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& Preserve is one of the oldest homesteads in the mountain region of North Carolina. Now a nonprofit 501 © 3 tax-exempt organization, it has a fascinating history, a rapidly changing present, and an exciting future.

The Farm was settled in 1835 when white settlers first came into the mountains and built cabins, planted crops, and learned to live and work side by side with the Cherokee Indian, who had hunted and lived on the land for centuries. Permelia Young was one of the first white children born west of Black Mountain. Permelia married James Hardiman Bennett about 1809 and together they had 9 children, including John W. Bennett born in 1818. John W. married Cynthia Davis and together they had twelve children, including James Montville (Mont), born in 1843. In 1835 John W.Bennett received a land grant of 100 acres of mostly steep and rocky land at the head of Tilley and Pressley Creeks where he built a cabin in the hollow—now the centerpiece of today’s Appalachian Homestead Farm. The chimney to this cabin still stands, along with the pre-blight chestnut log barn. In April 1866, shortly after the end of the Civil War, Mont married Martha Kirby Crawford, whose first husband, Sam Crawford had been killed in the early days of the Civil War. Martha came into the marriage with three ildren and a one hundred acre tract of land which she inherited from her mother, Ann Adams Cornett Kirby, daughter of Joshua Adams, another early white settler on the mountain. The Adams farm adjoined the Bennett tract, so “Mont” and Martha had 225 acres together on which they raised nine children. Following their deaths, the next generation divided and sold the farm, yielding to pressure from county officials eager to see the county coffers grow as outsiders began to discover the region as a retirement destination or a seasonal residence. In 1952 the last tract of the original Farm slipped out of the family’s hands for $300 and a cow. They died in poverty.

In 2005, Vera Holland Guise, a 3^rd generation descendant of Mont and Martha, secured a private foundation grant and back a 52 acre tract of the Farm, including the original homestead, at the market rate of $250,000. Now established as a tax-exempt nonprofit 501 © 3 organization, Appalachian Homestead Farm & Preserve, Inc. is held in perpetual trust, never to be commercially logged, developed or divided. In 2007 Vera and her husband, Don, hustled to borrow the money and purchase an additional adjoining parcel through a neighbor's "first right of refusal", that was under contract with an Atlanta developer! Retirement condos would have risen just a stone's throw from the old cabin site! We are working to raise the $147,000 to resolve that mortgage so that parcel can be officially added to the Farm, and to raise the $125,000 Conservation Fund Challenge Grant, which was part of our obligation in purchasing the original parcel.

Returning this mountain homestead to any semblance of its original glory, after over 60 years of neglect and abuse will require commitment and hard work from many people. Some of our key partners in this endeavor are the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee River, who holds the conservation easement, Catch the Spirit of Appalachia, a cultural and heritage arts organization, and many others. This year we received a $5,000 grant from the NC Department of Agriculture to assist us in clearing and re-claiming the old crop areas and planting heirloom gardens. We will use these gardens as learning/teaching tools in our programs AND to provide fresh, locally grown, mostly organic traditional and heirloom fruits, vegetables, herbs and cut flowers to our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) partners. See Heirloom Gardens section for more information.

. A board of trustees provides guidance and support in crafting a 21^st Century vision for this 19^th century mountain farmstead, a vision that includes:

· Outdoor education and heritage/cultural arts experiences for mountain youth. Look for information coming soon about summer youth opportunities and

· A farm and folk-life center featuring an authentic living history farmstead, raising organic heirloom fruits and vegetables, and demonstrating such early farm

and home tasks as churning butter, making molasses, canning fruits & vegetables, spinning, quilting, splitting shakes, and keeping bees for honey.

· A Spirit of Appalachia Farm & Folk School where mountain families can learn those forgotten skills the world, now at our door, yearns for-- a bit of the past

when the pace of life was slower, the trees greener, the air cleaner, and the people friendly and authentic. It is time local people, old and young, had the

opportunities and the resources to regain these lost skills and knowledge, arming themselves to succeed in today’s economy— now called agri-tourism and

heritage-tourism. Yes, it’s way past time that mountain youth could keep and practice the unique features of their heritate with pride, AND advance

themselves academically AND hold onto the family farm, and using those special sets of skills and knowledge to support themselves and their families.

THIS would be mountain living at its best! Please consider a tax-deductible gift to Homestead Farm today!

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Name___________________________ Telephone ( )________ ____________

oYes, I want to help save Appalachian Homestead Farm & Preserve!

Please accept my contribution of $___________ to be used as follows:

___As needed ___Heirloom Gardens ___ Ridgelines & Plowshares Trails ___Challenge Grant & Mortgage ___Summer Youth Camps

Homestead Farm is a tax-exempt 501 © 3 organization. All contributions are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

oYes! I want to roll up my sleeves and help! ___ Build Trails ___ Plant & Tend Gardens ____ Heritage Youth Camps ____ Board

Thanks!

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