Who We Are

Ashley Construction is owned by David and Carrie Gates. We live and work in Western North Carolina. We are co-owners with Eddie Cope of Appalachian Funeral Services and Crematorium in Sylva, NC, and David owns and operates Bradley's General Store in Dillsboro, NC. We are a traditional mountain family, with three beautiful daughters, Carolyne, Sarah, and Ashley. We love the area we live in and enjoy helping new people call this area home.

Our families are both multi-generational residents of Western North Carolina, living in these hills we are proud to call home. We have seen many changes in our communities, from dirt tracks to modern four-lane highways and from an emphasis on subsistence farming to a modern town with access to all of today's technological advances. Yet, we think this area has maintained its small town, mountain flavor.

Jackson County is a place to call home, to build houses with wide front porches for rocking chairs, a place to slow down from the hustle and bustle of cell phones and email (which are waiting just inside). A place to lean back and breath the mountain air as you watch a ruby-throated humming bird flitter from flower to flower.

Ashley Construction is located in Dillsboro, NC, a wonderful little craft town, just minutes away from the Great Smoky Mountains. Dillsboro is a train town, established in 1889 as a stop for the railroad. The Jarrett House still caters to the tourists who ride the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad into Bryson City or the Nantahala Gorge, Land of the Noon-Day Sun.

There are many quality gift shops in Dillsboro, our favorite, Bradley's General Store, has been open since 1888. Walikng into Bradley's is like taking a stroll back into your childhood, from the authentic soda fountain where you can get a malt or a milkshake made the old time way, to the retro candies and John Deere items, you are guaranteed to enjoy your visit!

While you're in Bradley's be sure to pick up a copy of Carrie's book, Granny Stories: North Carolina Mountain Tales. Carrie wrote the book in 2005 to preserve the local stories of the mountains told by her Granny and other family and friends. She hopes to complete another book in the near future.

Other wonderful shops in Dillsboro are Dogwood Crafters, located just down the street from Bradleys, The Golden Carp, and Nancy Tut's Christmas Shop. The Riverwood Shops, up on the hill, are another must see, they have been in Dillsboro for over 50 years, offering stained glass, pottery, crafts, and a fantastic restaurant, the Well House, built around an original well you can view from inside the restaurant. Dillsboro is a family vacation destination with modern hotels and several quaint bed and breakfasts. Rafting or canoeing the Tuckaseggee River is a great occupation for a hot summer's day. The Tuckasegee River is also famous as a fly fisherman's haven.

Be sure and visit Dillsboro during the first two weeknds in December each year. That's when we have Dillsboro's Lights and Luminaries Festival, decorated with white twinkling lights all over town and over 2000 lighted candles per night. All the stores are open late and there is live entertainment throughout the town. It's a wonderful way to welcome the winter season.

David and Carrie

Our Goals

To build quality houses which will become treasured homes.
To provide the best customer service possible, and to call each customer a friend.
To promote an inclusive workplace, help the community and Western North Carolina.
To enjoy home building and construction.

From anywhere in our county you are only about an hour away from Asheville, NC, a small but thriving mountain metropolis, with something for everyone. The world's largest home, the Biltmore Estate, built in the late 1890s by Richard Morris Hunt as a mountain retreat for George Vanderbilt, is must see whenver you are in the area. The Blue Ridge Parkway and the Folkart Center are a way of seeing the beauty of our mountains and examining the quality of our mountain crafts.

We began remodeling old houses when we married in 1994. Since then we have tackled many old homes only a "blind man and a blonde" would have dared to try. We have bought houses with only a good foundation and shell, and rebuilt them from the inside out. Oftentimes it would have been easier to have razed the house and started over, but we get satisfaction out of returning an old home to its former state, no matter how humble. Many of the house we continue to own and rent, but have also sold several over the years.

After so much renovation, David began to yearn to builld a new house. He worked hard and obtained his commercial building contractor's license. With excellent subcontractors, we are able to offer site built or modular homes within the price range of young families or families new to our area. David works with the landowner to make sure the home meets their criteria. He also completes houses we sell upon completion to people needing a home.

In these tough economic times, finding and being approved for a mortgage is a challenge. However, because we have lived in this area all our lives, we have good working relations with many banks and businesses in the area and can help you become established in the community. It is our goal to provide quality homes and quality services in an area you will be proud to call home.

We and our subcontractors offer the benefits of years of experience gained from previous construction projects. We are an equal opportunity employer and are eager to work with homeowners to make their home buying or home building experience positive and as stress free as possible.

Ashley Construction, Inc. PO Box 459 Dillsboro, NC, 28725 phone: 828.586.3891, cell phone: 828.506.3891