Walla Halla Retreat shares a common boundary with the 70,000-acre New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. The custom-built main residence sits high atop a backbone ridge overlooking the vast New River Gorge and its mighty river below. With a well-managed mix of hardwoods and hemlock, this property has been managed for decades to support and sustain thriving wildlife populations, resulting in exceptional recreational opportunities. Miles of forest trails wind their way across the sprawling mountain with an opportunity to visit enchanting waterfalls.

History in this area runs deep and the property's address - River Road - is a reference to a historic commerce road that connected many of the farms and estates in the area to the New River and C&O Railroad, key economic conduits of the second half of the 1800's. The old road was basically carved out of the New River Gorges solid sandstone outcrops and near vertical shale banks. Recently, the narrow and very crooked road was widened to two lanes and state of the art retaining walls were installed to keep the mountain side from caving in.

WALLA HALLA RETREAT

Watch as the colors shift with the light and the seasons. Expansive views across the awe inspiring New River Gorge and the New River, the second oldest river on the planet. Exceptionally well constructed and anchored by a towering floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace, the great room welcomes with warmth, grandeur, and craftsmanship that commands attention. Vaulted ceilings, wide plank wood floors, and abundant windows flood the space with natural light, framing breathtaking vistas from every angle. Evenings are well spent nestling around the wood-burning fireplace, sharing memories with loved ones. The stylish kitchen features stainless appliances, custom cabinetry, and a spacious walnut topped breakfast bar with seating. The great room opens to a generous deck, expanding the main level living area and creating the ideal setting for dining alfresco or enjoying happy hour with friends and neighbors. The homes three bedrooms offer peaceful havens and welcomed respite. Early morning brings magnificent sunrises that spark excitement for a new day. At nearly three thousand feet elevation, breathing the fresh mountain air is invigorating and revitalizing. On the lower level, a large family room offers a relaxed space to hang out while a second expansive deck provides another vantage point to soak in natures beauty. Also on this level is a full bath, wet bar, and mechanical room. Off the lower deck, a custom stone patio becomes the heart of everyone's outdoor experience where roasting smores with grandkids, sharing stories with friends, and savoring peaceful evenings beneath the stars quickly becomes a lifestyle. Live and play where the sky meets the ridge lines, and peace meets possibility.

HIGHLIGHTS

408 +/- acres adjoins the 70,000-acre New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

Mountain retreat style home looks across the expansive New River Gorge and its mighty river below

Mill Branch is a blue line stream that runs for 1.3 miles through the property.

Opportunity to create a classic family ownership legacy for the next tenure.

The sprawling mountain forest is carefully managed to sustain a thriving wildlife population

The sustainable forest is fully stocked with world renowned Appalachian hardwoods

Miles of trails wind throughout the forest providing a wide range of recreational pursuits

Mulberry, the original 1800s homestead, is constructed with hewn logs and cut stone

Little to no light pollution and the high elevation means millions of stars fill the night sky

The pace of life in the area is much slower and less hectic than that of the cities

LOCATION

Walla Halla Retreat is in the New River Gorge near the historic railroad town of Hinton. This area is in the picturesque mountainous region of southeastern West Virginia. The surrounding landscape is part of the Ridge and Valley Region, a scenic tapestry of elongated Allegheny and Appalachian Mountain ranges. Much of the area remains undeveloped and is characterized by its scenic farm valleys, small communities, and large expanses of hardwood forest.

GPS Coordinates: 37.734163(N), -80.915549(W)

1500 feet of road frontage on County Highway 26 (River Road)

The address at the historic Mulberry House is 1100 Mill Branch Road

Elevations range from 1381 ft. to 2561 ft. +/-

Walla Halla Retreat is one of the larger forest ownerships within this region and, therefore, represents an opportunity to create a classic family ownership legacy for the next tenure, or to carefully craft a rural residential project for future cabin sites. Terrain is typical of the region and considered rolling to mountainous, with upland hardwood flats and ridges separated by narrow hollows that flank the lower lying stream drainage.

MAIN RESIDENCE

Walla Halla Retreat was designed specifically for and custom-built on a "backbone ridge" to capture the incredible view of the "Big Bend" of the New River below, thus giving the home an elevated feeling of a tree house.

