©Jack Lynch (jack@jacklynch.net)

I have been asked many times why I live in Ashe County, North Carolina.  At first, I was confused by the question.  It seemed so obvious to me - but I had difficulty finding words to explain.      After trying many different forms of an answer (all true, but incomplete) I finally gave up, and decided simply to say, "I have seen the rest of the world and this is where I choose to live. I live in Ashe County because I am lucky."

HERITAGE I shall not leave these prisoning hills Though they topple their barren heads to level earth And the forests slide uprooted out of the sky. Though the waters of Troublesome, of Trace Fork, Of Sand Lick rise in a single body to glean the valleys, To drown lush pennyroyal, to unravel rail fences; Though the sun-ball breaks the ridges into dust And burns its strength into the blistered rock I cannot leave. I cannot go away. Being of these hills, being one with the fox Stealing into the shadows, one with the new-born foal, The lumbering ox drawing green beech logs to mill, One with the destined feet of man climbing and descending, And one with death rising to bloom again, I cannot go. Being of these hills I cannot pass beyond. James Still

    Ashe County, with its dual communities of Jefferson and West Jefferson, (and the "suburbs" of Warrensville, Lansing, Todd, etc.) is just about as far as you can go in the High Country before entering Southwestern Virginia, or Northeastern Tennessee.  The county is, in many respects, "a step back in time" to the way the Appalachian Mountains use to be before heavy development.  The name "Lost Province" was applied over a hundred years ago and still applies today, although the construction of modern roads "up the mountain" is accounting for expansion that is greeted by many as a mixed blessing.

The New River is the second oldest river in the world, and like the oldest (the Nile) flows north.  Although technically born in Watauga county, the New learns to crawl, walk, and talk in Ashe county, goes through a brief puberty in Alleghany county, and by the time it reaches the Virginia line, it has become a healthy young adult.

Ashe County Chamber of Commerce:

    The Chamber can direct travelers to just about anywhere in this sparsely populated area of Christmas tree farms and rugged mountain landscapes and offers a good selection of brochures and maps of the region.

Days & Hours Of Operation: Monday-Friday, 9:00 am-5:00 pm
Location: 6 North Jefferson Avenue, West Jefferson (downtown West Jefferson.)
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 31, West Jefferson, NC 28694
Phone: (336) 246-9550 & (888) 343-2743
FAX: (336) 246-8671
E-MAIL: ashechamber@skybest
WEB SITE: http://www.ashechamber.com

Ray's Weather Channel