Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains outside Asheville, North Carolina lies a retreat from the wear and tear of daily life. The trip down the long and winding mountain road transports you back to a simpler time and for a day or a weekend, you are reminded of life before cell phones. Just when you think the road can’t go any further, you see it, a welcoming plot of land filled with vegetable gardens, chickens, a mountain spring and an 1840’s cabin to call home for your stay.
The home belongs to Rod and Cindy, entrepreneurs that wanted to get away from it all. As a result, they found a place to call home outside Mars Hill, NC where they could have a pottery studio and grow organic vegetables to earn a living. A hidden opportunity lay on their property for several years. Recently, they decided they could create a mountain oasis for those seeking knowledge and a rustic escape from it all. They converted the old cabin on their property to a guestroom and began offering classes from homesteading to organic gardening.
A Time Capsule of History
The cabin itself is full of history. It is known as the Metcalf Cabin was originally built from timber taken from the site around 1827. The historic homestead was built in typical cabin style of the time. Home builders would use single pen split logs and half dovetail knotched corners. Once it stood one and a half stories tall to accommodate an entire family, with children sleeping in the loft area inside. The cabin was last residence to a North Carolina family in the 1930’s when a main home was built on the property.
The cabin has actually been in three different counties of North Carolina without moving! The result of county lines changing and new counties developing. It has stood in Buncombe County, Yancey County and Madison County (the current county of its residence). (Picture Above) The cabin interior still holds the rustic charm of days past with eclectic furnishings and natural wood surfaces all around.
(Pictured Above) It has been modernized with electricity, the cabin retains its historic nature with logs from its original construction and stonework.
Want the opportunity to stay here? click here
Want to achieve the same rustic look? click here