Asheville, he worked with the Smithsonian Institution and the New York Zoological Society. He traveled extensively on scientific expeditions across Asia, Africa, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, collecting thousands of specimens for natural history collections.
By 1905, McCormick was living in Asheville and serving as the city’s first bacteriologist. At the time, the city faced a major public health challenge – the common housefly. Swarming the city after decades of livestock traffic, flies were seen as more than a nuisance. They were carriers of disease, and one man stepped in with a solution that would leave a lasting mark on the city.
Dr. Lewis M. McCormick, Asheville’s only bacteriologist at the time, believed houseflies were a major cause of disease. In 1905, he launched a grassroots campaign he called “Swat That Fly.”
He enlisted local boys and gave them fly swatters. The boys went into neighborhoods offering their services to homeowners for ten cents per house. The boys had fun with the fly swatters and home owners bought into the campaign. The plan worked as the fly population dropped dramatically in Asheville.
His simple but effective idea caught national attention. Health officials from across the country came to Asheville to study the results, and McCormick became known as “The Fly Man.” His campaign helped reshape how cities approached disease prevention and public sanitation.
By the 1910s, health departments and civic groups across the country had launched their own “Swat the Fly” campaigns. From North Carolina to New Jersey, local leaders offered rewards for collected flies and organized fly-hunting contests. While not directly coordinated with Dr. McCormick, these efforts reflected the same belief that community-driven action could tackle public health issues.
Initially, some critics mocked McCormick’s fly‑swatting approach. Over time, journalists and health officials praised his work. At the time of his death in January 1922, the same press that once ridiculed him celebrated him as a hero for Asheville’s health.
Two years later, Asheville honored his contributions by naming its new municipal baseball stadium McCormick Field. Although the ballpark is a local landmark, few remember that its name was meant to preserve the legacy of a man who helped make Asheville a healthier place and brought national attention to the city through his creative problem-solving.
Dr. McCormick is buried in Asheville’s Riverside Cemetery. During our visit, his grave appeared to have narrowly avoided damage from the remnants of Hurricane Helene. It lies in an area included in the city’s ongoing cleanup efforts.
More than a century after he worked to clean up Asheville’s streets, Dr. Lewis McCormick is remembered as a quiet but effective force for public good. His legacy lives on not just in the name of a ballpark, but in the story of how one man’s commitment to public health made a lasting impact.
Visit Riverside Cemetery in Asheville, North Carolina
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Tombstone Tales: The life and death of Ben Addison, Eagle Street merchant
Ben Addison, a respected Black merchant on Asheville’s historic Eagle Street, was gunned down in 1906 during a desperado’s rampage that also claimed two police officers. His grave at Riverside Cemetery bears a haunting inscription: “Killed by a Desperado.”
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Tombstone Tales: The gentlewoman and philosopher of Hendersonville
Henrietta “Hennie” Whitted Price (1864–1923) was a Hendersonville native, poet, and composer whose life took her from the Blue Ridge to Chicago before returning to rest in Oakdale Cemetery.
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Tombstone Tales: Before the Science Guy, there was Bill Nye the Humorist
Before there was “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” another Bill Nye made America laugh. Edgar Wilson Nye, a 19th-century humorist and journalist, found his final resting place in Fletcher. His memorial and grave at Calvary Episcopal Churchyard still draw visitors curious about the man once known as “Bill Nye the Humorist.”
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Tombstone Tales: The 1911 Asheville Murder Story Behind a Riverside Cemetery Grave
A simple grave in Riverside Cemetery marks the tragic story of Allen “Buck” Trivette. In 1911, the young Asheville man was shot by his uncle, Pitt Ballew, during a family quarrel that led to trial in Buncombe County.
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Tombstone Tales: The wreck on Saluda Mountain that changed rail safety
In 1890, engineer Lewis Tunstall was killed when his train careened down the Saluda Grade at 75 miles an hour. The wreck led to the creation of safety switches that saved countless lives. Today, Tunstall is remembered not only for his sacrifice but also by a striking monument in Hendersonville’s Oakdale Cemetery.