Valle Crucis Episcopal Mission

Valle Crucis Episcopal Mission, also known as Valle Crucis Conference Center, is a historic Episcopal mission church complex and national historic district located near Valle Crucis, Watauga County, North Carolina. The Gothic Revival style, gable-front stone Church of the Holy Cross was built about 1924. Other contributing resources are the church cemetery with the earliest burial dated to 1808, Auchmutv Hall dormitory (1910-1911), The Annex (c. 1920), "The Farm House" (1915), Former Dairy Barn (now "The Apple Barn", 1903-1911), Former Apple Barn (now "The Bunk House", 1914), The Mission House (1896), the Power Dam (1903-1930), the Valley / Field, and the Apple Orchard. The Valle Crucis Episcopal Mission was established by the Episcopal Church in 1844-1845.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. It is located in the Valle Crucis Historic District.

Order of the Holy Cross
Bishop Levi Silliman Ives of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina founded a religious community called the Brotherhood of the Holy Cross, at Valle Crucis in 1842. He had become more attracted to Roman Catholic teachings through the Oxford Movement in the Anglican Church. He wanted to form a monastery for Episcopalian men following the rule of St. Benedict in the Roman church. "So warm was the advocacy of the Oxford theories by Bishop Ives that he was arraigned for them before the convention of the Episcopal Church. His explanations were accepted for a time, but the "Brotherhood of the Holy Cross" was dissolved."

"There had been a slight abortive attempt at forming an American Order, under Bishop Ives, at Valle Crucis, North Carolina. But it had come to nothing."

The Rev. William Glenny French was the first Superior of the Order of the Holy Cross. Father William established a rigorous schedule for everyone in the order. Religious services were held three times a day, and each man and boy were required to do two hours of manual labor a day. He also worked as a missionary to the local mountain communities, holding services and sacraments to both the free and the slave populations. However, the practices of private confession and absolution were considered highly objectionable to the Episcopal practices of the day, and the society was abolished in 1849.

William West Skiles, a brother and deacon, helped start the religious community at Valle Crucis.

Church of the Holy Cross
The cornerstone of the Church of the Holy Cross was laid in 1924. The parquet floor was part of the original building, and was made from the end pieces of 2x4's and three inches deep. Each piece was dovetailed to interlock and to fit into a subfloor. There is nothing similar to this anywhere else in the Valley. The "Skiles Altar" is a Dutch cupboard that is hand carved with suitable inscriptions in honor of William West Skiles, a missionary brother of the Order of the Holy Cross. The altar was given in his memory by the Order of the Holy Cross in the 1950s or 1960s.

Chapel of St. Anthony
The Chapel of St Anthony is between the four hermitages at the Valle Crucis. These Hermitage (religious retreat) are small cabins designed for individuals desiring temporary renewal and reflection, and are open to artists, writers, educators and people of many faith backgrounds. The hermitages and the chapel create a small, isolated community separate from the rest of the mission, and the chapel has a hickory floor, a hand hewn altar, and local and custom artwork adorn the walls. The chapel is designed to facilitate quiet prayer, contemplation and spiritual direction.

School
As part of the Episcopal mission, a classical and theological school was established for the local children, including not only academic subjects but agricultural ones as well. The school was named the Classical and Agricultural School, and was the first one in the state to teach practical agriculture. One section of the school prepared boys for the ministry, and included at least one black man, William Alston, as a student, who finished in 1850, and went on to become an ordained minister in Philadelphia and New York.

The school closed in 1850 as the mission was abandoned. But in 1895, under Bishop Joseph Blount Cheshire and the Rev. Milor Jones, the school was reopened with an eight-room, two story Mission House, which housed a teacher, another mission worker, and several boarding school students. The school continued to the 1990s, and boarded girls who learned home skills of milking, making butter, cooking, weaving, laundry work, sewing and embroidery. Boys attended day classes, and the student population increased by 1900 to one hundred, about half boys and half girls. Later on, Bishop Junius Horner insisted that the school operate a farm to support the mission. He acquired 525 acres of more land for the mission and he said that the school was "intended for the class of boys and girls who cannot take advantage of more expensive schools." By 1906 over a thousand fowls were raised in the chicken coops, and over a hundred acres were devoted to apple trees.

Valle Crucis, Shawneehaw and Elk Park Turnpike
The Valle Crucis, Shaneehaw and Elk Park Turnpike was built as a private toll road between 1891 and 1892, using only hand labor and without machinery. A particular four mile section is noted for its winding curves from the Valle Crucis Elementary School to Banner Elk, North Carolina, and for its scenery. Today, the older roadbed is part of North Carolina Highway 194.