Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
The NYT shows the nation what you can get for $800,000 in Waynesville:
WHAT: A 2,464-square-foot two-bedroom two-bath farmhouse and a 900-square-foot one-bedroom one-bath guest cottage
HOW MUCH: $795,000
PER SQUARE FOOT: $232.33
SETTING: The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, home to 2,115 miles of streams, 800 miles of trails, and more than 1,000 black bears, is 30 minutes away. Asheville — which has the region’s most accessible airport — is about 45 minutes; downtown Waynesville is a five-minute drive.
The origins of North Carolina’s official state dog, the Plott Hound, can be sourced to this property. It derives its name from the Plott family, the house and farm’s builders, who came to America from Germany in the late 1700s with several of their dogs in tow. The property stayed in the Plott family until 1984, when it was sold to its current owners.
COMMON SPACES: Heart pine floors running throughout are original; so are three fireplaces. During renovations in the mid-1980s, the current owners knocked down the wall separating a living and dining room.
There are four smaller buildings on the property. A second floor was added to a barn in 1989; it now serves as a guest house. Another of the buildings, originally for food storage, was used by the current owner as a sculpture studio. There is also the original summer kitchen, which can be used for storage. The smallest barn, known as the corn crib, once held animal feed.
PERSONAL SPACES: Two bedrooms off the upstairs hallway have dormer windows. In the guest house, the bedroom is on the living-room floor.
OUTDOOR SPACE: The main house has a front porch; the guest cottage has a second-floor deck. Brick for the main house’s outdoor patio was salvaged from a local mill. There is a porch in front of the house’s original summer kitchen. Weeping willows shade a creek in the yard. The apple trees are an heirloom variety commonly known as “sheepnose”; their fruit is prized for drying and baking. The property’s 4.8 acres are mostly flat. The Great Smoky Mountains rise in the distance.
AMENITIES: Four wood-burning fireplaces, three barns and a guest house with a propane fireplace.
TAXES: $3,975 (estimated for next owner)
CONTACT: Ron Breese, Re/Max Mountain Realty (866) 452-9303; www.remax-waynesvillenc.com
