Little Switzerland is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in McDowell and

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...

counties of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, United States. It is located along North Carolina Highway 226A (NC 226A) off the

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenand ...

, directly north of

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and south of Spruce Pine. The elevation is above sea level. At this location, in 1909, the "Switzerland Company" was founded by

North Carolina State Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

Justice Heriot Clarkson to construct a resort village. Covenants in the rules included no alcohol and one house per lot.

History

On January 17, 1964, the Switzerland Company filed a suit against the construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway noting that it was seeking a right of way of 800 feet wide through the resort and were not paying an adequate amount. The suit was settled with the Parkway getting 200 feet wide access and paying $25,000. It is now the narrowest point on the Parkway in North Carolina. The access to the Switzerland Inn is one of only two commercial access roads on the parkway; the other being Pisgah Inn at mile post 408. There were other skirmishes between the resort and parkway including the parkway closing the road to Kilmichael (pronounced Kill-michael) Tower built by Little Switzerland atop Grassy Mountain. Little Switzerland lost the fight and the tower fell into disrepair. Its base has since been turned into a vacation rental. The group got the

Carolina, Clinchfield, and Ohio Railroad The Clinchfield Railroad was an operating and holding company for the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway . The line ran from the coalfields of Virginia and Elkhorn City, Kentucky, to the textile mills of South Carolina. The 35-mile segment ...

to locate a station approximately 4 miles from the community. They built a toll road to it - Etchoe (pronounced Et-chō) Pass Road. The tolls did not last long although the booths are still visible. It is now

NC 226A North Carolina Highway 226A (NC 226A) is an alternate state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Signed along two segments that branch from NC 226: The first connecting the community of Little Switzerland; the second as a byp ...

. The original Switzerland Inn was razed in the 1960s and a modern motor court was built by William Cessna. Its naming illustrates the gradual change in meaning of the 19th century term little Switzerland from an area of limestone formations to one of mountainous appearance. The Church of the Resurrection was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1999.

References

External links

Visit Little Switzerland website (Little Switzerland Business Association)
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in McDowell County, North Carolina Unincorporated communities in Mitchell County, North Carolina Unincorporated communities in North Carolina 1910 establishments in North Carolina

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links