Moriah Gill
Love Valley in North Carolina is what people assume Texas is. Truly. There are horses, cowboy hats, cowboy boots, people on horses, people in cowboy hats….let’s call it Texas junior.
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The town of Love Valley is a place not too many are venturing. The population is less than one hundred, only 91 people. And in this west town, you can’t drive on any of the main streets because the main method of transportation is horseback riding.
Love Valley was founded by Andy Barker, a man who always wanted to be a cowboy, and found the vacant land at the foothills of the Brushy Mountains. It was here, in Iredell County, just an hour north of Charlotte, did a man find his dream realized. Barker sold his home and moved his entire family to the area that was to become Love Valley. Even though nobody but he and his family lived in his DIY western town for two years, he continued to build it into a town he was proud of.
The streets were named after the friends and family who moved to the two thousand acres of land. Today Love Valley has taken on a life of its own. There is a downtown area is complete with a cowboy hat shop, a general store, a leather working shop, and a blacksmith.
Throughout the town, there are also multiple trails. The trails are owned privately, there are, but are free to be used by the public. The town remains pretty quiet and still, except for Halloween, Easter weekends and the Fourth of July! During these weekends people travel to visit and at a time there can be up to 4,000 horses in the old western town!
If you are ready for a visit to Love Valley, North Carolina, go here to plan your visit!