The home was built using construction materials and architectural design features to eliminate or reduce maintenance costs. The block and stucco foundation, concrete shingle clad siding, metal roof, and composite decking make the house resistant to the effects of sun, wind, and rain.

The interior has many upgrades and special touches. The handcrafted wide-plank black walnut flooring creates a warm feeling throughout the home. The owners had the flooring custom milled from lumber stored in a barn for over 30 years. The solid black cherry bar top was crafted from a tree that had fallen on the Walla Halla property. The wide solid oak stairways create an efficient and easy flow from level to level.

The accordion doors in the great room open the entire wall to the outside deck and surrounding forest allowing in soft summer breezes and the sound of birds singing, accentuating the feeling of tree house living. All other doors and windows open fully offering a chance to open up the entire home and to enjoy nature undisturbed. The design of the home and placement of the windows take advantage of passive solar gain throughout the winter as well as optimizing the view of the river and surrounding mountains during the seasons from all three levels of the home.

Both beautiful fireplaces currently have gas logs. The chimney is masonry so each fireplace could burn firewood instead. The chimney starts on the lower floor and runs side by side (but separately) with the main floor chimney to the top. If desired, one fireplace could burn firewood and the other could continue using gas logs. The chimney mason, who has many years of experience, said it was the tallest chimney he had ever laid. The lower level was designed to accommodate several forms of recreation: shooting pool, playing ping pong, playing video and board games, or watching sports on the big screen. The mechanical room is located on this floor. The lower level has a large, covered porch and a terrace with an outdoor firepit.

The three spacious bedrooms have lots of light and were positioned to provide privacy and a quiet space away from the rest of the home.

The three 3/4 bathrooms are exceptionally well done with custom tile work and upgraded fixtures. Large windows on the two upper floors create a very relaxed and spacious feeling.

The fire pit and terrace/patio were added on the west side of the home to take advantage of the long views of the mountains and river below. The stone mason incorporated native sandstones from the property with cultured stone creating a very special place to enjoy an evening around the fire.

HISTORIC MULBERRY HOUSE

The New River Gorge was a vast and largely unsettled wilderness until the C&O railroad was built on the eastern side of the river in the 1880's. The railroad opened up the rich coalfields and virgin timber stands of the region. Early mountaineers settled the area and soon were carving out mountain farms and raising families.

A visit to Mulberry House, sitting on the edge of a high mountain meadow, is a step back in time about 150 years. This early farmstead is an excellent example of how the early settlers lived and is testament to their hard work, perseverance, and ingenuity. Mulberry House was named after the ancient Mulberry tree growing near the barn. The mulberry tree produces berries suitable for pies, wines, tarts, and cordials. The leaves are the sole source of food for silkworms. Manpower, horsepower, and willpower were the tools of the trade in the late 1800's.

"Ike's Field" surrounds Mulberry House and is the product of immeasurable hours of backbreaking work. The clearing work is preserved in several stone walls, some of which are three courses thick, found around the property.

The original hand-hewn chestnut log cabin has been preserved. A massive hand-cut fireplace, chimney, and hearth, carved from native sandstone, provided the heat and cooking for the original cabin, whose foundation sits on its original hand-cut foundation stones. The fireplace features a mantle salvaged from a nearby historical house reputed to have been a brothel and bootleg house in the 1920's.

The two-story addition to the log house was constructed later by the descendants of the original homesteaders, the Bragg family. It has been restored as well, with new flooring and new electrical system. The sunny kitchen has been updated with new appliances, cabinets, and a kitchen island. Water for the home is provided by a mountain spring that has been in use for several generations. This spring also serves the main residence.

There are two barns near the house built of chestnut logs and one near the pond. There are a few other outbuildings including a woodshed, a spring house, a storage building and a small frame building near the house.

A spring fed pond was constructed in 2006 and stocked with bass. Kids of all ages have fun fishing and skipping stones across the pond. Several large bullfrogs enjoy the pond as well and their nightly singing is a welcome sound.

As is quite common on old mountain farms, there are two family cemeteries on the property to which the owners have granted access for families wishing to visit their ancestors' graves.

ACCESS AND BOUNDARIES

The property fronts about 1500' along the paved state-maintained River Road. From the River Road, a private gravel driveway winds 1.2 miles along Mill Branch and its waterfalls through the most scenic area of the property. The drive ends at the main residence high atop the backbone ridge overlooking the New River below.

