The Orchard at Altapass: A Short History

The history of our orchard is long and fascinating. Our trees grow right along the crest of the Blue Ridge, the Eastern Continental Divide. The gap on the east side, McKinney Gap, is the lowest passage through the Blue Ridge for a hundred miles. Two rivers, the North Toe to the north and the North Fork of the Catawba to the south lie close beneath McKinney Gap on either side of the Divide. Geography has determined the history of the Orchard.

Its early history is speculative. Buffalo and elk established a trail along the Blue Ridge Crest here, followed by Cherokee Indians and later, European settlers. Bright's Trace followed the game trail through the low gap in the ridge and was the early path for settlement of the land west of the Blue Ridge: the river valleys of the Watauga, Nolichucky, Holstein. The Blue Ridge itself became the Indian Territory boundary, at least for the British authorities. Crossing the Divide was illegal from 1762 onward. Indians were encouraged to attack settlers there, and were paid for scalps. 

Just as settlers ignored the British line, so did the Indians. Scalps sold to the British could not reveal where they had been taken. Raids across the line were common. The last one occurred in nearby Turkey Cove in 1776.

On September 29, 1780, the location that is now the orchard saw the passage of the Overmountain Men, coming from settlements in Indian Territory, across Bright's Trace and the Blue Ridge to defeat the British at King's Mountain and change the course of the Revolutionary War. There is delicious irony in the defeat of the British by militia they had forced into existence for self defense against the British instigated Indians. Each year re-enactors honor the original soldiers by marching along the route. The Orchard has a living history day to mark the passage every September 29. 

The first person to settle here was Charlie McKinney. In the 1790's he made his home here. He left his mark indelibly: in the course of his 85 years, he collected 4 wives and had 48 children. The wives lived in four separate houses along the trail, and attended church as a family group of five, plus children. He died in 1856 and his unmarked cemetery lies on a beautiful and peaceful spur off the Blue Ridge at the orchard. Thanks to this remarkable patriarch, McKinney is a common name hereabouts. Legends and stories about his circumstances are an important part of the Orchard history. 

During the rail building era of the late 1800's, the geography dictated this site would be perfect for a railroad. Although several bankruptcies delayed it, 1908 saw the completion of the Clinchfield Railroad. The last piece was the Clinchfield loops, consisting of 18 tunnels in 13 miles of track and built beside and below the orchard. It was the 'engineering wonder of the 20th century' when finally done. Four thousand immigrants crowded the slopes below the orchard to build the bed and tunnels. Many died in accidents, fights, murders. The raw lives and deaths of these men added another chapter to the Orchard story. 

The name Altapass is a railroad gift. Alta meaning high, and pass noting McKinney Gap were combined by the Railroad to name the community which grew as a resort near the Blue Ridge Tunnel. Two resort hotels, a golf course, and a railroad station established a growing town at the high spot on the entire Clinchfield line. The community disappeared as quickly when the Clinchfield discontinued passenger service and the the highway went through Gillespie Gap, bypassing McKinney Gap altogether. Today, the station and all remains of the hotels and golf course are gone. 

When the railroad building was done, the Clinchfield Railroad turned the land it owned above the tracks near the Blue Ridge Tunnel into The Orchard. The first Orchard manager, J.S. Bowen, was a railroad employee. He was a meticulous record keeper, which served him well on July 17, 1916. That day, the second of two hurricanes in a single terrible week dropped 22.22 inches of rain on the Orchard, a record for the entire US which stood for years. With a six or perhaps eight-inch rain gauge, Mr. Bowen was out in the storm frequently but fared better than many who were swept to their death in the valley floods. Water depths of 45 feet above flood stage turned the valleys into lakes. Approaching hurricanes still strike fear into mountain residents who remember those days. 

The land above the Loops was particularly well suited to apple growing, thanks to its geography. Located on a southeast-facing slope, the Orchard is 'frost free' most of the time. On crisp spring nights when the blossoms are susceptible to frost, the cold air slides down the mountain, replaced at the Orchard by warm air. And the rising sun quickly warms the slopes, protecting the young fruit. State champion apples were grown repeatedly at the Orchard, and at its peak 125,000 bushels of apples a year were packed and shipped out on the Clinchfield. Nearly everyone who lives in the area can tell you about working at the Orchard. It was the center of employment for the community. 

When the Blue Ridge Parkway chose its path, it too followed the ancient buffalo track and came through the middle of the Orchard, dividing it in half. That required a condemnation process, a court fight that eventually reached the NC Supreme Court. The momentum for the Orchard was lost, and it began to decline. Neighbors despaired the loss and braced for the expected development of this beautiful place. The wild growth of the trees became a sadness for Parkway travelers who had seen it in better times. 

When it was offered for sale in 1994, Kit Trubey bought the land and her brother Bill Carson with his wife Judy started the preservation of the place, including its apples and its memories. The preservation project is underway today, with hayrides, music, story telling, butterfly tagging, free mountain music on weekends, and a store to sell ice cream, fudge, country products, local crafts. The half of the Orchard that lies above the Blue Ridge Parkway has been sold to the Parkway, to assure its perpetual preservation. The remaining land will be protected by conservation easement. The history of the Orchard continues.