HUNTING COUNTRY ASSOCIATION
Early Summer – 2025
A 501-C3 Zoning Association for the Preservation of Historic Hunting Country
Welcome to the Hunting Country Association's Early Summer Newsletter.
Our Website: huntingcountry.org Email us at huntingcountrya@aol.com
If you haven't renewed your yearly Hunting Country Association, Please check your Mailing Label and if it's 2024 or earlier, dues are due for the 2025 year! Simply mail your check for $38.00 to P.O. Box 896, Tryon, NC 28782 and we will do the rest! Thanks for supporting and being a member of this Zoning Association that works to protect the Hunting Country!!
Planning Board Meeting April 10th
Results of the April 10 Planning Board Meeting are as follows:
The Planning Board meeting held April 10th was attended by 78 residents. Many residents spoke and expressed their concern regarding the request to change the RE-5 zoning to allow Air B&Bs. The Planning Board listened to 16 comments and a request by Mr. Keller.
Mr. Keller had filed an Application to change the RE-5 zoning in HC to allow Air B&B, B&B type rentals.
After all had spoken, the Planning Board voted 5-0 to recommend the RE-5 zoning not be changed. Our zoning will remain the same and not allow B&B, Air B&B's. This is a recommendation going forward to the Polk County Commissioners. It could be on their May Agenda.
Thanks to all the residents who came out and spoke. There is great strength in numbers. We all love the HC and its worth the effort to keep it as is.
The Board had contacted our Attorney and he felt the zoning would not be changed.
Check the Hunting Country website for updates as we use it to get the word out. And thank you for supporting the HCA!
The Gathering
The Gathering will be held again on October 12th at Fence, from 5:00 to 7:00. Please come and join us! We will have food, drink and lots of good conversations with our neighbors. It's always a fun time and good to see HC residents! Be sure and mark your calendar!
Presidents Message
Thanks to all the residents who came out for the Planning Board Meeting on April 10th. Your attendance each time we have a threat to our zoning makes a huge difference.
The Planning Board listened to our residents and heard the requests not to change the zoning or set a precedent for the future. They voted overwhelming to not change the zoning in RE-5 to allow B&B's, Air B&B's.
The HCA Board met, and we are unanimous against changes to our zoning. It's sad this meeting couldn't have been a win for all sides but when people move here, they really need to look at, study and think about the zoning.
This is also a good time for reconciliation, but it depends on whether the Kellers pull their application or move to pursue it with the Polk Commissioners. If they remove the Application, I would welcome them into Hunting Country.
Check our website often for updates or any future events. huntingcountry.org. If you're not a member of HCA, and would like to be a member, it's easy to join.
Memberships run through December 31. Membership includes newsletters and "The Gathering" on October 12th at Fence. Always a fun event with good food and drink.
The HCA Board is always looking for new resident Board members. Currently our Board is filled but changes occur. This organization is so important for the protection of HC. If you are interested in serving on our Board, please contact Steve Herbert or one of our Board members. You can also email us at huntingcountrya.com
If you have questions, please email me at huntingcountrya@aol.com. Thank you again for keeping Historic Hunting Country safe and as is.
Phil Burrus
President of HCA
The Value of the Hunting Country Association
As you undoubtedly know by now, Tryon's Hunting Country is a very, very special place. Those of us who live here have our spirits lifted daily by views of carefully tended rolling pasturelands and the misted Blue Ridge Mountains beyond, and the pleasure of living in such beauty that never abates. We have much in common: whether we came originally for horses, the trail system and the equestrian life offered here, or are simply nature enthusiasts, all of us appreciate the rare experience of living in an area where the land still dominates.
Hunting Country! Property Owners Association is an association (founded in 1984) to which residents of Hunting Country belong, and which works in their behalf to preserve Hunting Country for current and future residents. We work to maintain the beauty of this area.
We have a volunteer Board made up of Hunting Country residents. We sponsor events, hold open bi-monthly meetings at which members are invited to share their interests and concerns, publish a newsletter which updates residents on matters affecting our area, represent Hunting Country at zoning hearings or city or county venues considering actions which may affect our interests, maintain a legal Defense Fund, and in other ways serve the common good of Hunting Country property owners.
This is a necessary and important function, for Hunting Country is no accident; it is the result of decades of commitment to preservation and smart planning. The Association had 2 acre zoning passed in the 90's and 5 acre zoning several years after that. We supported the Polk county 7 acre zoning. We have helped protect major properties by keeping them from being divided.
Thats why, we invite you to join your Hunting Country Neighbors as a Member of Hunting Country!
