By David BiddixCharlotte lawyer Heriot Clarkson sat atop Grassy Mountain in June, 1909 surveying a 360 degree vista that stretched for miles below him. Mount Mitchell, the highest mountain east of the Mississippi, was just a few miles away to the southwest. Grandfather Mountain, reputedly the oldest in the Blue Ridge chain, was off a […]
On March 10, 2009, Spruce Pine NC voters elected to get the town "Wet"! It is now legal for alcohol to be sold within the city limits of Spruce Pine. A total of 824 votes were cast in the election on alcohol and all four votes passed in the alcohol election by nearly 100 votes. […]
Once upon a time Little Switzerland was a sleepy little resort community along the Blue Ridge Parkway NC. Today, Little Switzerland NC is part of a rapidly developing area where a booming vacation home market is spurred on by beautiful mountain vistas, a cool summer climate and breathtaking autumn scenery. These kinds of changes are happening to […]
Not global warming, not a barometric anomaly, exactly — but, yes, extreme varying degrees of humidity have been reported in Mitchell County. From time immemorial we have resolutely been known as a "dry" county; no sales of alcohol, ever, one of the few counties in America to adopt such a stance. In the 1990s, state […]
By Corey HoilmanMitchell News-Journal Staff To coincide with the Little Switzerland centennial, Chris Hollifield and David Biddix have released their book Little Switzerland, a volume containing a wealth of information and black-and-white photos detailing the history of the community as far back as the Civil War. Their work was used as an invaluable reference for […]
By Sue Lanier As a child of summer people, I have many wonderful memories of the way Little Switzerland used to be. On most days the kids would leave the house after breakfast and stay in the woods until lunch, then go again after a brief rest. Big chestnut trunks were down all over the […]
By Walter Kulash Looking at how the Blue Ridge Parkway showcases the Little Switzerland peaks, you would think that it was always a “natural” for being located here. Knowing the affection that Little Switzerland residents now hold for the Parkway, you would also think that it was well loved from the beginning. In fact, nothing […]