At the left — Wooden pipe line which conducts water to the Duke Power Company's Tuxedo plant.
Center— The little log postofllce at Valhalla. Right-Tower on Sugar Loaf Mountain, from which may
be seen one of the most beautiful panoramic views in the mountains.
Up In The Blue Ridge
Mr. Abernethy fakes you on a little trip
through Rutherford. Polk anil Henderson
counties and describes the scenery along
the way.
By EDGAR AHERNETHY
A YEAR or so ago I took a
little trip through Ruther¬
ford, Polk, and Henderson
counties, in the course of which I
ran across several things in which
you might be interested.
I left Rutherfordton on N. C.
Highway No. 108. which, as you
may know, connects Rutherfordton
with Tryon. A few miles out of
town I noticed, right beside the
road, something I’d never seen be¬
fore, although I’d passed that
identical spot only a few days be¬
fore. It was an old-fashioned mill,
complete with water-wheel and
everything. A neatly-lettered sign
on the building read, "Double-
Branch Mill,” and Mr. J. M. Davis,
the operator, told me it was built
some thirty-five years ago. In
spite of its age, it was in perfect
repair and apple-pie order, capable
of turning out twelve bushels of
meal per hour. The mill itself was
one of those home-made affairs
which are becoming so rare, en¬
tirely hand-made even to the
stones, which were laboriously
quarried and fashioned by hand.
There are still quite a number of
the old mills scattered throughout
the western portion of the state,
but few are so well-kept as the
Double-Branch outfit.
ng al
it, though, was the fact that Mr.
Davis' home and the mill are in
the same building. One end houses
the mill, the other end the miller.
A very convenient arrangement,
it would seem.
A few days previously a heavy
frost had killed all vegetation
throughout the western part of the
state. Soon after entering Polk
County, it was noticeable that in
very few places had the freeze
caused any damage. Nearly every¬
where tender plants were still
green and growing, particularly
the kudzu which is probably grown
more extensively in Polk than in
any other Tar Heel county. It was
a graphic illustration of the reason
why Tryon, although located right
at the foot of the Blue Ridge, is
a winter resort.
Ordinarily, in going to Saluda
from Rutherfordton. you’d go by
way of Tryon, thus keeping on the
pavement, but this time I wanted
to try another route, so I stopped
at Mill Spring and inquired of
some gentlemen at a filling station.
"This dirt road to the right,” they
said, "will take you over the
mountain to Saluda.” They gave
me some further information in
regard to the route, which I do
not now recall.
Anyway, I followed their direc¬
tions, and within a few miles found
myself driving up a narrow moun¬
tain valley beside the clear, swift
waters of the Greene River. The
rippling stream and the colorful
autumn leaves (for it was Octo¬
ber) together with the surrounding
mountains made a picture of rare
beauty. I shouldn’t reccommend
the road in wet weather, but at
the time we made our trip it was
quite satisfactory.
After a few miles, it crossed the
river, turned abruptly to the left,
and climbed the mountain wall
in a dizzy succession of switch-
backs. When I reached the top.
I found myself practically in the
outskirts of Saluda. You might
like to try the same route some
time when you’re passing that way
and are not in too much of a hurry.
The distance is about the same as
that of the paved route by way of
Tryon, but it will take somewhat
longer to drive it.
Unusual I’ostoffice
In all probability you are quite
familiar with Saluda, and you’ve
probably noticed the little log
post-office of Valhalla nearby, too.
