Apple Barn – Cider Mill and General Store
The Apple Barn really is a barn, it was built back in 1910 and was part of the farm that the Hicks and Kilpatrick families bought in 1972. We planted our first trees in 1976 and we plant more every year. Our orchard now numbers over 4,000 trees. We began renovating the old cattle barn in 1980, scrubbing it clean as a whistle, one board at a time. Structurally, we left it pretty much as it was, merely putting a clear sealer on the black walnut and wormy chestnut wood, and retaining the stables and feeding rack. The sturdy old barn began a new era as The Apple Barn in 1981.
Soon, we added a Cider Room where you can actually watch the variety of juicy sweet and tart apples being pressed into delicious cider in the fall. Folks say our cider is the best they've ever tasted! Requests for a glass on the spot led to opening the inviting Cider Bar, where folks can sample our sippin' cider hot or cold, while admiring the beautiful cherry and onyx back bar. Well, with all those apples we just naturally had to include the Apple Pie Kitchen, where we bake delicious treats like fried apple pies, apple doughnuts, and apple dumplins for eating there or taking home.
Over the past 20 years, with the support of an apple loving public, we have grown "like Topsy". With a lot of planning and thought, we have been able to present our unique applewood smoked hams and bacon; introduce our own very special apple butter from an old time mountain recipe; add the Candy Factory which produces original sweets, including old-timey favorites, handmade on century-old equipment; and develop recipes for making our own ice cream for "The Creamery" ice cream parlor, starring apple specialties.
Our expansion included the renowned original Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant. It soon became apparent that if we wanted to serve everyone who wanted to dine with us, another restaurant was necessary. The Applewood Farmhouse Grill opened in 1995, along with the Apple Barn Winery, specializing in delightful apple and fruit wines.
Return to the Apple Barn, where it all started, and browse among the most enticing and unique array of gift items in the area, many of them themed to the mighty apple! The barn's General Store features a wide variety of handmade mountain crafts, food items, fit to grace a gourmet's table, home decorations and collectables. And of course, apples and cider, from which it all began.