The aptly-named Town of Highlands, North Carolina, was founded in 1875 by Samuel Kelsey and C. C. Hutchinson, two developers living in Kansas who, according to legend, took a map in hand and drew a line from New York to New Orleans. Then they drew another line from Chicago to Savannah. These lines, they reasoned, would become major trade routes in the future, and where they crossed would some day be a great population center. Their logic wasn't completely insane when one recognizes that Highlands is just over 120 miles from Atlanta. The two then created a health and summer resort at more than 4,000 feet on the highest crest of the western North Carolina plateau in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
Since its founding, the demographic mixture of Highlands has been remarkably unique. Settled by hardy pioneers from across the nation, sober industrious tradesmen from the North, Scotch-Irish laborers and craftsmen from the surrounding mountains and valleys, and wealthy aristocratic planters and professionals from the South, the town has served as a cultural center for well-known artists, musicians, actors, authors, photographers, scholars, and scientists who have thrived in its natural setting. The result has been a town too cosmopolitan to be provincial, too broadly based to be singular in attitude and perspective, too enamored of its natural surroundings to be totally indifferent to them, and just isolated and small enough to be careful about the benefits and setbacks of growth and development.
What evolved was a health and summer resort at more than 4,000 feet on the highest crest of the Western North Carolina plateau in the Southern Appalachian mountains. This paradise-like settlement, the highest incorporated town east of the Rockies, provided common ground for both northern and southern pioneers a decade after the Civil war. By 1883, nearly 300 immigrants from the eastern states were calling Highlands home. In the early 1880's the town contained 8 country stores specializing in groceries, hardware, and general merchandise, a post office, a hotel and boarding house for summer guests, a public library, four churches, and a first class school.
Very little changed until the late 1920s, when the Cullasaja River was dammed, forming Lake Sequoyah, to provide hydroelectric power. A spectacularly scenic road to nearby Franklin, North Carolina was carved into the rock walls of the Cullasaja Gorge. The muddy roads in and out of town were reinforced with crushed stone. By the time the Chamber of Commerce was established in 1931, the town's population had increased to 500 with 2,500 to 3,000 summer guests, served by some 25 businesses.
Then, in the mid 1970s, an influx of multi-family homes and shopping centers spawned land use plans and zoning laws intended to protect Highlands? natural assets. The town's population had by then grown to slightly over 1,100 year round residents with 3,200 on the plateau.
Some quick Highlands, NC facts include:
- Highlands is the highest incorporated town east of the Mississippi River at 4,118 feet
- The surrounding national forest is one of the few temperate rain forests in North America
- The median home price in 2005 was $662,000
- The median age of Highlands home owners is 47.4
- 31.8% of Highlands residents have a four year degree or higher
Unlike most resort towns, the majority of our summer visitors are also homeowners and the town has created a community of concerned citizens and cultural organizations with many diverse activities. Rarely is it possible for such a small town to offer the array of services found in Highlands. Medical needs are met with a full-service hospital and a staff of general practitioners and specialists. The cultural amenities include professional theatre, chamber music concerts, cabarets, art exhibits and other special events. A variety of educational classes and informative seminars are also available.
Highlands, North Carolina, gives you a range of choices and somehow manages to nurture your spirit at the same time. Within the four blocks of Main Street and adjacent streets that make up the center of town, Highlands is a charming blend of country and city cultures. With the rare combination of scenic beauty and ideal climate, Highlands has much to offer in the way of sightseeing and outdoor recreation. Among the many outdoor activities enjoyed are golf, tennis, hiking, swimming and fishing. For the more adventurous, there is whitewater rafting, rappelling and snow skiing. Spring, summer, fall and winter - each of the seasons offers its own unique set of outdoor adventures that attract residents and visitors alike to revel in the magnificent splendors of the mountains. It's this combination of natural and civilized which makes the Town of Highlands so unique and special.
The Highlands of North Carolina.
