A
Family Affair The Mast farm dates from the late 1700s, when
Joseph Mast traveled to the mountains from Randolph
County, North Carolina, where he was born in 1764. His
father John had settled there after emigrating from
Switzerland via Pennsylvania, where his brother
remained. Joseph is said to have traded his rifle, his
dog, and a pair of leggings for 1000 acres of fertile
Watauga River Valley land. The first house, a
two-room log cabin, was built around 1810 and remains
today as the oldest inhabitable log cabin in North
Carolina.
The farm and family prospered through the 19th
Century, and Finley and Josephine Mast built the
first part of the farmhouse in the 1880s. Around the
turn of the century, the Masts began offering meals and
rooms to tourists, enlarging the house to accommodate
the growing number of guests. By 1915, the inn had 13
bedrooms and one bath. It was called "The Mast Farm"
or simply "Aunt Josie's and Uncle Finley's."
Aunt Josie Mast, besides running the house and
managing the vegetable garden and dairy, was a master
weaver. She turned the original log cabin into a
loom house and became celebrated for her coverlets,
rugs, and handbags. Some of her coverlets are in the
Smithsonian today.
Uncle Finley and Aunt Josie's two sons did not continue
the inn after their parents' deaths in the 1930s. Joe,
the younger, who was blind, lived in the house until
1964, when ill health forced him to move away.
After Joe Mast died, the house stood empty or was
briefly rented until 1984, when Francis and
Sibyl Pressly bought the property and did a masterful
restoration. The Pressly's outstanding hospitality,
cuisine and service became regionally renown in very
short order. Along with the purchase, restoration and
reestablishment of
The Mast General Store
by John and Faye Cooper, this greatly contributed
to the rebirth of Valle Crucis as a hidden treasure of
the Blue Ridge.
Once again, The Mast Farm Inn became a favored
destination for visitors to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
In June 1996, the Pressly's retired and the Inn
changed ownership when Wanda Hinshaw and Lyle
Schoenfeldt, a professor at Appalachian State
University, with daughter, Sarah, moved back to Wanda's
home state from Texas. Wanda's sister, Kay Philipp,
with her family had made Watauga County home for many
years. Kay and Wanda were sister Innkeepers, just
as in the old days, when Josie's sister, Leona, had
worked with her at the Inn. Interestingly, Kay and Wanda
are natives of the same Randolph County where Joseph
Mast's family lived in the 1700s.
On February 1st 2006, eight members of The
Deschamps, Russo & Siano
Family relocated together to The Valle Crucis community.
They Converged to Valle Crucis after having lived in
Paris, London, Switzerland, Manhattan, Pétionville,
Coconut Grove & North Carolina, as they they had
purchased
The Mast Farm Inn,
and
The
Taylor House Inn, also
in Valle Crucis owned by Marie's Brother Bernard Russo &
His Wife Tessa. The Deschamps have owned, since 1996,
what used to be a historic girl's camp (Camp Glenlaurel)
on
The Blue Ridge Parkway
at
Gooch Gap
in
Little Switzerland.
After ten years of twice-yearly visits and vacations in
the area they decided to relocate here full-time. A
common occurrence with many visitors to the
The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area.
After many generations being owned and managed by
sisters, most recently Wanda and Kay, today we find
sisters
Sandra Deschamps Siano
and
Danielle Deschamps
as Innkeepers. It certainly does seem that the Mast Farm
Inn is destined to be cared for by sisters.
Danielle is also the Chef, and Sandra's husband Gaetano
Siano is the General Manager. Their parents
Marie-Henriette & Henri Deschamps are respectively the
Executive Chef and CEO.
The Mast Farm Inn
•
Bed and Breakfast
•
Country Inn
•
Restaurant Historic Valle
Crucis, North Carolina, Near Blowing Rock, Banner
Elk, Beech Mountain, Sugar Mountain,
Linville, Boone, Grandfather Mountain, and The Blue
Ridge Parkway, in the Western North Carolina High
Country.
Mailing Address
•
P.O. Box 704
• Valle Crucis, North
Carolina 28691 Physical Address•
2543 Broadstone Road
• Banner Elk, North
Carolina 28604 Telephone:
828-963-5857
• Toll Free: 1-888-963-5857
• Fax:
828-963-6404 E-Mail:
stay@mastfarminn.com
• Internet:
www.mastfarminn.com All Rights Reserved
• Copyright 2000-2009
The Mast Farm Inn is
a Member of The Select Registry And Of The
Professional Association of Innkeepers International
