Natural Heritage

Early History

On May 29, 1893 Southern Railway's "Number 11" deposited a travel-weary band of twenty-nine souls from Northern Italy who were to break ground for a settlement. They were called the Waldensians, and that settlement became the Town of Valdese.

Willard and Ora Watson

Brevard

Highlands Historic Village

Highlands

Brevard

The historic small town of Brevard is the county seat of Transylvania County, also known as "the land of the waterfalls." The community is surrounded by nature and the Pisgah National Forest.

Highlands

The town of Highlands was supposed to become a hub of commerce in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, had its founders had their way. In 1875, two developers in Kansas drew two lines--one between New York and New Orleans, the other from Chicago to Savannah. Where the lines crossed, they believed would become a crossroads of trade.