House #3

230 Pearson Drive. In the late 19th and early 20^th century, Asheville was well-known as a center for the treatment of tuberculosis.  Dr. Charles Hartwell Cocke, Jr., originally from Mississippi, suffered from TB as a young doctor, and came to Asheville for his health.  Trained at Cornell and the University of Vienna, and in London and Paris, Dr. Cocke came to specialize in pulmonary diseases.

In 1925, Dr. Cocke and his wife Amy built their home at 230 Pearson Drive of stone in the Dutch Colonial Revival style.  When the doctor died suddenly in 1944, Amy sold the house to another doctor and his family, Dr. Charles and Dorothy Millender.  Dr. Millender had grown up down the street at 240 Pearson Drive.

In 1984, the house was purchased by Lonnie and Evelyn Wyatt, who turned it into a Bed and Breakfast.  In December 1985, they participated in the Christmas at the Inns House Tour sponsored by the Preservation Society.  The house remained a B&B under several owners, who added ensuite bathrooms and created a modern décor.

In 2010, the house was purchased by Jennifer Farmer and Dan Rosenthal, who undertook a complete renovation and restored it to a more traditional style.  In 2014, they sold the house to Jennifer’s parents, Mickey and Woody Farmer.

Much of the furniture in the Farmer’s home was inherited from Woody’s father, a physician whose patients sometimes paid in the form of furniture or lumber.  On display is Woody’s remarkable collection of historic maps, as well as a glassware collection inherited from Mickey’s mother that was salvaged from her New Orleans home after Hurricane Katrina.  The Farmer’s collection of local, regional, and international artwork reveals their many interests.