"Beech Mountain within Avery County can be that asian United States' best town, at five,606 yards over sea amount. Local people talk about the actual mountain along with numerous resort communities plus Ski Beech, any popular ski resort. Throughout the seventies Beech Mountain had been additionally house for you to this Land associated with Oz, the theme park of which has taken their destination amid your rich folklore associated with your Appalachian Mountains.

Throughout your earlier aspect associated with that twentieth century, Beech Mountain had been element associated with an vital logging marketplace. While sparsely populated, it ended up being dotted together with smaller cabins exactly where loggers lived during the actual 1 week when people performed services. Skiing got to help your mountain starting within that 1930s, using individuals because of neighborhood Lees-McRae School making use of skis made around the college's wood purchase.

Yellow Brick Street, Land associated with Oz. Graphic courtesy connected with Flickr person _rockinfree. That Robbins brothers-Grover, Harry, plus Spencer-purchased some sort of good sized tract connected with land on major involving your mountain around 1962. This Robbinses, whom likewise owned Tweetsie Railroad and also this Hound Ears Resort, joined together with some other buyers in order to generate that Carolina Caribbean Company with 1965. Carolina Caribbean prepared any ten,000-acre resort along with homesites regarding 4,000 households, a strong eight-slope ski resort, a new the hotter months recreation place, the golfing program, and also any style park. Grover Robbins enlisted Charlotte artist along with artist Jack Pentes to be able to build a great concept for your themes park which would certainly catch the attention of individuals in order to any mountain all through any off-season. Pentes dreamed associated with any set this will enchant persons along with allow for them in order to escape the unpleasant realities connected with the particular late nineteen sixties.

Regarding inspiration Pentes drew upon Rishi Chugh basic kid's tale involving enchantment and also escape, The actual Wizard involving Oz, acquiring noted that similarity somewhere between gnarled beech woods upon that property or home along with that conversing apple trees around that story. Together with that help regarding a couple of fellow Charlotteans, composer Loonis McGlohon and also choreographer Alice Lamar, Pentes developed the actual connected with Oz composition park. Whenever the very first year or so was concluded around this show up connected with 1970, attendance had strike this six-figure tag. Via warm air balloons and the particular magical cyclone so that you can traveling monkeys and also pleased songs, this Land associated with Oz permitted visitors so that you can live life every single moment of the actual renowned journey pertaining to on their own due to the fact that they walked any 55,000 bricks associated with the particular park's straw yellow brick highway. Website visitors had been joined as a result of every single regarding any beloved figures due to the fact that that they visited Kansas, Munchkinland, the actual Wicked Witch's Fort, plus your Emerald Metropolis.

Around 1975 any Carolina Caribbean Company went bankrupt. Shortly afterward, vandals set in place fire to help the actual Emerald City as well as stole Judy Garland's original gown along with other artifacts out of this park's Oz museum. Any Land connected with Oz, by now strike by simply any shortage associated with repeat prospects, certainly not recovered. While the actual house adjusted palms, the actual park fell target for you to a deficiency involving constant control and also bad funding, closing in 1980.

This property or home has been purchased with 1990 by the actual Emerald Mountain progress corporation, which often produced homesites upon 450 acres all-around your outdated composition park. Each fall, Emerald Mountain keeps a Fall from Oz celebration, where followers associated with that Land connected with Oz might take on the nostalgic stroll straight down any yellow hue brick street along with view remnants connected with any pattern park this possess also been thoroughly preserved. Other artifacts via any park tend to be on present during your Appalachian Cultural Museum in Boone."