Blue Ridge Self Guided Back Road Tour

Oct. 25, 2010 - PRLog -- The Blue Ridge Back Roads Self Guided Tours by The Mountain Laurel
Blowing Rock, Mortimer and Edgemont NC
By: Bob Heafner © August, 1984 - 2010Author’s Note: Many things have changed in this area since this Backroad Tour was written, but the beauty and history of this area are the same. All along the way you will discover changes and surprises to make this drive even more enjoyable today than it was in 1984.

As a teenager, in the early 1960’s, I spent a week deer hunting in Pisgah National Forest. My base camp was the tiny mountain community of Edgemont, North Carolina, which is located about 25 miles north of Morganton, North Carolina. Edgemont consisted primarily of Mr. Coffey’s Store. It was an old timey general store with everything from hoop cheese to kerosene lanterns. I remember the place had the smell of a fresh oiled gun. In those days, it seemed to me as if it were straight out of the pages of “Field and Stream” magazine.

The store was situated in a narrow mountain valley and was separated from a 20 foot wide trout stream by only the narrow gravel road. High ridges rose on both sides of the valley. It was a truly picturesque place.

One morning I had come out of the woods about 11:00 and headed to Mr. Coffey’s in my car for lunch. I passed an old fellow walking and offered him a ride. He accepted my invitation, climbed in the car and immediately began pointing out the sites of long disappeared homes and businesses. At one spot he announced, “This here’s Mortimer.” The few old deserted and dilapidated buildings that I had passed without thought were once Mortimer, North Carolina.

There was no trace of a railroad then but my new found friend informed me, “That building over there was the depot and that one over there was the hotel.” Tall weeds and underbrush almost completely hid the buildings then, but not from the old man’s memories. He told how there used to be a cotton mill and sure enough, as he pointed, I saw concrete walls standing in the woods. The outline of the buildings could easily be seen and all the walls were intact but there were no windows, roof, door and even the area within the walls was now covered with a growth of large trees.

My first reaction was, “What happened?” The old man informed me that in 1940, a tremendous flood had rocketed through the narrow valleys, sweeping away homes and businesses, including the cotton mill. Families had little notice to head for high ground and lives were lost. As the old man talked to me that cold November morning, I could see the towns of Mortimer and Edgemont, North Carolina as they were in his memories. I could smell the sweat of the two mules that pulled the wagon “by this very spot” the morning a feuding neighbor took a drunken shot at him and thankfully missed. My drive to Coffey’s Store that morning took longer than usual but it was well worth the extra time.

On later drives by the places he had pointed out, I could imagine the log cabin that “stood right over there” and the hustle and bustle that must have accompanied the mill in its heyday. No longer were the areas just pretty, but now there were fascinating places where imagination was ignited like dynamite. In the space of a thirty minute drive, I had “seen” over half a century. Sadly, I cannot remember the old man’s name, but thankfully, I will never forget his stories.

This month our BACKROAD TOUR will go to Edgemont and Mortimer, North Carolina. We’ll visit Mr. Coffey’s Store and witness some of natures most rugged and spectacular mountain beauty. There are white water rivers rushing through gorges filled with boulders the size of houses and high mountain vistas all to be seen and enjoyed along our route. Take a picnic basket and a camera. It’s the kind of place you’ll want to linger and show your friends later.

Our tour will begin in front of the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce and Information Center on Main Street of Blowing Rock, North Carolina and will return to our point of beginning. We will drive a total of 59.4 miles and at least four hours should be allowed to complete the tour.

If you are traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway, exit at milepost 291.9 onto US 221 and 321 and proceed into Blowing Rock. The Blowing Rock Town Hall at 1036 Main St, Blowing Rock, NC, will be on your right and we will start our mileage reading at this point.

visit http://www.blueridgeonline.com/backroads.html to continue with the tour

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