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Founded 05-05-05

Celebrating a Centennial

The Orchard at Altapass Begins 100th Season May 16

Story by Anna Oakes

Travel south on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Milepost 328.3 in Little Switzerland, Mitchell County, and you’ll stumble upon one of the High Country’s finest gems—a 100-year-old apple orchard.

But The Orchard at Altapass, opening Friday, May 16, is much more than a fruit farm. With traditional music five days a week, storytelling, collection of oral histories, craft vending, fudge making and more, it’s a project of cultural preservation and celebration.

Now under the care of the Altapass Foundation, the orchard is hosted by Bill and Judy Carson, Kit Trubey and manager Gretchen Mosier. Several special events are planned to help celebrate the orchard’s 100th season and support the mission of the foundation.

“Our organization is dedicated to trying to preserve some of the really good things that are mountain culture,” Judy Carson said.

A Storied History
While the orchard began in 1908, the site has history in the pre-Revolutionary War days. Its location is where settlers traveling along the Yellow Mountain Trail crossed the Blue Ridge to reach the Tennessee Valley. On September 29, 1780, the area saw the passage of the Overmountain Men, coming from settlements in Indian Territory, across Bright’s Trace and the Blue Ridge to defeat the British at King’s Mountain and change the course of the Revolutionary War.

“The history of this spot is amazing,” said Bill Carson, who shares the historical accounts with visitors on hayrides at the orchard.

The first person to settle on the land was Charlie McKinney in the 1790s. With four wives and 48 children, he left quite a mark on the area, where McKinney continues to be a common name. The patriarch died in 1856 and is buried in a cemetery at the orchard. McKinney Gap, to the east of the orchard, is the lowest passage through the Blue Ridge for a hundred miles.

The Clinchfield Railroad completed its construction through the area in 1908.
“The railroad chose this place to come through the [Eastern] Continental Divide to go to Kentucky to get to coal,” Bill said. “It took 18 tunnels and 13 miles of track to go three miles as the crow flies to bring it up to the crest [of the Blue Ridge].” Four thousand immigrants crowded the slopes below the orchard to build the bed and tunnels, and many died in accidents, fights and murders, the orchard’s history states.

The railroad company started the orchard in 1908 using land not taken by the tracks, Bill said. A resort community, including hotels and a golf course, developed at the site but quickly disappeared when the railroad discontinued passenger service. All remains of the hotels and golf course are gone.

When the federal government constructed the Blue Ridge Parkway, it divided the orchard in half—but not until it won a court battle that reached the N.C. Supreme Court. The half of the orchard that lies to the west now belongs to the Parkway. The orchard fell into decline, and neighbors cringed at the thought of development.

Fifteen years ago, Bill, a former rocket scientist, and Judy, a graphic designer, moved to Little Switzerland to retire. In 1994, Bill’s sister, Kit Carson Trubey, noticed an ad for the sale of the orchard’s 280 acres in the newspaper.

“We were afraid that if we didn’t step in and buy it, someone would step in and develop it,” Bill said.

They were lucky. Trubey was the fifth caller to the seller, but the previous four had reached an answering machine. Later, a developer showed Trubey his plans to put 130 lots on the land, but “she turned him down because her dream was bigger than that,” Bill said. Together, the Carsons and Trubey began the preservation of the orchard and also of local culture, creating a place for traditional mountain music, hayrides and storytelling, ice cream and fudge and crafts.

“We discovered there was a lot more to the place than just the view,” Bill said.
In 2002, they formed the Altapass Foundation as a nonprofit organization to sustain the special projects of the orchard, and ownership has transitioned from Trubey to the foundation.

“With one half belonging to the Parkway, and the other half coming into the nonprofit, this land will be protected forever from development,” Bill said.

The Apple Orchard
Currently, 3,000 apple trees are in production at the orchard. The land at Altapass is well suited for apple growing because of the orchard’s southeast-facing slope. On crisp spring nights when the blossoms are susceptible to frost, the cold air slides down the mountain into the valleys, replaced at the orchard by warm air. The rising sun quickly warms the slopes, protecting the young fruit.

The orchard repeatedly grew state-champion varieties, and at its peak, 125,000 bushels of apples a year were packed and shipped on the Clinchfield Railroad.
This year, the apple blossoms seem to have escaped early April’s cold spell unscathed.

“The blooms are really spectacular,” Bill said. “It’s a beautiful time at the orchard.” While the establishment does not officially open until May 16, the orchard is open for walkers.

Music at the Orchard
Five days a week, you can hear traditional, old-time, bluegrass and occasionally other types of music at The Orchard at Altapass—for free! Local musicians entertain visitors on afternoons Wednesday to Sunday in a casual setting.
Saturdays and Sundays feature two performances each day. This year’s schedule features 175 performances from more than 60 groups.

“A lot of people like to dance, clog and waltz,” Judy said. “Musicians love to come also because that’s their heritage.” The Altapass Foundation pays the musicians, although a tip jar is passed around to help supplement their pay.

“Each year, those tips seem to get better and better,” she said.

‘More Than Just a View’
About 60,000 people visit The Orchard at Altapass each year. In addition to music and apples, visitors enjoy hayrides and a store with fudge, ice cream, country-made goods, local crafts and books on nature, history, culture and fiction. They can also bring a picnic or visit the cemetery where Charlie McKinney is buried.

Other programs include an oral history collection program and the rearing of Monarch butterflies. Volunteers have informally recorded oral histories from locals and visitors to the orchard in the past, and this year, the orchard is partnering with the local libraries for a more extensive program. On a special day in August, the orchard invites people to come and share their oral histories, and several people will be there to record them.

The Monarch butterfly program began because an old apple orchard is naturally full of milkweed, the only plant on which a Monarch butterfly can lay its eggs and its caterpillars can feed.

“If you don’t have milkweed, you don’t have Monarch butterflies,” Judy said. The orchard workers tag some of the butterflies, and some have been found in Mexico, where Monarch butterflies spend the winter.

As long as the Carsons have run the orchard, it has never made them a lot of money. That’s fine, because “the reward is the mission that we’re doing,” Bill said—except for one detail: Trubey and the Carsons are about to turn 70. For the orchard to continue its current level of events and programs in the future, the foundation must make enough money to pay people to run it, he said.

“Anyone who shares in our vision we would be delighted to have join,” he said.
The orchard is open weekdays (except Tuesdays) and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Sundays from 12:00 to 6:00 p.m. In October, the orchard is open every day from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

For more info on the orchard, the entertainment schedule or the Altapass Foundation, call 888-765-9531 or click to www.altapassorchard.com.

Want To Go?

Date: Friday, May 16, to Friday, October 31
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. weekdays and Saturday/12:00 to 6:00 p.m. Sunday/Closed Tuesday
Location: The Orchard at Altapass, Little Switzerland
Cost: Free

Centennial Celebrations

Several events are scheduled to celebrate the 100th year of The Orchard at Altapass and to raise money for the Altapass Foundation.

May 26 Memorial Day Barbecue and Covered Dish Dinner
July 4 Fourth of July Barbecue and Covered Dish Dinner
August 15 The Altapass Orchard Centennial Dinner Dance and Auction
August 29-30 Dixieland Jazz on the Blue Ridge
September 1 Labor Day Barbecue and Covered Dish Dinner