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Our History The Episcopal Church has had a continuous presence in our valley since 1842 when Bishop Levi Silliman Ives, Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina, established a missionary outpost to proclaim the Gospel and to provide education to the people of the hills and hollows of this region. The mission undertook difficult tasks and has resulted in a school, a conference center, and several churches many of which continue in various forms to this day. The early missionaries and mountain folks provided a strong foundation from which we continue. The Church of the Holy Cross is known as “the church that helps people,” and the vision of our church from those early days continues to the present time to serve the people in this area. Bishop Ives, impressed with the narration of a botanist (most probably Asa Gray) on the beauty of our mountains and the character and the needs of the people here, made his way across the Blue Ridge, and on July 20, 1842 held service in the valley of the Watauga. The Bishop, in a report to the convention of the Diocese, spoke particularly of the people: “My admiration was awakened by the simplicity of their character and the deep earnestness of their petition for instruction. I addressed a few of them on their wants and promised to send them a Missionary who should teach them the rudiments of knowledge, and preach to them the word of God.”
Bishop Ives fulfilled his promise to the people by purchasing with his own money 2,000 acres of land in what has become Valle Crucis. He established a missionary station, a training school for the ministry, and a classical and agricultural school for boys.
After Brother Skiles’ death no one was left to continue his work in the valley and the beacon of light grew dim. Some people viewed the termination of the mission as a failure but Rev. Henry Prout, the first Episcopal missionary in Valle Crucis hired by Bishop Ives wrote, “God works mysteriously. Another time and perhaps other men will see the drift of events: many a seed which springs up into beauty is borne on a stormy wind to a place where it is to grow.” Other people would come from the Episcopal Church bringing the message of the Gospel and providing education to the mountain people. In 1895 a revival took place under the guidance of Bishop Joseph Cheshire. His entire ministry was characterized by his missionary zeal and he is known as the father of the rebirth of the mission in Valle Crucis. At the 1894 Diocesan Convention Bishop Cheshire stressed the importance of the Diocese, rather than the parish, as the basic unit of the Church and the need for vigorous missionary expansion. He stated, “The whole life and hope of the Church in North Carolina are bound up in this work. As the weak and seemingly insignificant fibrous roots which spread away furthest from the trunk really gather the nourishment by which the tree lives, so shall we in this Diocese grow and strengthen just in the measure that we push our mission enterprises beyond the limits of our larger and stronger parishes.” Bishop Cheshire hired The Rev. Milnor Jones, Deacon, as a missionary to return to Valle Crucis. Between June 18 and July 1, 1895 Bishop Cheshire and Deacon Jones confirmed 45 persons, baptized a number of others and held services nine times in two counties. The flame had been re-kindled and was beginning to once again burn brightly. In 1898 Bishop Junius Horner was elected Bishop of the newly established Missionary District of Asheville. He was a great believer in education and under his direction the work in Valle Crucis once again flourished. The Episcopal Church’s Mission had a tremendous impact on many people. Bishop Horner was interested in the mission of the Church to lift the whole area to higher economic, social, educational and spiritual levels. Much money and effort were invested.
In 1903, 500 acres of land were purchased and Auxiliary Hall was built. The Bishop also wanted a farm to support the Mission’s School so many agricultural endeavors were undertaken. Chicken houses were built and apple trees were planted covering 100 acres. In a good year 20,000 bushels of apples were shipped from the school. A wagon factory built Dyer wagons and crates for the apples, and a sawmill provided lumber. In 1908 a Mrs. Auchmuty of New York gave a generous donation allowing the church to build a second large building. This newer building is today the main building of the Conference Center. With the increase in space, the mission school’s enrollment increased to 100 students.
In 1925 the cornerstone for the present day Holy Cross Church was laid and at that time the total membership was 95.
Again the Mission experienced what was one of the lowest points in its history. Church membership dropped to 29. During this time the mission school buildings had become a burden to the Diocese. It was actually put up for sale and came dangerously close to being developed into a resort. An offer of $385,000 for 400 acres was presented by a Florida development group but this low offer was turned down. During this time the Diocese recommitted itself to the Mission. By the mid-1970’s the church membership once again had a resurgence.
Life in this valley has not always been easy. The Episcopal Church’s Mission has been affected by wars, fires, floods, and disease but each time the community banded together and moved forward. Many sacrifices have been made by those who came before us. Our predecessors have always been concerned about preaching the Word, caring for those in need and always taking that giant leap of faith. The Church of the Holy Cross, being anchored in the heart of Christ, has been able to adjust to the opportunities of the times. Today, through ministries such as The Valle Country Fair, Mission and Outreach Commission, Towel Ministry, Episcopal Church Women and other endeavors, we as a congregation continue the work of Bishop Ives, Brother Skiles, Bishop Cheshire and Bishop Horner by serving our community and helping those in need in hope of opening new windows so the light of Christ’s redeeming love may shine where it has never shined before. |
The only remaining building from that
Today, St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church is a Mission of Holy Cross and used for Sunday services and concerts from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend every summer. Brother Skiles, who passed away on December 8, 1862, is buried at St.
John’s. Here you see the blessing of a new grave marker for his final resting place. 
A hydro-electric plant on Crab Orchard Creek provided electricity for the buildings, including the kitchen and laundry, as well as power to other places in the community. The School also had an electric truck. They even put an electric cross on the dining hall building. The building we know today as the Apple Barn (photo) was built originally as a dairy barn to house a herd of Holstein cattle imported from Ohio in 1912. The dairy barn had a concrete floor, a cheese factory and an ice cream plant. Mission School teachers and staff were hired from as far away as Boston. The Church’s Mission had grown into a tremendously productive project, a fact hard to imagine today since no paved roads existed. In fact what today is NC Hwy 194 was then simply a dirt track on which new teachers traveled to the school from the Elk Park train station. 
However, the Mission School did not flourish. The advent of world war led to its permanent closing around 1942. Once again it seemed mission work in the valley would come to a halt. However, after World War II the Mission School re-invented itself as a summer training program called the Town and Country Rural Institute for Ministry for seminary students interested in rural and mountain work. This was discontinued in the mid 1960’s. The facilities were then converted to use as a year-round inn. 
It was at this time the mission school/conference center and the church separated and became two distinct entities. In 1982 Holy Cross Church went from mission status to full parish status to become a self-supporting parish and no longer required funds from the Diocese.