Valle Crucis, By David Yates & William A. Bake • The scenic mountain area known as Valle Crucis has changed little since Susan Fenimore Cooper described it in 1889. Because of its long-time isolation, the present-day valley leaves a magical impression on the thousands of people who visit it each year.
In this book, William Bake, one of the South’s premier landscape photographers, has captured much of that magic with his perceptive full-color photographs. Because of his close family ties to the area, David Yates was able to gain access to many of the old families of the region who shared their stories and old photographs. Together the two have produced a tribute to a region with a rich heritage and stunning scenery. The book follows North Carolina’s first designated Scenic Byway as it winds along the Watauga River valley through the Valle Crucis Historic District to the community of Banner Elk. There is a section about the famous Mast General Store, which was built in 1883 and remains the model for most of the area’s rejuvenated general stores. It remains one of the oldest continuously operated general stores in the United States.
Another section tells about the history of the Mast Farm Inn which the U.S. Department of the Interior describes as "one of the most complete and best preserved groups of nineteenth century farm buildings in western North Carolina." The New York Times described the bed-and-breakfast inn which occupies the old homestead as "about as close as you can get to the word homespun." The book then traces the evolution of the Valle Crucis Mission School and the Church of the Holy Cross. It also covers St. John’s Church, the Inn at Taylor House, and the Valle Country Fair. With development quickly encroaching, the vistas and lifestyles of the valley may soon be irretrievable. Valle Crucis insures that these treasures will be preserved for future generations
Published in the fall of 1997, and reprinted in December 2004, Valle Crucis by David Yates & William Bake, celebrates a place of fertile meadows and steep, wooded mountains, a place where the hills rise like islands out of the early-morning mist – and, most important, a place eminently worthy of preservation for future generations. The pictures, photographed by William Bake, a student of Ansel Adams, are breathtaking. The text will transport you to this special place and, hopefully, will leave inside of you a feeling to keep this place forever how it is today, unspoiled and sacred.
For More Information
GoodReads • http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2939937-valle-crucis
Amazon • http://amzn.com/089587203X
Photo Credit • William A. Bake
The post Valle Crucis • Yates & Bake appeared first on The Mast Farm Inn.