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Banner Elk, NC
Banner Elk is located in the northwest quadrant of
Avery County in the Appalachian Highlands 3,739 feet
above sea level (Banner Elk Development Plan, 1967).
High peaks and rugged ridges surround the town. This
mountainous area in many respects has stronger
historic and cultural ties with the neighboring
mountainous regions of Tennessee and Virginia than
with all other regions of North Carolina. The area
is beautiful during all seasons of the year. Fall
foliage produces a dazzling panorama of color. The
area is famous for its flora and fauna.
Rhododendron, mountain laurel, flame azalea, and
wild flowers are abundant. Bear, deer, and other
wildlife inhabit the forests that surround Banner
Elk (Cooper, 1964).
Now days Banner Elk is known for skiing, golf, and
four seasons of vacation fun and relaxing
lifestyles. We have many summer residents as
well as vacation home owners that make Banner Elk a
home away from home for a variety of reasons.
Lees McCrae College offers cultural arts and
entertainment and there's always the assortment of
shops and restaurants to keep you busy!
Early Settlement
The first human
inhabitants of the Banner Elk area were the Cherokee
Indians. The Cherokee used the Elk River Valley as
hunting grounds, but evidence of a permanent
settlement has never been discovered (Cooper, 1964).
The first white settlers of Banner Elk were Delilah
Baird and John Holtsclaw, who came to the Big
Bottoms of Elk in 1825, and settled on a tract of
land containing 480 acres. This land included the
Whitehead farm and extended to the present site of
Grandfather Home for Children situated near Wildcat
Lake. John and Delilah’s first child, Alfred B.
Baird, was the first white child born in what is now
the Banner Elk Township (Banner Elk Development
Plan, 1967). Martin L. Banner established the first
permanent settlement in 1848. Although the Banner
family originally came from Wales, Martin Banner
moved from Forsyth County located in the piedmont
region of North Carolina. Eventually, the Banner
family grew to 55 members, and the area where they
lived became known as Banner’s Elk (Heritage, 1976).
Other early settlers include the Moody, Dugger,
Abrams, Von Canon, Keller, Smith, Lineback, and
Foster families. The early settlers of the area were
the people of northern European stock from what may
be called the yeoman class: English, Scottish,
Irish, Welsh, German, and Dutch (Cooper, 1964). The
community changed its name to Banner Elk when the
North Carolina General Assembly incorporated the
town in 1911.
Agriculture, Industry, and Tourism
The
rugged terrain made it difficult to travel,
therefore the early settlers had to be
self-sufficient. The climate and elevation supported
vegetable crops, especially cabbage and beans. Early
settlers also traded furs and raised cattle. Today,
the major agricultural cash crop is Christmas trees.
Banner Elk has never had a large industrial base.
The community is dominated by small, locally owned
businesses. With an increasing dependence on tourism
since the 1960’s, the area is a magnet to
vacationers and summer residents. Banner Elk offers
beautiful scenery, cool summers, a location between
three ski resorts, and a friendly atmosphere.
Tourism has been important to Banner Elk for over
100 years. The Banner Elk Hotel was built in 1892 to
accommodate tourists (Heritage, 1976). In the early
1900’s people began to build summer homes in the
area to enjoy the pleasant mountain environment. The
ability to manufacture snow made Banner Elk a year
round tourist attraction. Grover Robbins built Beech
Mountain Ski Resort in 1965, and Sugar Mountain Ski
Resort opened in 1969. Hawk’s Nest Ski Resort opened
in 1968.
Lees-McRae College
Lees-McRae College has been a catalyst in the Banner
Elk area for about 100 years. Edgar Tufts founded
the Elizabeth McRae Institute for Girls in 1900. The
objective of the institute was to promote Christian
values by providing academic curricula that
encouraged intellectual, spiritual, physical, and
social growth (Heritage, 1976). Several
institutional changes occurred over the years. Mrs. S.P. Lees was a major benefactor, and a name change
occurred in 1903 to the Lees-McRae Institute (Neal,
1983). The addition of Plumtree School for Boys in
1927 made the institute coeducational (Heritage,
1976). The institute became Lees-McRae Junior
College in 1929, and when it received accreditation
as a four-year college in 1990, the name changed to
Lees-McRae College.
Health and Child Care Facilities
Health care facilities date back to 1908 when Edgar
Tufts recruited Dr. Charles Reed to the Banner Elk
area. Grace Hospital opened in 1908. Edgar Tufts
also founded the Grandfather Orphan’s Home to
provide a caring and home-like atmosphere for
orphaned children of the mountains (Neal, 1983).
Grace Hospital was replaced by the Charles A.
Cannon, Jr. Memorial Hospital in 1962. The original
orphan’s home evolved into Grandfather Home for
Children, which was inaugurated in 1939 (Banner Elk
Development Plan, 1967).
Population
Town: 828 (including Lees-McRae students, as of
1997)
External Jurisdiction: 424 (estimated from a 1999
survey)
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If you have any
questions or would like more information, please contact us
828-262-1990,
email us, or use our
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