A historical jewel.

Thank you for your recent photo and caption of the Ruby City mill ruins in Jackson County (Bricks & Mortar, October). We thought it important to point out that the Ruby City mill ruins are not being allowed to return to dust, nor are the lives of the people who toiled there being forgotten. The Balsam Mountain Preserve residential development is now the caretaker of some 4,400 acres where the Ruby City ruins are located. The preserve created the Balsam Mountain Trust, and part of its mission is to manage the natural and cultural resources of the preserve. There was also a conservation easement established (administered by the North American Land Trust) on 3,000 acres of the land.

The preserve hired an archeological consultant to unearth clues to Ruby City's past and investigate ways to stay the effects of time and weather on remaining structures. Those structures, which include the mill, a boardinghouse foundation, a chimney and stone pathways, will all be preserved. In addition, the trust has archived oral histories from six area residents about life in and around Ruby City. An interpretive display is set up in the trust's Nature Center, which includes this information. Thank you for raising awareness of this very interesting part of North Carolina's history.

Cherie Pittillo

Executive Director

Balsam Mountain Trust

Waynesville

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