| Biltmore Estate | central Buncombe County on the S outskirts of Asheville. Built for George W. Vanderbilt (1863-1914); the name combines the last part of his family name with more, an old English word for rolling, upland country. The house, in the style of a French chateau, was formally opened in 1895 after 5 years of construction. Handsomely furnished, surrounded by formal gardens, and including adjoining forests, farms, winery, and dairy lands, the estate has been open to the public since 1930. |
| Biltmore Forest | town in central Buncombe County, SW of Asheville. Inc. 1923 and named for the experimental forest est. on the Vanderbilt estate. Alt. 2,050. |
| Biltmore Forest | a part of the Biltmore Estate in S Buncombe County, approx. 11,000 acres along the Swannanoa and French Broad Rivers. Alt. approx. 2,000-2,300. Est. 1890 on land largely cut over; planting continued until about 1911. Gifford Pinchot, the first trained American forester, planned and directed the work. In 1898 Carl A. Schenck founded the Biltmore School of Forestry there, the first such school in the United States. See also Carl Alwin Schenck Forest. |
| Bina | community in N central Ashe County. First known as Berlin but name changed during World War I. |
| Bingham Branch | rises in E Alamance County in the N outskirts of Mebane and flows NW into Mill Creek. |
| Bingham Heights | community in central Buncombe County NE of Emma. Site of Bingham School, 1891-1928, and residence of teacher Robert Bingham. |
| Bingham Township | SW Orange County. |
| Birch | community in SW Cherokee County on Beech Creek. |
| Birch Branch | See Birch Creek. |
| Birch Cove | the valley through which Chairmaker Branch flows in central Clay County. |