Mast Farm

Mast Farm is a historic agricultural property in Valle Crucis, Watauga County, North Carolina. The property is associated with the Mast family, whose presence in the area began when Joseph Mast traveled from Pennsylvania and settled on land that forms part of modern Valle Crucis. Although the precise founding year of the farm is not established in the available sources, its built history extends from the early nineteenth century through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The oldest principal structure on the property is a two-room log cabin built by Joseph Mast's son David around 1810. The cabin remains on the site, positioned in front of the later main house. A weaving house, dating to approximately 1812, is also among the property's historic buildings and originally served as the farm house. These structures reflect the property's early agricultural and domestic functions before its transition into a hospitality-oriented estate. The main house was begun by David's son Andrew around 1880 and completed in 1896 by Andrew's son, D. Finley Mast. The original house was a relatively compact three-story frame dwelling with two rooms on each floor and a detached kitchen, a common arrangement for large homes that used open fires for cooking. An early twentieth-century photograph identified the property as Brookshide Farm and associated it with D. Finley Mast. During the early 1900s, D. Finley Mast and his wife, Josephine, began adding to the house and operating it as an inn. Over roughly twenty-five years, five symmetrical additions expanded the building to thirteen bedrooms, although the enlarged inn originally had only one bathroom. This development established the property’s modern identity as a historic lodging destination rather than solely a working farm. The site also includes a range of contributing agricultural and domestic buildings, including an eight-sided gazebo, wash house, spring house, meat house, log woodhouse, apple house, blacksmith shop, and gambrel-roofed barn. Today, the property is presented as the Mast Farm Inn, using its historic buildings and rural setting as the basis for hospitality. Its brand position is rooted in historic preservation, Appalachian and North Carolina heritage, architectural character, and an intimate country-inn experience. The available reference material does not document a broader chain, corporate parent, public listing, financial performance, or operations outside the United States. Mast Farm was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and is also located within the National Register-listed Valle Crucis Historic District.

Mast Farm's history is connected to the settlement of Valle Crucis by the Mast family. In the late eighteenth century, Joseph Mast arrived from Pennsylvania and established himself on land in the area. The property that developed from this settlement retained agricultural and family-residential functions for generations. Around 1810, Joseph Mast's son David constructed a two-room log cabin. The cabin is still located on the property, facing the later main house. The site also preserves a weaving house dating from approximately 1812, which originally served as the farm house. Together, these early buildings document the property's nineteenth-century origins and its connection to household production and rural agriculture. A later phase of development began around 1880, when David's son Andrew started constructing the main house. Andrew's son, D. Finley Mast, completed the building in 1896. The first version of the house was a two-story frame structure with a gable roof, though its road-facing section rose three stories and contained two rooms on each floor. A detached kitchen served the house, reflecting the practical concerns of large residences that relied on open flames for cooking. The property was known at one point as Brookshide Farm. An early twentieth-century photograph shows a sign identifying the farm as Brookshide Farm, naming D. Finley Mast and indicating its distance from the post office. This provides evidence of the site's continuing rural identity before and during its transition into a lodging property. In the early twentieth century, D. Finley Mast and his wife Josephine began operating the main house as an inn. They also undertook a prolonged expansion program. Five symmetrical additions were completed over approximately twenty-five years, ultimately creating a thirteen-bedroom inn. Despite the substantial increase in guest capacity, the expanded property originally contained only one bathroom. The additions changed the scale and function of the house while preserving its family-estate character. The wider historic property includes numerous agricultural and support buildings. These include an eight-sided gazebo dating from about 1890, a wash house, spring house, meat house, log woodhouse, apple house dated to 1905, blacksmith shop, and a gambrel-roofed barn. The collection illustrates the range of structures required by a self-contained farm and household. The weaving house, in particular, represents an earlier phase of domestic and productive life on the site. Mast Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It is also situated within the National Register-listed Valle Crucis Historic District. In its present brand expression, the property operates as the Mast Farm Inn, using the preserved buildings and the historical setting to support a lodging and heritage-tourism business. Available reference material does not identify a founding corporation, current owner, parent company, executive team, financial results, or significant expansion beyond the Valle Crucis property.

• 1972

  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places

  [1]Mast Farmen.wikipedia.org

  Mast Farm was added to the National Register of Historic Places and is also within the National Register-listed Valle Crucis Historic District.

• 1905

  Apple house dating from the early twentieth century

  [1]Mast Farmen.wikipedia.org

  The property's contributing buildings include an apple house dated to 1905.

• 1896

  Main house completed

  [1]Mast Farmen.wikipedia.org

  D. Finley Mast completed the main house begun by his father, Andrew.

• 1890

  Gazebo added to the historic property

  [1]Mast Farmen.wikipedia.org

  An eight-sided gazebo on the property dates from approximately 1890.

• 1880

  Main house construction begins

  [1]Mast Farmen.wikipedia.org

  Andrew Mast began constructing the main house, initiating the principal late-nineteenth-century building phase.

• 1812

  Early weaving house established

  [1]Mast Farmen.wikipedia.org

  The property's weaving house dates to approximately 1812 and originally served as the farm house.

• 1810

  Construction of the Mast family log cabin

  [1]Mast Farmen.wikipedia.org

  David Mast built the two-room log cabin that remains on the property and now faces the main house.

• Joseph Mast settles in the Valle Crucis area

  [1]Mast Farmen.wikipedia.org

  Joseph Mast traveled from Pennsylvania and settled on land associated with the later Mast Farm property. The exact year is not specified in the available source.

• Conversion of the main house into an inn

  [1]Mast Farmen.wikipedia.org

  During the early 1900s, D. Finley Mast and Josephine Mast began operating the property as an inn and expanded it through five additions over approximately twenty-five years.

A historic North Carolina country inn centered on preserved farm buildings, Mast family heritage, rural setting, and architectural authenticity.

• Historic lodging

  Mast Farm Inn accommodations

  The property's principal offering is lodging in and around a preserved historic farm and inn complex in Valle Crucis, North Carolina. The main house developed into a thirteen-bedroom inn through a series of early twentieth-century additions. The accommodation proposition is based on historic architecture, rural surroundings, and the experience of staying at a property associated with the Mast family and the area's agricultural heritage.

• Heritage tourism

  Historic farm and heritage experience

  Mast Farm's broader visitor proposition combines hospitality with access to a preserved historic landscape. The property includes the main house, an early log cabin, weaving house, gazebo, barn, and other agricultural support buildings. These structures give the brand a heritage-tourism identity focused on rural North Carolina history and historic preservation rather than a standardized hotel format.

1. 1Mast Farmen.wikipedia.org
2. 2The Mast Farm Innthemastfarminn.com