Unionist Haven

In 1860 Banner Elk was a small community in the mountains of Watauga County (present-day Avery County). Then called Banner Elk, it was named for the local Banner family and the Elk River. During the last years of the Civil War, an organized system of safe houses was operated here for escaped Union prisoners of war and refugees from Confederate conscription. Local residents guided them through Blowing Rock, across Grandfather Mountain, and into Banner Elk, where other guides led them to safety in Kentucky and Tennessee. Daniel Ellis, Harrison Church, and Lewis Banner were among the guides, as were Keith and Malinda Blalock.



Lewis B. Banner, a slave owner, was a Unionist with three sons in the Federal army. He frequently provided food and shelter for escapees while they waited for their guides. Banner son Samuel H. Banner, a member of the 5th Ohio Infantry, built this house after his discharge in February 1864. The laurel thicket by the river was known as the Land of Goshen and served as a hiding place for escapees and draft evaders.



In January 1865, a raid on the Confederate Home Guard camp along Cove Creek in Sugar Grove originated in Banner Elk. After capturing Co. B, 11th Battalion North Carolina Home Guard, the Union raiders returned to Banner Elk with a dozen prisoners. They spent the night nearby before sending the prisoners across the lines into Tennessee.



(captions)

(lower left) Samuel H. Banner; Lewis B. Banner

(upper right) Banner Elk, showing the Land of Goshen All photographs courtesy Banner House Museum



Major funding for this project was provided by the North Carolina Department of Transportation through the Transportation Enhancement Program of the Federal Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century.

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