Valle
Crucis North
Carolina
Looking for a home in
the friendly town of Valle Crucis NC.
Valle
Crucis is located high in the Blue Ridge Mountains
of western North Carolina. North Carolina's only
Rural Historic District, the community of Valle
Crucis is easily accessible to its neighboring towns of
Boone,
Blowing Rock and
Banner Elk, and to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Premiere Valle Crucis NC Real
Estate Agents
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Blue Ridge Realty and Investments
-- Serving the High Country for over 26 years.
Blue Ridge Realty & Investments, LLC
Office: 877-962-1986 - Main:828-263-8711
www.BlueRidgeRealty.net |
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There was scattered settlement in the
region in the 1840s when an Episcopal missionary,
William West Skiles, came to the area. He founded the
first Episcopal church in the region, "Easter Chapel",
and lived in the area for the remainder of his life.
While there, he founded the Valle Crucis Mission
School, which has had several purposes throughout its
history and currently serves as a conference and retreat
center. Skiles also founded the first monastic order
within the Episcopal Church in the United States. Holly
Cross Episcopal Church, located in Valle Crucis, is a
direct successor to Easter Chapel. The church building,
c. 1926, is modeled on a now-defunct medieval monastery
in Wales and is noteworthy for its architecture. Regular
services are still held at the church. The region was a
significant missionary area for the Episcopal Church in
the nineteenth century. This brought some degree of
outside influence and progress to an area that was
otherwise isolated from the rest of the state and world.
During the past 25 years, Valle Crucis NC has
transformed from a little-known rural community in
western Watauga County to a popular destination for
vacationers and new residents. The valley's scenic
beauty and situation in the Blue Ridge Mountains have
been major factors in the recent growth of Valle Crucis.
Where crumbling buildings or open pastureland were once
located in the 1970s, one can now find new and
revitalized businesses catering to visitors, including
beds and breakfasts and restaurants. The Mast General
Store, located in the heart of the Valle Crucis
community, is now a major stop for visitors to the area.
Weather ranges from warm summer days and
cool summer evenings to cold or even bitterly cold
winter nights. Rainfall is moderate, averaging 43" per
year. Severe storms are rare. Snowfall occurs in the
winter with some accumulation to be expected several
times between December and April. Snowpack is
inconsistent. The area is also known for being one of
the lowest and most quickly flooded in the region. The
heart of Valle Crucis, including the bulk of the
stores, the elementary school, and community park is a
particularly low lying and flat in comparison to the
mountainous terrain of the surrounding areas. Flooding
is not an extremely rare event and can inhibit many
functions of the town, such as the well known occasional
flooding of the bridge on DeWitt Barnett Road,
inhibiting access from that side of the town.
Recreation in the area includes winter snow skiing,
hiking, canoeing, and shopping.
The Valle Crucis community park is also a must for
visitors and residents alike. The park hosts a variety
of events (such as the circus) and is perhaps most well
known for annual Relay For Life. The park boasts one of
the highest rates of participation for the population it
serves in the state. Characteristics of the park include
a small lake and walking trail that was, a number of
years ago, expanded from one loop measuring slightly
over half a mile to a figure eight that amounts to near
a mile. The park is continuously undergoing
improvements.
The town is also host to a kindergarten through 8th
grade elementary school that typically has an enrollment
in the 400s. |
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