Historic Land: $3.67 deal brokered by Conservation Trust for N.C.

ALTAPASS - Three thousand people turned off the Blue Ridge Parkway this past weekend to visit the historic Orchard at Altapass, drawn by the valley and ridges covered in burnt orange and red, yellow and green.

Most of what they saw from the orchard and this stretch of parkway is included in 1,488 acres that will be protected from development forever through a conservation easement announced yesterday by the Conservation Trust for North Carolina, which brokered the $3.67 million deal.

A subsidiary of railroad company CSX Corp. will continue to own the land. About 30 trains a day will continue to roll along the tracks, but the vast forest will never be developed or logged.

The property includes about 1.5 miles of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, which led mountain fighters to help defeat the British at Kings Mountain in 1780. The segment will eventually be opened to hikers.

“People will have the opportunity to walk along the actual route in the footsteps and that’s a rare thing,“ said Paul Carson, the superintendent of the Overmountain Victory Trail.

The tract also includes about 4.5 miles of land along the Blue Ridge Parkway - from Milepost 325 to 329.5 - with sweeping views and some of the parkway’s most popular overlooks.

The 1,488 acres is in McDowell County near Little Switzerland. The state of North Carolina completed the agreement with CSX on Sept. 4, a deal that the state, the Conservation Trust for North Carolina and the railroad company had worked on for more than six years.

The Orchard at Altapass, built by the Clinchfield Railroad in 1908, is now run as a nonprofit corporation, still offering such staples as fudge, golden delicious and winesap apples, but also programs to preserve mountain music, dance and heritage.

A storytelling hayride is a popular draw, but the main thing is the view, just as it is for the Blue Ridge Parkway, which runs beside it.

“If you look across the valley, how many houses would it take before the view would be marred?“ asked Phil Francis, the parkway superintendent, as supporters gathered yesterday at the orchard to celebrate the deal.

Bill Carson, who along with his sister and wife bought the Orchard at Altapass 15 years ago, said he worried that development would ruin the view.

A deal to build a gated community was proposed, but fell through.

“We watched with fear and trembling as that land there between the spiny ridges was going to be gobbled up,“ he said.

Then the railroad company hired loggers to cut trees along the tracks.

The company asked for permission to haul the logs across Carson’s property, and he joked that he’s still considering the request.

“We’ve waited for the railroad to sell development and timber rights,“ he said. “I’ve grown old waiting for that to happen and it is happening. It means more than you can imagine to folks whose parents and grandparents lived and worked in this area.“

Terry McKinney is one of those folks. His great, great grandparents lived here.

“This is my ancestral homeland,“ McKinney said. “God bless anyone who had anything to do with preserving this.“

Reid Wilson, the executive director of the Conservation Trust for North Carolina, said the conservation easement will preserve history, provide habitat for wildlife, and protect more than 7 miles of the headwaters of the Catawba River, which provides water for 1 million people. There will also be a direct financial benefit to the area, he said, with the railroad continuing to run while the tourist base is preserved.

“Protection of this property will absolutely strengthen the local economy for years to come,“ Wilson said.

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