Valle Crucis

North Carolina Community Features Beautiful Views, More

VALLE CRUCIS, N.C. – It’s like a little secret – this valley of the Tarheel highlands.
William West Skiles, a missionary more than a century ago, made mention of this place in a tiny book, “Missionary Life at Valle Crucis.”
Skiles noted the location of Valle Crucis – just a few miles east of Johnson County, Tenn. – as a valley “entirely shut in by forest-clad mountains.”
And yet, this valley “was watered by three small, limpid streams, two of them leaping down the hillsides in foaming cascades,” Skiles wrote in 1889.
These three small streams all come together, eventually becoming part of the Watauga River and, in turn, helping to form the name of this place.
“It was this secluded valley which, from the cross-like form of the three streams at their junction,” Skiles wrote, “was now to receive the name of Valle Crucis.”
Valle Crucis. The Latin name means “Vale of the Cross.”
That name remains on maps today.

‘A LEGEND’
Coming here, you’ll discover a charm and pace that seems deliberately relaxed. Tom Eshelman, the executive director of the Valle Crucis Conference Center, greets people with doses of history and a nod to the environment.
“So much of Valle Crucis is protected with conservation easements,” Eshelman said. “It’s a place that is going to be kept open. Views will remain unspoiled for generations to come.”
Eshelman can also tell you about this place – how once “Valle Crucis was a thriving community” with its own bank and car dealership – and how this conference center “was the social hub of the entire valley.”
But ask Eshelman about that name. He’ll reference Skiles’s book.
Still, on the subject of streams, and whether three once came together in the form of a cross, before a 1940 flood, Eshelman said, “There is a legend. I can’t prove it or disprove it.”

CLASSIC COWBOY
Spend enough time around Valle Crucis, and you’ll discover not just this legend.
You’ll also meet many characters. Like Keith Ward. He’s a classic cowboy – tough, strong, big, funny. He sports a mustache, and he wears a hat.
As operator of Dutch Creek Trails, a riding horse stable, Ward is also used to accommodating just about any kind of personality that comes to ride his horses, named Buck, Cheyenne, Toby, Moonshine and Betty Boop.
Getting a group saddled up for a tour of his 367 acres, Ward wards off one beginning rider’s fears – even when the 30-something man from Charlotte, N.C., asks if his horse “comes with a seat belt.”
To another, a fellow who has been on a horse only two times before, Ward says, “Well, wait – that’s OK. I’ll just find you a horse that’s only been ridden twice.”

HEAVEN
Ward operates these stables with a staff that includes his son, Travis. The tourist business at Dutch Creek Trails, Ward said, comes mainly from people who discover Valle Crucis as a place to explore on the outskirts of Boone.
Many are coming from Florida, Ward said, and stay at bed-and-breakfasts.
Among them: The Mast Farm Inn, which dates to the early 1800s.
Today, this inn is operated by the family of Henri Deschamps, a businessman who retired to Valle Crucis after living in places all over the world.
These days, Deschames is serving up gourmet breakfasts with eggs, corn and sausage. He’s also offering guests a chance to rent one of his fleet of Porsches for scenic drives in Tennessee, Virginia or North Carolina.
Often, Deschamps takes in quiet mornings by listening to what lives in the tall grasses of Valle Crucis.
“Listen, man – if you spend any time here, you’ll see this place as heaven,” Deschamps said. “It’s a great, great place. You know your neighbors. Everybody’s very nice and friendly.”

HEART AND SOUL
Nice and friendly. Those buzzwords are echoed throughout this valley – especially among Valle Crucis’s historic landmarks, like the Mast Farm Inn, the conference center or the Mast General Store.
“I consider the conference center the soul of the community,” Eshelman said. “And I consider the Mast General Store the heart of the community.”
The general store ranks as Valle Crucis’s most famous landmark. It’s an attraction all its own.
Inside, the old Valle Crucis post office remains – even though it looks like an old-timey replica of yesteryear.
Many visitors, said the store’s community relations manager, Sheri Moretz, do not seem to realize that the decades-old post office boxes are still used by customers.

THE ORIGINAL
The original Mast General Store anchors a retail company that also has outlets in Waynesville, N.C.; Knoxville, Tenn. and nearby Boone, N.C.
At Valle Crucis, you’ll also find an “annex” – an extra store within walking distance of the original, rambling relic.
“The annex is what we consider our sister store,” Manager Seth Powell, 25, said. “They have men’s and women’s clothing, 650 types of candy. It’s pretty much everything we can’t fit here.”
What makes the original store so special?
Well, it’s a lot like Ward. It simply has a lot of character.
From the warped floorboards and pot-bellied stove to the candy shelves, the peanuts, the clothes, the hardware supplies and the toiletries, this business has been famously known to carry anything – from cradles to caskets – since its beginnings in 1883.
“The store, it’s like a museum,” Powell said. “It is an experience.”

WHEN YOU GO: Valle Crucis, N.C.
Dutch Creek Trails: (828) 297-7117, dutchcreektrails.com
Mast Farm Inn: (888) 963-5857, mastfarminn.com
Mast General Store: (828) 963-6511, maststore.com or www.vallecrucis.com
River & Earth Adventures: (866) 411-RAFT
Valle Café: (828) 963-2805

COMING UP IN VALLE CRUCIS:
Country Fair: The 30th annual event is being held in Valle Crucis on Oct. 18.
Punkin Festival: A kid-friendly festival features games, music, food and pumpkin carvings on Oct. 25 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Mast General Store Annex. Fireside Tour: Experience the gift shops, inns and stores of Valle Crucis on this tour on Dec. 7 from 1-6 p.m. Tickets are $10. Proceeds benefit the Valle Crucis Community Park.

GETTING THERE:
From downtown Bristol, follow U.S. 421 east, beyond Trade, Tenn., to North Carolina. At Vilas, just a few minutes beyond the border, follow signs on state Route 194 to Valle Crucis. Travel time is about 75 minutes.

See Tim Cable's visit to the Valle Crucis Mast General Store >>