land conservation

Conservation Partners Collaborate to Save Remaining Inholding in Panthertown Valley

October 8, 2025

Thanks to a collaboration among local conservation partners, Mainspring Conservation Trust has acquired a critical 94-acre inholding within Panthertown Valley, and is now on track to be permanently protected.

One of western North Carolina’s most cherished natural areas, Panthertown is often called the “Yosemite of the East.” The 6,300 acres stretch along the Eastern Continental Divide, offering more than 25 miles of trails that wind through granite domes, mountain bogs, trout streams, and waterfalls.

When the U.S. Forest Service acquired Panthertown Valley and the surrounding Roy Taylor Memorial Forest in the 1980s, one parcel—now known as the Slickens Creek tract—remained privately owned. Surrounded entirely by national forest, the property includes more than 2,800 feet of wild trout waters and provides critical early successional habitat for species such as Golden-winged Warblers and Ruffed Grouse. The tract also lies within the Blue Ridge Parkway viewshed and links two popular trails: the Rattlesnake Knob and Turkey Knob trails.

Conserving this inholding has been a shared goal of Mainspring, Friends of Panthertown, Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust, and the U.S. Forest Service for decades. The opportunity finally arrived when the longtime owners’ heirs prepared to sell. Thanks to support from a private donor and Atira Conservation, Mainspring was able to move quickly to secure the land before it could be lost to private development.

“Protecting the Slickens Creek property is about more than conserving acreage—it’s about completing the vision for Panthertown Valley,” said Sophie Vaszquez, Land Conservation Associate at Mainspring Conservation Trust. “This project connects trails, protects rare habitats, and ensures that this wild landscape will remain unspoiled for generations to come.”

Generous donors to the partnering organizations, including the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, have helped us raise $100,000 of the $150,000 needed to remove unsafe structures, create a new trail connection to the Panthertown network, and support the long-term stewardship of the site’s sensitive habitats. If you’d like to help with the remaining $50,000 needed, visit here and apply your donation to “Panthertown Land Purchase” in the drop-down menu.

The Slickens Creek acquisition builds on other conservation projects with the land trust and Panthertown. In 2017, Mainspring purchased a 15.9-acre tract at the Salt Rock Gap trailhead—transforming a pinch point into a welcoming public entrance before transferring it to the Forest Service.

As the final unconserved piece of this significant landscape, this latest Mainspring project links ecological protection with recreation and beauty. It’s the culmination of decades of persistence and partnership, and a great example that when preparation meets opportunity, this region wins.

Click here to support this conservation project.

Historic Siler/Jones House Gifted to Mainspring

May 23, 2024

Some of the interior walls of the Siler/Jones house contain logs from a cabin built before 1820.

For more than two hundred years, the Siler/Jones House on East Main Street in Franklin has evolved—serving as a farmstead, a boarding house, a beacon of hospitality, and a home to generations of descendants of Franklin’s first white settler, Jesse R. Siler. It stood as a silent witness to history, and now, it will witness another change. Earlier this month, the Jones Family completed a plan to ensure the lasting legacy of the home by transferring “the House at the foot of the hill,” as it is affectionately known, to Mainspring Conservation Trust. The gift opens doors to a future of restoration, conservation, education, and invitation.

Dick Jones, who will turn 90 years old in May and grew up in the house, reflected on the family’s decision. “We had long discussions, including my wife, Melissa, our children, Laura and Fred and his wife, Jennifer, and our grandchildren about their dreams for the property’s future. We felt it was time to entrust this important piece of our family legacy, and really our community’s legacy, to an organization committed to preserving our collective cultural heritage.”

The current generation of the Jones Family collectively chose to donate the home to Mainspring.

Back in 1820, Jesse Siler, a pioneer instrumental in shaping the modern-day town of Franklin, purchased the property from the State of North Carolina. Over the years, the humble log cabin that came with the land underwent considerable transformations. For more than 60 years, the home remained in the Siler family. This changed in 1888, when Jesse’s son, Julius Grady Siler, swapped properties with his Siler cousin, Harriett, and her husband, Judge George Jones. Under their care, the home was extensively renovated and extended. It has remained in the Jones family since then, witnessing the growth and demands of time and new generations of Jones families. The Siler/Jones home’s significance was firmly established when it earned a place on the National Historic Register in 1982.