For more information on activities in and around the Burlingame Country Club at Sapphire Lakes near Sapphire, North Carolina, visit:
Featured Communities in The Highlands
(This and more local information is available at or through the above sites.)
Highlands Homes, Properties and Special Feature Real Estate
It's not surprising, then, that homes and properties - including waterfront, golf course, retirement and other special features properties - in and around Highlands, North Carolina are highly prized and sell quick. Some of the Highlands area's finest luxury and executive homes and frontage properties in a variety of attractive sizes and styles are likely available at the right price right now.
If you're already picturing yourself owning prestigious Highlands, North Carolina real property, you're not alone. With the wide variety of Highlands properties, you'll find Highlands area homes or lots that are suited to your unique needs and desires. Keep in mind that, as you would expect, Highlands real estate is highly valued and available homes and properties go fast.
So, if you're like many eager home buyers, you can easily understand why the prestige, security, pleasant surroundings and both present and future value of one-of-a-kind residential resort communities make Highland County properties especially attractive - and extremely competitive. In short, such real estate gems are likely to be available in the kind of setting and situation that could make you and your family comfortable, cozy and contented for a long time.
Whether your interest is a new family home, recreational land, construction lots, a second home, luxury homes/estates, multi-million dollar properties, pristine gated communities or other special-feature properties, you'll find Highlands, North Carolina area real estate opportunities that are the right fit, right now.
More About Meadows Mountain Properties
At Meadows Mountain Realty, we have the expertise to guide you through the home purchasing process painlessly and profitably. We're proud and protective of our reputation for knowledgeable advice, enthusiastic service, creative marketing and professional networking. That's why we present only the finest properties in the most attractive settings so you can feel at ease that your search will produce the right kind of solution for you.
Previous customers would tell you that Meadows Mountain Realty provides all of the specialized services you deserve: a strong work ethic, personal real estate expertise to help define your needs, help with selecting and securing standard financing for your purchase, special technology, constant communication throughout the transaction, and more. Our combined years of experience in real estate mean we can provide guidance in all aspects of your search, no matter where it may lead - from existing homes for sale, properties for sale, lots, vacant land, 55-plus, gated and retirement communities, investment properties, waterfront and mountain view, golf, recreational and harbor town lighthouse properties, golf course lots - all the way to luxury villas, estate, executive and multi-million dollar homes.
Recognized expertise, professionalism and commitment to customer satisfaction have made Meadows Mountain Realty the choice of many previous home buyers. That's because, as a real estate industry leader in the Highlands community, we take seriously our opportunity - and obligation - to educate our home-buying clients about the area and to help them conduct their search in complete confidence.
We understand that home buyers can find any real estate agent to handle their business and think you'll like the courtesy, professionalism, attention to detail and real estate savvy for which We're known. Let us help you discover your dream home in Highlands, North Carolina! Contact Meadows Mountain Realty today!
Other nearby communities have similar real estate characteristics as Highlands and may also be of interest to you in your home search. Please feel free to ask Meadows Mountain Realty about homes for sale, lakeside/riverside properties and other real estate listings for nearby communities, such as Highlands, Cashiers, Lake Glenville, Sapphire Sapphire Lakes, Scaly Mountain, Macon County, Transylvania County, Jackson County, Burlingame, Highlands Plateau, The Highlands, Brushy Face, Highgate Community, Highlands Falls Country, Cullasaja Club, Wildcat Cliffs Country Club, Highlands Cove, MountainTop Golf and Lake Club, Trillium Links and Lake Club and much more.
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EXCLUSIVE REAL ESTATE IN HIGHLANDS, CASHIERS & LAKE GLENVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA
Meadows Mountain Realty services the real estate needs of home buyers and home sellers in search of special real estate, homes for sale, condos, investment properties, gated community homes, privacy homes, new construction, new homes, land, lots, waterfront properties, scenic view homes and recreational property in these nearby communities, and more!
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