Mountain Houses Along the Blue Ridge

Too often, people drive around these mountains and never stop to appreciate the remarkable architecture that has grown up along the Blue Ridge Escarpment since before The Civil War. These houses have stood the test of time, and will be standing long after the modulars and the mobile homes have gone the way of the Packards and the Studebackers. All of these structures are located along the Rutherford-McDowell County line twenty-five miles east of Asheville, and just a few miles from my own mountain home.

Built in the 1880’s, this old homestead has seen many families come and go over the years. The rock chimney is especially noteworthy. How often have you seen a lone chimney standing along the road without the house attached? Have you ever wondered what the house might have looked like? Now you know.

Log Houses have long been the most enduring in the wilderness. They all have sleeping areas in the attics. Mud was used between the large hand hewed logs.

This mid-19th century house was moved over a mile and restored. It now is part of a group of cabins available for lodging.

Another restored frame house from the 1870’s.

This turn of the last century farmhouse was built to hold a large family. The red tin roof kept out the rain.

This antebellum plantation house has seen better days, but it still commands a certain kind of respect for what it represents. Hopefully its preservation will be completed before the weather has her was with it.

This proud old Victorian farmhouse still exudes the style of a time long past. It is still occupied, although the farm was long ago sold off.

These abandoned barns give us a glimpse of how things used to be. Paint was never a consideration, but the rock hard boards seemed to have done just fine without it.

This mountain home is representative of many wooden two story houses that can be found all along the Blue Ridge. The current owners appreciate what they have, and maintain this relic of the past as the treasure it is. On the front is the traditional “Carolina Porch”, which first was seen in the 1870’s.

Although altered over the decades, this “featherboard” farm house commands a view of the bottomlands it once served. It is well over 100 years old.

This Hillbilly vernacular cabin was small, but that made it easy to heat in the frigid winters. Note the use of “featherboarding” in the construction. Large planks were overlaid from the bottom up to prevent leaks, very much like shingles on the roof. This was very practical construction. The stained glass window most likely was salvaged from an old church that had burned down. Nothing was wasted or discarded in those days.

• May 16, 2014
• Antebellum Mansions, Architecture, Blue Ridge Escarpment, Montford Cove, North Carolina
• 2 Comments