Serving the historic homestead and upper meadow is a gravel lane originating on Mill Branch Road on the western side of the property. There is also a private connecting road from Mulberry House to the Walla Halla home.

The property is made up of four contiguous parcels. The individual parcels were surveyed separately many years ago and there are metes and bounds descriptions for each property on record. The boundary has never been surveyed in its entirety. The 408 acres is thought to be accurate, but all prospective buyers should consult a licensed surveyor for a determination of the propertys boundary lines and acreage.

Some of the boundaries have been surveyed by the National Park Service and other adjoining property owners. Old chestnut rail and wire fences, field edges and stone walls can be found along the other property lines.

In addition to the mile-long main driveway, interior access is provided by an efficient network of permanent trails. These trails are on good grade and make for enjoyable hiking, horseback riding and ATV riding.

UTILITIES

Currently there is electricity and telephone service to the property serving the main house and the historic home.

Due to the mountainous topography, cell phone coverage can be spotty in the hollows but is excellent on the ridge tops and at the houses.

The Starlink Satellite System could be installed by the new owners. This system offers Wi-Fi and internet service. Cell phones work well at both homes.

Water for the houses is provided by an abundant mountain spring that has been in service for several generations. Private septic systems serve both homes. There is no public water or sewer is currently unavailable in the Sandstone area.

Weekly trash pickup, and daily mail delivery are available at roadside. UPS and FedEx service this area also.

THE FOREST AND ITS RESOURCES

Forty acres of the forest was set aside to be preserved as an "Old Growth" forest. Some of the oldest trees in this preserve are believed to be more than 150 years old. The trees in this area are mature and very large and support a great population of woodpeckers, songbirds, owls, squirrels, and chipmunks. This section has an abundant amount of merchantable timber ready for harvest with many trees that will classify as Veneer and Overseas export logs. Remnants of the original homesteads chestnut rail fence can be found in this area.

The high elevation and many north and east facing slopes result in the property producing high-quality timber. Tulip Poplar, Basswood, White Oak, Red Oak, Sugar Maple, Hickory, Black Walnut, and Black Cherry are the predominant species comprising the forest.

A selective harvest was conducted on portions of the forest in 2003 under the close supervision of a professional forester. The thinning operation left thousands of high quality, vigorous, and rapidly growing trees. This forest should be a solid long-term investment as Mother Nature supplies the rain and sunshine to help the trees grow in the rich mountain soils. The residual trees have responded exceptionally well to the thinning, growing at a rate of about 5% per year. The forest is healthy and there is no evidence of Gypsy Moth. The Hemlock Wooly Adelgid and Emerald Ash Borer, pest introduced from Asia are present. The Eastern Hemlock is relatively healthy, however the Ash trees have been overcome and reduced to stump sprouts.

The forester also made certain the wildlife "Den Trees" were left throughout the forest to ensure the resident wildlife have ample trees to nest and raise families in.

At the conclusion of the timber harvest, all timber trails constructed for the harvest were reseeded and erosion control measures were put in place along the trails. Native blackberry and red raspberries are now growing wild along these trails as well as poke berry and honeysuckle vines.

MINERAL RESOURCES

The Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale are understood to underlie the property at a depth of 5000 feet+ and 10,000+ feet, respectively. The east coast Marcellus Shale Region is believed to contain enough natural gas to power the United States for over 100 years.

The owner has not leased the oil and gas rights and all mineral rights the seller has in title will be transferred to the purchaser at closing. There are no known coal reserves underlying the property. All prospective purchasers are encouraged to have an attorney do a title search prior to purchasing.

WATER RESOURCES

Mill Branch is a blue line stream that runs for 1.3 miles through the property. The stream begins at the property entrance on River Road and terminates at the National Park property line nearly 7,000 upstream. This mountain stream drains nearly 250 acres (60%) of the property by itself. Mill Branch has some very nice waterfalls created over the centuries.

One other smaller blue line stream and countless ephemeral streams make up the balance of the drainage on the property.

The mountain spring that supplies clear cold water to both homes has been in use since the 1890's.

There is a nice pond higher up on the mountain that has been stocked with fish.

ZONING

Raleigh County has some zoning and subdivision regulations. All prospective buyers should consult the County Government and the Health Department for regulations regarding zoning, building codes, and installation of water wells and septic systems.