Living in The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina- A Blog

North Carolina has always been known for textile mills and for the manufacture of fine wooden and upholstered furniture, and for almost a century, Marion was home to a large cotton mill with 600 workers at it’s peak, and a components division of Broyhill Furniture, based in nearby Lenoir.  All of that came to a halt when these jobs were outsourced to Latin America and the Far East.  The impact to the Marion economy was obvious, but this small town of 8,000, situated just east of the tallest mountains east of the Mississippi, was resilient, and bounced back, retaining other manufacturing companies, including Ethan Allen in nearby Old Fort, and Coats Textile in North Marion. Also, Marion has become the eastern  center for stone building products, with numerous producers and whole sellers located north of the town.

The Main Street corridor has the distinction of being placed on the National Register of Historic Places, with three prominent churches leading that list. Below are four historic church buildings, and four homes that can be found inside that district. A recent heavy snow storm gave me the opportunity to capture these structures surrounded by the white stuff.

Located on Main Street, The First Baptist Church uses creative brick designs to anchor its main sanctuary to the street. The meticulous placement of thousands of multi-colored, locally produced bricks is notable. The unusual steeple, below,  is a celebration of brick, slate, and copper construction.

First Presbyterian Church

Cross United Methodist Church.   American Gothic style.

St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church.  All River Rock construction, in Mountain Gothic style.

St. John’s Episcopal Church.       American Gothic…