Love Valley isn’t your typical Old West town for two reasons: it’s located at the foot of North Carolina’s Brushy Mountains, and it’s a functional modern community. But place and time don’t seem to be much of a factor in Love Valley, where there’s a $10 fine for driving automobiles on the main street. The town is the product of one man’s vision, Andy Barker, a North Carolina contractor and philanthropist. Barker was inspired by the 1930s popcorn Westerns his father took him to see as a kid. In 1954, he and his father built the Old West town of their dreams, and Love Valley was incorporated less than a decade later. Barker served as Love Valley’s mayor from 1963 until his death in 2011. Barker is buried in the cemetery next to Love Valley Presbyterian Church, the first building he and his father constructed in the township. Since its inception, the town has attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors, including late President Lyndon Johnson. Visitors and homebuyers still seek out Love Valley to swing open saloon doors and embark on horseback journeys up the rugged mountain trails of the surrounding wilderness. “Nothing has really changed on the main street since the '60s,” says Tori Barker, Andy’s granddaughter. “Our goal is to keep the town the way it’s always been, an intimate community focused on horseback riding.”
Single-family housing and barns for the horses
Although horses are the mandatory form of transportation on Love Valley’s main street, residents primarily use cars to run errands and commute to work. “A lot of retirees like to move here, but there are also families. The median income is low, but the morale is high,” Barker says. “Some people live on the main street, but a lot of people live in the surrounding area. There are about 105 permanent residents.” A 1999 one-bedroom, one-bathroom cabin with an eight-horse stable is on the market at $120,000. For $160,000, a homebuyer can purchase a one-bedroom, two-bathroom 2005 cabin with a large enough porch for enjoying sunsets with several friends. A three-bedroom, three-bathroom 2023 contemporary-style home with an attached garage sells for about $370,000.
Wide open space and acreage draw many residents to Love Valley and the surrounding areas.
Great dining options like Broad Street Burger are only a few minutes away from Love Valley.
The community of Love Valley is tightly knit where everyone knows each other.
Residents in the Love Valley area enjoy homes that have large open personal yard space.
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Moderately and highly rated public schools
Many children attend Central Elementary School, which has an A-minus Niche rating and a 15-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio. North Iredell Middle School has a B Niche rating and a 17-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio. Teens move on to North Iredell High School, which has a C-plus Niche rating and a 91% graduation rate. All the schools are within 10 miles of Love Valley, and a bus system picks up the children.
North Iredell High School is where many students of Love Valley will graduate.
Central Elementary School provides Love Valley young learners a strong foundation.
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Gift stores and big-box retail
Residents stop by Shelby’s Place to eat pizza and dust off their boots on the dance floor. Shelby’s Place features a jukebox and occasional live music. Moonshine Gifts sells Love Valley branded merchandise like flasks and whiskey glasses. It’s common to see locals enjoying ice cream cones on the front porch and balcony. Muley’s Leather sells handmade saddles, bracelets, holsters and gun belts. Locals often travel outside the town to shop for household necessities at the Dollar General. Also outside of town, Union Grove General Store carries ornate pocketknives, jelly, honey, snacks, apparel and pottery items. Residents can drive 16 miles to Statesville via NC-115 to access Walmart, Home Depot, Goodwill and Chick-fil-A. Love Valley is home to Gregory Glazing Company, a family-owned business that produces commercial glass products. People purchase horse feed at Deal-Rite Feeds in Statesville.
Walmart and other shopping is only a short trip away from Love Valley in nearby Statesville.
Western-themed holidays and rodeos
Locals attend the Love Valley Cowboy Christmas to enjoy a live nativity, roast s'mores, witness tree lighting, decorate ornaments and watch a parade. The town hosts Halloween in the Valley, a three-day event that includes pumpkin carving, a homecooked food contest, a haunted trail, a costume contest and a free community breakfast at Love Valley Presbyterian Church. Volunteers decorate the town for the holidays. Love Valley Arena hosts events like Southern Souls Rodeo, which features bull riding, bronc riding, barrel racing and calf roping.
Love Valley has arenas for entertaining events based around the horseback riding of the area.
Hitting the trails on horseback
Love Valley offers 24/7 access to 2,000 acres of privately owned land full of riding trails. “Love Valley has about seven or eight campgrounds. Most people tend to camp when they come here," Barker says. Brushy Mountain Horseback Adventures rents cabins as well as horses and leads guided trail rides through Love Valley and the surrounding foothills. Volunteers with the Love Valley Horseman’s Association help maintain many of the area's trails. “We remove fallen trees and trash from about 20 to 25 miles of trails, which don’t cost anything to use,” says Paul Dishmon, board chairman of the horseman's association. Residents can also drive 10 miles into the foothills of the Brushy Mountains to sift through river sediment in search of over 60 types of naturally occurring gems and minerals at the Emerald Hollow Mine. Residents can pay to hunt quail and pheasants 8 miles away at Waterfall Preserve, which offers guided hunting experiences using trained bird dogs. Locals can travel 11 miles to Rocky Face Mountain Recreational area to camp, hike trails and climb jagged cliff faces.
Residents know that horses and the natural beauty of Love Valley are permanent fixtures.
Getting around town with a horse or a car
Love Valley has a dirt main street, but the surrounding roads are asphalt. “Some business owners clean up the horse manure on the main street, but typically it just goes back to the earth,” Dishmon says. It’s an 84-mile trip via US-421 to reach big-city options in Greensboro. The trip to Charlotte is 60 miles via I-77. Many residents rely on North Iredell Animal Hospital, an 11-mile drive via Friendship Road.
The interstate I-40 and I-77 interchange allows Love Valley residents to travel the region.
Source: Public RecordsDisclaimer: Certain information contained herein is derived from information provided by parties other than Homes.com. Our sources include: Accuweather, Public Records and Neustar. All information provided is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed to be accurate and should be independently verified.
