Blowing up stuff in the backyard

Another early journey was to Shangri-La in Prospect Hill. For those of you who haven't yet made the pilgrimage to the Lilliputian town on the outskirts of Prospect Hill, NC, let me fill you in, It's a Lilliputian town on the outskirts of Prospect Hill, NC. Okay, it's actually this impressive miniature village made by the now late Henry Warren over several years. He saw a little waterwheel building at a store and decided to make one himself, using materials he found around his house. He built his first building from cement and quartz stone dug from his backyard. Liking what he did, he kept going.

His wife is quoted as saying, "When he started, he wasn't going to build much."

That's how quite a few of my chapters seem to have started out. Odd.

From 1968 to 1977 he made 30 different buildings, some fanciful, like the Dew Drop Inn, to an ABC store and the Watergate building. This was the 70s after all.

All the buildings have a distinct look to them, white stone with a brick red trim. Someone really made sure there was good zoning and permits in this place.

For a long time this was a real stopping point. Highway 86 was a major road for tourists coming to NC and the beaches, and Henry's place was a great stop off just to stretch the legs, let the kids run around like giants, and then get on their way. But the road got moved, just a little bit, and people no longer pulled to the side to wander over. It was less visited for a while, and after Henry passed on, it wasn't cared for as well. It took an act of a boy scout troop to go and clean up the place to make it presentable again. But now it sure looks cool.

There are a couple of things to notice if you go by. First, his house, still private property by the way, looks a lot like an oversized version of the buildings in the village. Also, as a marker, there is a large stone marker near the remains of a gas station where the frontage road connects to 86.

This was also the place where I first started photographing my car when I was at a site. I wanted to prove I was there. Now with the coming of Spring, I kinda miss the old convertible. No back seat for the kid, so it wouldn't be as much fun today, but still...

And, yes, Henry Warren quarried the stone from his backyard, with explosives. That's some kinda retirement.