Jordan Smith, Mainspring’s executive director, emphasized the importance of the house’s historical ties. “Not only is the home significant as a symbol of early Appalachia, it now has a connection to the Removal in 1830,” he stated. In 2023, a Route Refinement on the Trail of Tears determined that the trail followed the road directly in front of the Siler/Jones House. Since the home was standing and occupied at the time of Removal, that designation would make it the only known Witness House on the (refined) National Historic Trail in North Carolina, a testament to its unique historical significance.

The refined map of the Trail of Tears Route runs directly in front of Jesse Siler’s former home.

The gift of the home to Mainspring makes it eligible for substantial funding to support its restoration and renovation. Molly Phillips is leading that process for Mainspring and says the restoration will be informed by its past roles while looking forward to future use. “This home holds countless stories within its walls, just waiting to be unearthed,” she says. “It will be a challenging project, but deeply rewarding to peel back those layers of history.”

Demo work has already begun under the management of Jim Byrd Construction. While immediate structural issues are being assessed, Mainspring is considering the best use of the restored home. “There are so many potential outcomes we’ve discussed,” Phillips said. “The Jones family has emphasized to us how this place has been a central site for people to gather to work together and solve problems that enhance this community,” she said. “Whatever happens, we hope to honor that legacy of unity and action that has defined the Siler/Jones house for generations.”

When Fred Jones considers the gift, he recalls an entry from Jesse Siler’s 1832 diary, where Siler describes his motivation for giving land for the Methodist Church to begin. The diary states: “Some particular incidents of my life enable me to look back and see both the movements and sentiments of my middle life . . . In 1829, I joined the Methodist Church. Being few in number, I thought of my promise to my Maker and accordingly set to work to build a church.” As Fred now says about this gift, those echoes of history are inescapable. “Our family values the beauty of these mountains, the valleys’ warmth, and the cool, clear waters that flow. We cherish the memory of those who have gone before and are committed to abundant opportunity for those who follow. Mainspring is the perfect partner for this special place, as its whole purpose is to preserve our natural and cultural resources and to make our region a place with deep roots and far-reaching branches. We are so pleased to partner with Mainspring and cannot wait to see what the future will bring.”

Mainspring Executive Director Jordan Smith shakes hands with Fred Jones. Holding Fred’s other hand is his father, Richard Jones, who grew up in the Siler/Jones home.

Mainspring Conservation Trust is a regional nonprofit dedicated to saving important places in the Southern Blue Ridge. For more information, visit www.mainspringconserves.org.

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Renowned Artists Conserve Their Life’s Inspiration

December 21, 2022

The last private property that Lands Creek crosses before entering the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Tuckasegee River is now conserved, thanks to Swain County residents George and Elizabeth Ellison.

The Ellisons have lived there since 1976, discovering the property by accident while hiking an old wagon trail in the National Park. The couple thought they were still on public property until they stumbled upon an old shack and eventually convinced the owner to first rent, then purchase, the 38 acres adjacent to the National Park.

*Elizabeth and George Ellison at home on Lower Lands Creek. Image credit: Quintin Ellison*

The couple credits the land as a muse for both of their personal careers. George, a renowned regional naturalist and author of seven award-winning books, and Elizabeth, a skilled artist and teacher, both draw inspiration from the property that has cultivated a sense of place in their respective works. “Finding our personal sanctuary on Lands Creek was undoubtedly more important to our personal success than words can convey,” Elizabeth says. By permanently conserving the picturesque property, she and George hope to “pay back to the land what it has given to us.”

*The sounds of Lands Creek can be heard on the back porch of the Ellison family home. This is the last private property before the creek flows in the Smoky Mountain National Park.*

As they grew increasingly interested in permanently protecting the property, the Ellisons began discussing conservation easements with close friend Bill Gibson, and he suggested they speak with Mainspring. “I knew George and Elizabeth loved the land,” says Gibson, who sits on the Mainspring board of directors. Gibson was deeply instrumental in the 1999 Mainspring-led project that conserved the headwaters of Lands Creek, so he was excited to facilitate a project that would bookend the 1999 project with this 2022 one. “Conserving both ends of the creek is very meaningful,” he says.

Under the terms of the conservation easement, funded through a grant from the North Carolina Land and Water Fund, the private property will remain intact, keeping the house and outbuildings where the Ellisons live, garden, and maintain their own hiking trails. The easement will help protect the viewshed for portions of the GSMNP, the Nantahala National Forest, and portions of the Tuckasegee River.