After several years of hard work by many people, a special dedication was held recently to officially designate a portion of land in the Grassy Creek area of Mitchell County as part of the Overmountain Historic Trail. This joins with the other part of the Overmountain Trail in this area. Trail parking for the land is off Carter’s Ridge Road. Easements were provided by Byron Phillips, The Quartz Corp and Doug Wiseman. Most of the new section which goes 0.4 miles to the north was donated by Sibelco to Toe River Watch. The trail includes trout fishing access, educational signage, stream side benches, trail walking and running and a small waterfall. Funding was provided by the US Environmental Protection Agency 319 Grant Program, NC Department of Environmental Quality-Wtar Resources Development Grant, Duke Energy Water Resources Fund, US fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and the Samuel L. Phillips Family Foundation. Community partners that helped shape the project included Blue Ridge Resource Conservation and Development, Overmountain Victory Trail Association, Toe River Valley Watch, NC Wildlife Resources Commission, NC Department of Environmental Quality, Rotary Club of Spruce Pine, Mitchell County EDC, Destination By Design, Town of Spruce Pine, Mitchell County, NC Department of Transportation and Blue Ridge Conservancy. Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail traces the route used by patriot militia during the pivotal Kings Mountain campaign of 1780, stretching 330 miles its southern terminus in South Carolina through North Carolina and into Tennessee and Virginia. The project also included restoration of the stream to benefit the water quality of the creek and its ecosystem.
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