Sylva, NC: More than just a cool courthouse…

Welcome to Sylva… a progressive small town in Jackson County situated amidst the Great Smoky Mountains. Downtown, a Main Street community, has many restaurants and shops along its tree-lined streets.

Educational opportunities are virtually unlimited, with Western Carolina University only 7 miles away in Cullowhee, and Southwestern Community College in Sylva.

Recreational opportunities are numerous and diverse here. They have a state of the art playground designed by our children and built by the community.

The town owns a pristine tract of land, Pinnacle Park, that boasts hiking trails, waterfalls, and a town view from 5,000 feet.

The Tuckasegee River is known for its whitewater and trout populations.  And the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a 30 minute drive away.

For more, visit http://www.mountainlovers.com!

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Old Fort, NC – Gateway to the Southern Blue Ridge

Since 1869 travelers through these mountains looked for the familiar sight of a tall water plume, a manmade geyser, and a resort hotel tucked away at the base of the Blue Ridge this signaled the start of the long climb to Asheville through some of the most scenic terrain in North Carolina.

When the train passes through this town again (plans call for passenger rail service to resume within 5 years), travelers will stop at the tall, hand-carved arrowhead next to the depot, signaling a stop in the historic town of Old Fort.

A town committed to preserving its heritage, and having some fun along the way. Originally a fort built by the colonial militia before the Declaration of Independence, the settlement served for many years as the western outpost of the early United States.

The fort is now being rebuilt by the non-profit corporation “Davidson’s Fort Historic Park, Inc.”

For more info, visit: http://www.oldfort.org

To learn more about the book, visit: InSearchofMayberry.com!  

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Spruce Pine reaps tourism gains from Blue Ridge Parkway

Source: Asheville Citizen-Times

The owners of the Orchard at Altapass took North Carolina to court when the state proposed acquiring 200 acres of the apple orchard to create the Blue Ridge Parkway in the 1930s.

The owners at the time ran a wholesale apple business and did not see the benefit of having the scenic road come through the middle of their land, said the orchard’s current owner Bill Carson.

“They knew it was inevitable that it was going to go through, but they argued that it would cause more damage than good,” he said. “I don’t know if they ever thought the traffic would be much up there.”

More than 70 years later, the parkway has not destroyed the orchard. In fact, said Carson, it may be the thing that saved it.

Although apple growing in the region has declined, the orchard’s location on the Mitchell-McDowell county line on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Carson’s transformation of the orchard into a place to experience local culture and history, has helped the Historic Orchard at Altapass become a stop for 60,000 parkway visitors each year, about half of which Carson estimates are nonlocal travelers.

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For more info about Spruce Pine, visit: http://sprucepineonline.com

To learn more about the book, visit: InSearchofMayberry.com!  

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