Samuel Banner House (c. 1870)

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Although what is now Avery County was strongly Confederate, there were notable Unionist sentiments. Samuel Henry Banner (Image 2) enlisted in the Union Army as did most of the Banner men of fighting age. After returning to Banner Elk, Samuel Banner built this lovely home (c. 1870) on his father's land (Image 3) for his soon-to-be wife, Jane Hyder. This home, a two-story clapboard building with glass windows was quite different than the "pioneer" style home he grew up in (Image 4) which notes how much the economy of the area had changed in less than one generation. Sam and Jane raised seven children in this home (3 boys, 4 girls). The house remained in the Banner family until 1977. During the following years, it housed skiers, Lees-McRae students and the Bruce Society (Highland Games). Slated for destruction, the Greater Banner Elk Heritage Foundation purchased the property in 2005. It was renovated and furnished with period pieces donated or lent by local families, and opened as a museum in 2005 offering guided museum tours which show the growth of Banner Elk in the 1890s and early 1900s. BannerHouseMuseum.org Continue along the grassy shoulder of Hickory Nut Gap Road to the intersection. Carefully cross the road at the intersection and use the path between the guard rails to acess the boardwalk along the Elk River heading towards town. As the river widens to a Pond, you will be notified with a "buzz" of the next tour stop for the Mill Pond.