Asheville, Bakersfield, Charter, and Darlington are four small towns along a straight road in that order. The distance from Bakersfield to Charter is one-third the distance from Asheville to Charter and one-quarter the distance from Bakersfield to Darlington. If it is $12$ miles from Bakersfield to Charter, how many miles is it from Asheville to Darlington?
1. Let the towns be denoted as follows:
   - \( A \) for Asheville
   - \( B \) for Bakersfield
   - \( C \) for Charter
   - \( D \) for Darlington

2. Given:
   - The distance from Bakersfield to Charter (\( BC \)) is 12 miles.
   - The distance from Bakersfield to Charter (\( BC \)) is one-third the distance from Asheville to Charter (\( AC \)).
   - The distance from Bakersfield to Charter (\( BC \)) is one-quarter the distance from Bakersfield to Darlington (\( BD \)).

3. Using the given information, we can set up the following equations:
   - \( BC = 12 \)
   - \( BC = \frac{1}{3} AC \)
   - \( BC = \frac{1}{4} BD \)

4. Solving for \( AC \):
   \[
   BC = \frac{1}{3} AC \implies 12 = \frac{1}{3} AC \implies AC = 3 \times 12 = 36 \text{ miles}
   \]

5. Solving for \( BD \):
   \[
   BC = \frac{1}{4} BD \implies 12 = \frac{1}{4} BD \implies BD = 4 \times 12 = 48 \text{ miles}
   \]

6. Now, we need to find the total distance from Asheville to Darlington (\( AD \)):
   - The distance from Asheville to Bakersfield (\( AB \)) can be found as:
     \[
     AB = AC - BC = 36 - 12 = 24 \text{ miles}
     \]
   - The distance from Charter to Darlington (\( CD \)) can be found as:
     \[
     CD = BD - BC = 48 - 12 = 36 \text{ miles}
     \]

7. Therefore, the total distance from Asheville to Darlington (\( AD \)) is:
   \[
   AD = AB + BC + CD = 24 + 12 + 36 = 72 \text{ miles}
   \]

The final answer is \(\boxed{72}\) miles.