The Swannanoa Valley Museum is housed in the former Black Mountain Fire Department Building and was designed by noted Biltmore House supervising architect and reknowned Western North Carolina designer, Richard Sharpe Smith.  This is one of the few remaining examples of Richard Sharpe Smith's work in Eastern Buncombe County and has been acknowledged as one of the most important elements of the Museum's truly remarkable collection of artifacts of the unique history of Black Mountain.  Phase I renovations were awarded a Griffin Award by the Asheville Buncombe Preservation Society in 2009.