Minor German and Irish ancestries are part of the influences present in the homeland of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Pisgah National Forest, with a racial makeup of White Non Hispanic, African America, Native American, Asian, Latino, and other racial groups. Some of the sons of this land of more than 220 square miles of extension (only 1 square mile of water) and member of the regional High Country Council of Governments, include Bakersville (county seat), Spruce Pine, Grassy Creek, Little Switzerland, and Cane Creek. In the hands of Mayland Community College young people are being formed to become the future of this land right after they complete their primary studies at the Mitchell County Schools.

Alexander Lyerly, William Leavell III, Gregory Horne, and Ted McEntire.