Kate’s Mountain is a place steeped in history and lore. It was named for Kate Carpenter who, with her husband Nathan, were living near the valley’s thermal springs in 1756 when they were set upon by local Native Americans. Kate and her children fled and found safety upon the mountain. The mountain was thus named and so began its lore. Many stories have been told about those events, and others, but this owner has spent much time [1999-2015] walking over, camping out on, {quietly and listening closely} and studying Kate’s Mountain and can attest and affirm without any reservation that there are no ghosts there, no odd lights, nothing but a deep calm and quiet beauty giving off a sense of peace and well being. That kind of rumor is propaganda dressed up as lore – nothing more.
In or around 1860 John Howard, for whom Howard’s creek was named, wrote a long poetic account of an outing, on foot, to the summit of the mountain “The Mystic Circle of Kate’s Mountain” extolling the grandeur and the beauty of the mountain and the bonds of friendship that the gentry shared in those final pre-civil war days.
The family of Sarah Holland acquired ownership of the mountain, more exactly the northern end of the mountain, some 3,595 acres in 1928. Residents of both Bluefield, Virginia, and Logan, West Virginia for many generations, the family moved to California in the early 1950s. The property was deeded to Sarah Holland, Paul Holland, David Holland, and Kathy Holland [Barics] in 1958.
There has been very little commercial activity on the land with the exception of several rounds of logging. The last logging occurred sometime in the mid-1970s. Today there are few signs of the past logging other than the mid-sized trees, which have some years ahead of them before they reach maturity. There also exist all over the mountain an old network of logging roads, some still passable today and others overgrown. For those with the enjoyment of ATV riding or by horse or foot, the property is an untouched land waiting to be discovered.
When Paul Holland, David’s father, passed away in 1971, David took over the management of the land which lasted until his passing in 1999. During this period David spent a growing amount of time on the mountain, sometimes spending weeks on the mountain speaking with local people and picking up empty beer cans that used to be so numerous. The mountain was his favorite place in the world and he loved the fact that he was able to share the land with the local people, who never caused any issues for the family in the many decades of their enjoyment of the land. He often spoke of his desire to not only protect the land but also to both preserve and realize for the family its value. He also hoped to be able to arrange a future for the land where the local people would be able to continue to enjoy the land as they always had. The family chooses not to post the land out of respect for the local people knowing that the land was a good and cherished part of their world and trusting in their character and conduct. The long history of its responsible use and lack of any problems bore out his conviction. This owner has heard many accounts, and come across himself as the photo attests (See photo right), of fathers and sons hunting on the land, and others who took game when their was real need. It was an honor to share it. He loved West Virginia, in fact the tie he was wearing when this photo was taken has little designs on it- they are small depictions of West Virginia.
~THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA~~His [HE] was a BY AND FOR THE PEOPLE kind of Republic~[an]
Though David went to Stanford, was a stock broker, investment advisor, and was a co-founder and President of the California Republican League in the 1970s, a Liberal Republican advocacy group, his sympathy was always with regular people. People in need, people brushed aside by the onrush of the modern world, by the trickle down ideology which he did not favor in the least, in fact loathed.
His life was full of acts of generosity towards others who he happened to encounter, and he viewed our Kate’s Mountain property as a chance to give to many people at once, and to do the duty of those who can afford to. Though he was a businessman he never put wealth over others or the world. For him the purpose of business was the quality of life for his family and the opportunity to reach out to others, offer support, and lend his backing to causes he believed in.
David Holland passed suddenly in March of 1999. Some of David’s ashes found their resting place on Kate’s Mountain.
Soon thereafter, there arose disarray over the management of the property. Various attempts were made to either sell the land without the involvement of all the owners or to log the land extensively, at a very small return on its real value, the truth about which, many went to great lengths to conceal.
Suit was filed in 2005 in Greenbrier Circuit court to partition [split up] the land and to instigate an extensive logging plan on the land.
This owner fought every attempt to divide or log or sell the property. This owner argued in various legal forums: The Circuit Court of Greenbrier County, the West Virginia Supreme Court, The County Court of San Mateo County, California, that the land should not only not be logged, nor split up, but rather sold in such a fashion that the rare and endangered flora and fauna found there be studied, and documented and protected, and also to ensure that, in fact, all owners retained an equitable interest in the proceeds. Also that a new management plan account and provide for the long-standing local use of the land, and at the same time allow for the development of the most valuable areas of the mountain. This would allow the new owner to take advantage of the tax benefits of conservation while at the same time preserving large amounts of the land for recreation with continued public access.
Unfortunately, the land was partitioned and sold off, but not logged, and today thankfully is largely untouched.
A final note on this history. Though as yet unconsummated, to my knowledge, there have been numerous reports in the press in the recent past, concerning the contemplated future developments on Kate’s Mountain. These include ski hill developments with unknown numbers of condo’s/home sites. I do not believe that this kind of development is appropriate for Kate’s Mountain.
An understanding conservation minded investor/benefactor is sought. Members of the public are here asked to assist me in finding that sort of buyer. Finders Fee!
Many thanks to those who lent a hand. I appreciated it though I may have missed the chance to tell you.
