Our Roots
On March 20, 1951 an agent from the Buncombe County Home Demonstration office, along with a representative from the Rural Community Development Council, met with the people of this community to explain the Rural Development Contest and invite us to enter. We did. Officers were elected, a board of directors and chairmen were appointed and goals and projects for the year were discussed and approved. Cane Creek was the third community to be organized in Western North Carolina.
The most outstanding project for the year was uniform mail boxes with name shingles. Four entrance signs were placed marking the boundary lines which read, WELCOME TO THE CANE CREEK COMMUNITY VALLEY BEAUTIFUL.
The club met at the two churches, Tweed's Chapel Methodist (now Cane Creek Christian Church) and Oak Grove Baptist Church during winter months. During the summer months picnics were scheduled at various homes. The cemetery was another project that year. The stones were put up, grounds seeded and timber and stumps were removed. A community tour was sponsored to see some of the accomplishment made during the year.
In the following year, 1952, the community voted to enter the contest a second year. Our main goal was ...
"Better farming and more comfortable living"
The people went to work to make this a reality instead of a dream. Both the Methodist and Baptist members point with pride to the new parsonages, which they built in this community during 1951-1953 with their combined labor together. When one of our community members lost their home to a fire that year, our men gave them help in building a new home and the women made and quilted two quilts, which they gave them along with individual gifts for their home.
In 1953 roadside clean-ups were scheduled at intervals in order to make the community more desireable and beautiful. We also began home garbage pick-up throughout the community and believe this was a first in Western North Carolina. We had our own private dump, which was covered regularly. On March 27, 1953, we incorporated Cane Creek Farmers Mutual, a non-stock, non-profit corporation to develop, foster, and promote programs for general welfare ... for our farm people.
In 1954 the four geographical boundaries were expanded and on February 28, 1955 the Cane Creek Community Council, Inc. was incorporated by the North Carolina Secretary of State, Thad Eure. That same year plans were begun for a community building. Through donations and labor from community members, the building was completed debt free in 1956.
Through the years, the Cane Creek 4-H Club has met in the community building and has had many regional, state, and national winners.
The community had a monument to the Litterbugs at the Cane Creek Community Center to show how much trash was collected and then the county would come pick it up. Cane Creek organized an abandon car program to help clean up the community roadsides and areas because of the large numbers of abandoned vehicles.
A fun tradition that Cane Creek Community has done for many years is the Yard of the Month program where community members would be honored for their beautiful yards year round with a special award at Christmas-time. Farm tours throughout the community were held to help members learn about better ways of farming. And the list goes on ...
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1957 The Lion's Club began meeting.
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1958 We received tax-exempt status.
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1960 Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were organized.
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1961 We helped organize the Fairview Fire Department.
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1962 We sponsored our first 4-H Club, which continued for many years, winning both local and national awards.
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1963 We donated 1200 hours of labor to Oak Grove Church to start a new building.
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1964 A chapter of TOPS was organized in our community, the first in Buncombe County.
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1964 TVA plans were for a lake on Cane Creek. We organized and fought against a dam, lake, and mud flats. We won. Do dam!
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1965 We organized boys and girls basketball teams, which eventually led to the formation of The Fairview Athletic Association.
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I970 We successfully fought a battle to keep a landfill off Williams Road and another off Concord Road. The same year we fought the "Drag Strip Vandals" on the old airport property on Cane Creek near our community boundary.
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We started a Community Watch program and an Adopt a Highway program to keep the roadsides clean.
Through the years we have been instrumental in bringing other public services to our area including the Fairview Public Library, the Cane Creek Swimming Pool, the soccer fields, and the Cane Creek Middle School. As we have grown, so have our own facilities. We added the tennis courts and the picnic pavilion. We added the storage room, the deck off the back, and the bathroom addition. We have upgraded the HVAC, electrical wiring, windows and roof.
We have a rich history and we are thankful for every person who has been part of making it what it is today. We owe a special thank you to Juanita Carter and those who assisted her throughout the years in recording the Cane Creek Community happenings and assembling the Cane Creek Community Center scrap books. They are a treasure. Most of the information on this page was taken directly from her writings.
Our Strong History...
...has helped shape us to who we are today.
To all those who have gone before us, we honor you and we say,
"Thank you for your time, energy, resources, gifts, talents, commitment and hard work to make our community a place that we are proud to call home."
