Springtime in southeastern Kentucky can be breathtaking. As the days lengthen and warm, the woodland flowers of the season perform their brief show. Rare orchids, blankets of trillium and delicate fern vie for attention. In the biodiverse forests, bare branches allow for better views of waterfalls, overlooks and black bears. In this area are some of the finest nature preserves in Kentucky, including the 2,785-acre Bad Branch State Nature Preserve and the Commonwealth’s largest old-growth forest at Blanton Forest State Nature Preserve.
Pine Mountain Settlement School in Harlan County offers a good base for experiencing this natural landscape. The open, welcoming campus spreads out in a wide valley where three creeks converge at the foot of the 125-mile ridge line of the mountain for which the school is named. The school offers lodging and presents events and retreats throughout the year. Two spring retreats focus on wildflowers; there are more than 100 wildflower species in the Settlement School’s James E. Bickford State Nature Preserve.
The hospitality at Pine Mountain is unpretentious and timeless. Guests have the feeling of being in hallowed halls, where generations of students have learned and where place-based education is still the focus. It offers fresh air, time for retreat, wholesome food, historic shelter and access to the natural world. Many visitors tell Geoff Marietta, the school’s director, that this place has a special spirit.
A visit to Pine Mountain constitutes a unique travel experience. For many guests, it is more than a visit to a physical place; it is also a visit to a cultural place different from their own. Guests are also partners, part of the Pine Mountain Settlement School’s important work on local and regional educational and economic development.
A Weekend to Remember
On a Friday evening, guests hear the peal of the dinner bell soon after arriving. Making their way to Laurel House in the center of the school, guests and staff walk up the wooden staircase, worn by decades of footsteps. Winding through the serving line, they pass by a chalkboard listing the local ingredients in the meal, pick up a melamine cafeteria tray and share a smile with the kitchen staff.
This is true local dining. The chefs create food deeply rooted in the eastern Kentucky mountains—dishes they learned to prepare from their mothers and grandmothers. On the menu: soup beans, mustard greens, cornbread and salmon cakes. “The cultural dining experience is really authentic because the cooks are not even trying; they are just doing,” Marietta says. For many guests, it is the first taste of the eastern Kentucky culture in which they will be immersed during their stay.
The cultural sharing continues after the meal, when tables are pushed to the side of the room and the dining room converts into a dance hall. The local dance caller explains the event and invites everyone to join in. The live band keeps everyone moving together. The Kentucky Running Set might be one of the dances. For more than 100 years, the dances have brought the community together at Pine Mountain. The tables fold up and become benches for dancers who need a rest.
In the morning, guests rise to bird and rooster song, make their way to Laurel House and begin their day. Activities after breakfast and coffee might include a guided nature walk or time to try a new skill. Young guests might want to explore the playground or hike to stand in the split rock. Older guests might take a stroll and photograph the many spring flowers in the preserve, just steps from Laurel House.
Another option, a tour around the campus, reveals a sense of timelessness in the built environment. The wood and stone buildings at Pine Mountain seem to grow out of the ground, with good reason: All the wood was milled and the stone was quarried on site. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and was designed by one of the first significant female architects, Mary Rockwell Hook, beginning in 1913. Hook was intentional in reflecting the natural world in the buildings at the school. The wide porches provide light and an invitation outside, while the pitches of the roofs echo that of Pine Mountain itself.
Andrea Woodard of Berea serves on the Pine Mountain Settlement School Board of Directors. Her entire family loves visiting. “It is like a natural playground for all of us, even my daughter, who is not very outdoorsy,” she says. “And the indoor spaces, like Laurel House, feel enchanted.”
A Deep Sense of Connection
There is a particular depth to things at Pine Mountain Settlement School, a sense of timelessness coupled with the long arc of tradition. Even new things seem to have a pull to the past. It is hard to pin down how much of this long view comes from the ancient mountains, how much from the enduring Appalachian culture, and how much from the long history of the school itself.
One profound example is Sorghum Stir-off Day, an old tradition revived in 2015. Sorghum is a traditional sweetener in Appalachia. The sorghum cane is grown on campus, and the community gathers to harvest, strip, press and cook down the cane. The equipment for processing is an antique press, found on campus and refurbished for this special day, and the mule that supplies the fuel for turning it. The work provides a chance to share stories and foster friendships. The sweet results are shared throughout the year with guests.
Travel That Makes a Difference
Part of the mission of Pine Mountain Settlement School is to provide economic opportunity in this area of the Commonwealth. According to the school, the percentage of children living in poverty in Harlan County increased from 39 percent to 48 percent over the last five years. While guests take pictures and make memories, they leave both direct and indirect economic impacts in the local area.
In the most basic way, a visit to Pine Mountain helps provide jobs. Of the 26 year-round employees at Pine Mountain, 24 are from the local community. One-quarter of the food served in the dining hall is sourced from the on-site farm and local growers, and the school offers a guaranteed market for local farmers. Works by local artisans are sold in the gift shop, giving them access to a permanent market and the opportunity to create a sustainable livelihood.
Indirectly, the revenue from weekend retreats supports Pine Mountain’s educational, sustainability and economic work with the local and regional community. Little School is a preschool program for local kids and caregivers. Last summer, the Settlement School offered four weeks of free day camps for school-aged children, and more than 60 kids participated. Its sustainability program—with workshops like woodland medicinal production and small-farm marketing principles—is one piece of its economic development efforts.
As Pine Mountain Settlement School looks to the future, administrators seek innovation while staying true to cultural identity and tradition. “Pine Mountain is a hub of opportunity in eastern Kentucky and a real asset for heading toward a just economic transition in the region,” Woodard says. “They are leading the best kind of economic development.”
Springtime Events at Pine Mountain
• Pine Mountain Wildflower Weekend - April 20-22
• Black Mountain Wildflower Weekend - May 11-13
• Lucy Braun Naturalist Weekend - June 8-10
Groups can reserve Pine Mountain facilities for retreats or reunions.
For more information, visit pinemountainsettlementschool.com or call (606) 558-3571.
For an Extended Weekend...
For visitors who would like to spend a long weekend in southeastern Kentucky, there are plenty of options for an extra day or two.
The towns of Benham and Lynch used to house miners and their families as company towns. The underground mine tour and museum continue to share the stories of that history.
Kentucky Coal Museum: benhamky.org/museum
Coal Mine Tour: portal31.org
Benham School House Inn: benhaminn.com
Whitesburg is near the state’s largest nature preserve and has experienced a cultural renaissance. The small downtown is abuzz with restaurants and a vibrant arts scene.
Appalshop: appalshop.org
Bad Branch Falls Preserve: naturepreserves.ky.gov/naturepreserves/Pages/badbranch.aspx
Thirsty Heifer: thirstyheifer.com
It can be awe-inspiring to walk in the footsteps of Daniel Boone (and thousands more) at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. The visitor center provides the geographical and historical context for the importance of this pass through the mountains.
Cumberland Gap National Park: nps.gov/cuga/index.htm
Cumberland Gap, Tennessee: townofcumberlandgap.com
If You Go:
Pine Mountain Settlement School
36 State Hwy. 510
Bledsoe, (606) 558-3571