The land that is now the Mountain Park community was once part of a large farm assembled in the early twentieth century by the Bruce family of Mars Hill. In 1908, approximately 50 acres were acquired from the Ramsey family by C.C. Bruce and his wife, Cora Ramsey Bruce. Over the following decades, the family gradually expanded the property, piecing together parcels until the farm totaled roughly 768 acres of mountainous land.
The property was well known among Madison County residents as a place where locals were welcome to hunt. For generations, families hunted deer, turkey, and raccoon on what became known as Bruce Farm. Many longtime residents still remember those traditions.
Following the deaths of C.C. and Cora Bruce, their son Charles Bruce became a respected citizen of Mars Hill and the town’s pharmacist. His pharmacy stood on North Main Street in the building where High Ridge Smokehouse operates today. In addition to his business in town, the Bruce family maintained the large mountain farm where tobacco, hay, and silage were grown and cattle and sheep were raised. For many years, portions of the land were occasionally leased to local farmers.
An often-told local story illustrates Bruce’s interest in farming. At one point he purchased an expensive ram from a French breeder and had it shipped to Mars Hill by way of New York City. The ram was released into a herd of one hundred ewes but died only a few days later. Five months afterward—about the gestation period for sheep—ninety-nine of the ewes gave birth. Locals jokingly referred to it as the ram’s “happy death.”
Charles Bruce later died in a farming accident when a tractor overturned on the property near what is now the Mountain Park clubhouse area. After his death, his widow, Mildred Bruce, remarried Leo Pendagrass, who helped oversee the farm and its operations. Pendagrass predeceased Mildred.
Mildred Bruce was widely remembered as a generous and community-minded resident. She supported local causes, including the Girl Scouts and Mars Hill University, and continued the tradition of allowing community members to use the land for hunting and gatherings.
Having no children or heirs, Mildred Bruce Pendergrass bequeathed the entire Bruce Farm to Mars Hill University upon her death in 2000. In 2002, the university sold the approximately 768-acre property to a development company that planned a multi-phase residential community. The economic downturn during the 2008–2009 recession curtailed much of that development. Prior to 2003, Mountain Park Road was simply an open road without a gated entrance.
Modern access to the Mars Hill area was greatly improved with the completion of Interstate 26 in August 2003 when the final stretch connecting Mars Hill to the Tennessee state line opened. The interstate created a fast corridor between Asheville and Johnson City and dramatically reduced travel times to and from Mars Hill.
In May 2023, the remaining unsold properties and the surrounding undeveloped tracts were purchased by Mountain Park LLC, and the Mountain Park Homeowners Association was formed concurrently. Development of the present community continues to this day.
The Mountain Park community sits in a natural bowl surrounded by ridges rising above 3,000 feet in the southern Appalachian Mountains. The forests covering these slopes have a long history as working timberland, first logged in the late 1800s and again during the mid-twentieth century. Old timber trails can still be found in the woods throughout.
Today, Mountain Park blends this rich local history with a new chapter of mountain living. The land that once supported a vibrant farm, timber operations and community hunting traditions now welcomes a new generation of residents who share in the beauty and heritage of this remarkable Appalachian landscape.