Love Valley: An American Utopia

by Conrad Ostwalt

Overview

Love Valley is a small town in rural North Carolina. Its genesis in 1954 marked the fulfillment of a dream for founder Andy Barker. Barker cultivated two visions as a young man-he wanted to build a Christian community, and he wanted to be a cowboy. The result of his vision is Barker's utopian experiment.
The town boasts a saloon, general store, hitching posts, and rodeos. Yet, above all of this stands a little church-the heart of what Barker conceived as his Christian utopia. This unique combination has led to more than forty years of philanthropic ventures, controversial events such as the Love Valley Rock Festival, stories and legends, and political ambition. Love Valley: An American Utopia captures the history of this town in narrative form while arguing that Love Valley's founders were motivated by utopian goals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780879727604
Publisher:	University of Wisconsin Press
Publication date:	01/01/1998
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	214
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	ix
1.	Introduction and Preface	1
2.	The Utopian Dream	5
3.	Beginnings	13
4.	The First Decade: Promotion	31
5.	The First Decade: Philanthropy and Politics	57
6.	Controversy and Change: The Love Valley Rock Festival	79
7.	Tepees and Longhairs: Communal Utopia	103
8.	Tragedy and Triumph	121
9.	Maturity and Community	135
10.	Conclusion: Love Valley--Utopia and Mythic America	149
	Notes	173
	Sources Cited	189
	Index	199

Editorial Reviews

A religious scholar from the neighborhood tells how in 1954 Andy Barker pursued his double dream of building a Christian community and being a cowboy by founding Love Valley in rural North Carolina. The town has no cars, but a saloon, general store, wooden sidewalks, hitching posts, rodeos, and above all a Presbyterian church. It has seen philanthropic ventures, a move to another site, a rock festival, square dances, visits by dignitaries, and other events. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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