On this day in 1897: President William McKinley, en route to Washington by train, arrives in Asheville for an overnight stay at the Biltmore House.
George W. Vanderbilt is out of the country and has left in charge E.J. Harding, who precipitates a minor flap by briefly refusing entrance to the White House press. “Mr. Vanderbilt does not like newspaper notoriety,” he explains, “and neither do I.”
Pictured: “Real photo” mirror/paperweight, early 1900s.