Membership includes: 1) Newsletters with timely updates on matters of importance related to Hunting Country. 2) Representation before government and other groups considering actions which the HC! Board feels will have an impact on you and your fellow residents. 3) If there is an issue that arises, we are totally prepared to meet it head on. 4) Open bi-monthly meetings of the HCA.
We are a 501-C3 Non-Profit Association, non-political Association, made up of residents of Hunting Country.
HCA Membership!
To join the Hunting Country! Association, just complete and mail along with your check for $38 dollars to: Hunting Country! Association, P. O. Box 896, Tryon, NC 28782
Yes, I want to join and/or renew my membership for 2025 in HCA!
Name__________________________________________Phone #________________
Address: ______________________________________________________________
City: ________________________ State________ Zip______________
Home Phone _________________________Cell Phone _________________________
$38.00 Dues ___________ Legal Defense Fund __________ Renewal ______ New_____
I am interested in serving on the HCA Board__________________
Historic Home Series in the Hunting Country
The Hunting Country has many historic homes and is itself a historic area. Beginning at our western entrance, the “Old Block House Barn” is a historic landmark. Hunting Country is also the home to four Carter Brown homes, the River House, Little Orchard and others….
In this Newsletter, we are featuring “the Gate House & T-Barn at the Cotton Patch on Hunting Country Road. Hope you enjoy the articles.
The Cotton Patch Gate House – from the National Register of Historical Places
The Cotton Patch is a rural estate in Polk County located in the Hunting Country on South River Road. The associated buildings on the property were designed by architect Russell S. Walcott in 1938 and built for James and Katrine Perkins as a summer estate and retirement home.
The property purchased was purchased in 1948 by Willis and Jacquelyn Kuhn of Indiana, who further developed the property as one of the premier equestrian estates in Polk County. When my family moved to Hunting Country, we knew the Kuhn's well. Both were involved in the Olympic equestrian program that was held on the property.
Gate House, built in 1941 – from The National Register of Historical Places
The one-story L-shaped dwelling is located near the entrance to the property and adjacent to the horse stables and barns. Resting on a brick foundation, the house has an asphalt-shingle gable roof, exposed rafter tails, waney edge siding, two exterior stone chimneys, and an exterior brick chimney. Windows are typically six-over-six double-hung sash or picture windows with a large central light flanked by four-over-four double-hung sash. An attached wood deck was added around 2005 and provides access to the two single-leaf entry doors located in the interior angle of the “L.” The door into the east wing is sheltered by an attached gable-roof hood supported on metal brackets. The interior contains two bedrooms, living and dining rooms, and an office. A gable-roof screened porch extends to the rear (south).
Originally built in the 1930s, the residence served as the home of Elbert Nanney, James Perkins' caretaker and farm manager. Nanney's house was destroyed by fire in May 1941, although Nanney and his family survived unharmed. The Nanney's lived in the main house during the summer while the Gate House was built.
Barn (“T Barn”), Built in 1945 – from The National Register of Historic Places
The main barn, known as the “T Barn” because of its shape, consists of two wings connected by an open breezeway located between the top and the stem of the “T.” The west wing, forming the top of the “T,” is a two-story gambrel-roof building with waney edge siding, a pyramidal-roof cupola, and six-over-six double-hung windows. It contains an office, kitchen, bathroom, and tack room, with two horse stalls located on the north side.
The east wing is a long gable-roof building containing four stalls and a work room at the east end. The overhanging roof on the south side is supported by wooden posts and shelters a brick walkway. The stalls, which extend the full depth of the wing, are accessed by Dutch doors. Robert Wallace, a later owner, converted three stalls to work rooms and a kitchen in the 1990s.
Hunting Country is no accident; it is the result of decades of commitment to preservation and smart planning. We invite you to join your Hunting Country Neighbors as a Member of Hunting Country!
The HCA is at the ready should anything arise to cause zoning problems and issues with our beautiful area. For $38 dollars a calendar year, an association like the Hunting Country's Association is priceless.
To join the Hunting Country! Association, just complete and mail along with your check to: Hunting Country! Association, P. O. Box 896, Tryon, NC 2878
Yes, I want to join and/or renew my membership in the Hunting Country Association! My Check is enclosed for $38.00. The HCA is a 501C-3 association with a volunteer Board made up of HC residents. Mail your check to Hunting Country, P.O. Box 896, Tryon, NC 28782
Name__________________________________________Phone #________________
Address: ______________________________________________________________
City: ________________________ State________ Zip______________
Home Phone _________________________Cell Phone _________________________
$38.00 Dues ___________ Legal Defense Fund _________________
Renewal ______________ New Membership _______