Bailey, young hearts call out to thee – Hearts that are young for the cares to be, And call to thee in different lights
Point of Inspiration Smith Farm Purchase will Ensure Continued Access to Bailey
And seek thee out through weary night;
By: Ryan W. Bell Bailey Mountain Project Liaison and Director of First Year Academic Success
And they look to thee for their strength of will; Grant them their prayer, O rock-rimmed hill ! ~Annie Vinne Tillery, 1913
Mars Hill University has been called “a gem in an emerald ring of hills,” and if that is true, then certainly the most iconic of these emerald hills would be Bailey Mountain. Any MHU student’s residence hall or classroom window may very well frame Bailey, who oversees their intellectual adventures and athletic battles. Yet as calm and steadying as Bailey is apt to seem, she also represents exciting recent news for those who hope to see her slopes welcoming MHU students for years to come.
Also along Connor Ridge, the Smith property adjoins the Bailey Mountain Park, which contains the valley beyond, including the headwaters of White Oak Creek and Hamp Gap. Bailey Mountain Park is another property open to the public and is owned by the Richard L. Hoffman foundation. (The Park is accessible via a right-of-way from Phillips Valley Road off Route 213.) The approximately 200-acre Bailey Mountain Park purchase began when two parcels went up for sale in 1997 and was completed in 2006 thanks to a sizable donation.
On December 28, 2018, the Town of Mars Hill completed purchase of an 87-acre property off Forest Street commonly known as the Smith Farm. The sale of the Smith Farm capped off a campaign among several Mars Hill alumni, residents, and benefactors begun in 2015. Owned and managed by the Town of Mars Hill, the 87-acre Smith Farm will be publicly accessible. A recreational management plan is currently under development, pending a public input period.
Both efforts ensure that MHU students may continue to court discovery on the slopes of Bailey, whether it be biology students on plant walks and stream wades or gazing artists seeking inspiration. Furthermore, students connect through Bailey, in time and space–sharing the labor MHU students Brad Barbee and stewardship of the and Shay Sargent work on trail and the conquest trails on Bailey of the ascent, orienting themselves in adulthood and the region, and glimpsing the same expansive view and the possibilities it portends.
The Smith Farm purchase is the latest in a local long-term grass roots cooperative effort to preserve the iconic Bailey Mountain from private development. The effort preserves the landscape and horizon of the town itself. And, for the average Mars Hill University student, the purchase of Smith farm ensures increased access to a substantive feature of the MHU student experience.
Background: Students ascend Bailey on Labor Day 2018. For more information on Bailey Mountain, visit: www.baileymountainpark.org or email baileymtn@mhu.edu. Find Bailey Mountain Park / Richard L. Hoffman Foundation on facebook!
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Looking from campus, the eye follows Connor Ridge to Bailey’s summit, which is likely the route taken for the historic and notorious “initiation” hikes of bygone first year Mars Hill College students. A similar tradition may now be renewed for today’s bolder incoming students. MHU’s new President Tony Floyd led a hike this past Labor Day, and over 150 of the determined joined him to hear inspirational words from a scenic viewpoint; most continued to the summit.
Timeline 1940: New college seal incorporates Bailey Mountain 1996: Two parcels totaling approximately 200 acres up for sale 1998: Richard L. Hoffman Foundation begins purchase with private loan and donations 2006: $10k donation completes purchase of Bailey Mountain Park 2015: Campaign begins to purchase Smith Farm 2017: Benefit concert at Mars Hill Theatre December 2018: Smith Farm sale is closed
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