Clio Logo
One of the oldest and best pioneer homesteads in the south is the Mast Farm Inn. It became a popular tourist inn by 1915. The Mast Farm Inn is an award-winning historic country inn that houses two restaurants in the Valle Crucis Historical District of North Carolina

Current view of Mast Farm Inn

Current view of Mast Farm Inn

Joseph Mast migrated down to Valle Crucis from Pennsylvania and settled on the land, and around 1810 his son David built the two-room log cabin, which now sits facing the main house at the Mast Farm. David’s son Andrew began building the house, but it was ultimately his son Finley who completed the house in 1896. Finley and his wife Josephine Mast had two sons. Joe, one of the sons, stayed on the farm and continued to run the house as an inn until the 1950s.

The Masts were known for their hospitality and their food. This is what made the inn what it was and what kept people coming. They raised corn, grain, sheep, cattle, and food for the family. Often times the main house would have no vacancies so Joe would sleep upstairs in the loom house to make sure the guests had rooms to stay in.

The Paul Lackey family bought the property in 1980 but sold it to Francis and Sybil Pressely in 1984, who rescued and restored the homestead. They opened the main house to guests in 1985 and later renovated the granary, the Blacksmith shop, and the woodworking shop. After working on the house for a year, it is now what you see today: a restoration that earned them the Gertrude S. Carraway Award of Merit from the Historic Preservation Foundation of North Carolina. Along with this, their hospitality landed the inn in the prestigious Innkeepers’ Register, a publication containing inns known for their hospitality, service, and historical or other special interest.

 

Unknown. (n.d.). The Mast Farm Inn of Valle Crucis • David Yates • The Mast Farm Inn. Retrieved October 8, 2016, from http://www.themastfarminn.com/mast-farm-inn-david-yates/ Valle Crucis. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2016, from http://www.blueridgeheritage.com/attractions/destinations/fvalle-crucis Inn, T. M. (n.d.). The Mast Farm Inn. Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://www.selectregistry.com/members/mast-farm-inn.asp