Rich Legacy of Tradition

Ann McKee Austin’s commitment to wise development and prudent preservation is built upon an abiding passion for Cashiers and its people.

Cashiers has a rich history, deeply rooted in Cherokee, Appalachian, and Southern culture. The generations of families, whether summer visitors or lifetime settlers, and their stories are what create the distinct sense of place in this bucolic mountain village.

Today, 200 years after the arrival of those first homesteaders, an important community conversation is taking shape.

It begins with two questions: “What is important in our history?” and “What parts of our past can we preserve for the future?”

Ann McKee Austin has been and continues to be one of the leading voices in this dialogue. Her mission is to share this rich legacy of traditions and resources unique to Cashiers.

Ann grew up in Asheville, the oldest of three McKee children. “We came up here in the summer pretty much the minute school got out and went back the day before it started again.”

Together they made meaningful memories in The Nancy Cottage, roaming all around High Hampton. She spent most of her time riding horses and at the stables. In 1998, Ann made Cashiers her permanent home.

She notes, “Cashiers has and will always be my spiritual home.” For this reason, Ann and her family have been devoted to protecting the transcendent village character of Cashiers.

She focuses her efforts on projects related to historic preservation, land conservation, and town planning. Her work helps tell the story of Cashiers dynamic heritage, celebrating the events, people, places, and ideas that have shaped the community.

Her early mentor was Mimi Ryan Cecil, who with her husband William Cecil oversaw the management and preservation of the Biltmore House, his grandfather George Vanderbilt’s estate in Asheville.

Ironically, Ann’s very first project in Cashiers was a mere half mile from the cottage where she spent summers with her family, The Zachary-Tolbert House on Highway 107 South. Despite those many childhood summers, Ann says, “I never once stepped on the Tolbert property…although my brothers made secret forays there. Hidden behind a towering hedge, it was a forbidding place.” When Robert Red “Bubba” Tolbert approached her family to help find a new owner, she saw the rare example of Greek Revival architecture in the area as an opportunity to save a significant landmark. “The house was in disrepair but completely intact, frozen in time” she says, “It was like stepping back into life in Cashiers in 1850.” This historic restoration project started the Cashiers Historical Society, which educates and advocates the cultural heritage of our area. This month will be the 25th year of the annual Cashiers Designer Showhouse that raises the critical funds to advance the organization’s mission.

Ann has undertaken other similar community-oriented projects. Her work with the Village Conservancy (now Vision Cashiers) has helped to incubate other nonprofits, including the Village Green, Cashiers’ central park and gathering space, along with other land conservation activities. She helped with the early development of the Cashiers Village Ramble, a trail system to promote walkability throughout town. Her vision to safeguard beautiful natural properties enabled the purchase of the McKinney Meadow at Highway 107 South and Cashiers School Road which is now protected by the HighlandsCashiers Land Trust.

Ann recognizes both the changing landscape with development in Cashiers as well as the importance of property stewardship.

She’s a partner at McKee Properties, which has been a leader in local preservation since the 1980s. Ann also spearheaded the High Hampton History Center, in the old caddie house, to preserve High Hampton’s rich legacy as the legendary resort moved forward under new ownership.

In addition to the work of Vision Cashiers, she invests in the pursuits of other groups such as Develop Cashiers Responsibly along with the Cashiers Area Chamber and Cashiers Planning Council that demonstrate the strength of grassroots enterprises. “What I find truly exciting is the opportunity to identify and grow young new leaders for Cashiers.”

Ann’s determination and dedication is to ensure that the legacy of Cashiers is true to the integrity of yesterday, valuable to the enjoyment of today, and that future generations who visit or live here will be enriched by the deep historical, cultural, and natural roots that foster its sense of place in the rural mountains of Western North Carolina.

by Ann Self