KD McCall 8/3/2021 – updated 2025

Mountain Lakes Community was started in the late 1970’s by Dewey Hennessee and his wife Susie who felt that there was a need for small farms in the country. They sub-divided a 200-acre farm into various sized parcels. All of the lots are an acre or more and some are more than five acres. This creates lots of green space throughout the neighborhood, ideal in a country community. At the time of this writing the community is about 145 acres with 29 homesites.

We’re halfway between Shelby and Marion, NC. This makes us convenient to I 26, I 85 and I 40. Airports are in Charlotte, Greenville, and Asheville with Rutherfordton’s Marchman Field for local air traffic.

Within an hour’s drive you can pick up the Blue Ridge Parkway in Marion, enjoy an afternoon at Lake James, or outdoor dining in Lake Lure; the possibilities are diverse and plentiful. Sunshine Community is an affordable getaway location. Whether you come for weekends to escape the rat race or make it your forever home, the lifestyle here is relaxed. If being surrounded by nature, enjoying four distinct, lovely seasons, and a temperate climate is important to you, this is an area you owe it to yourself to see. Views are absolutely free.

Utilities. Living in the mountains doesn’t mean living without modern conveniences. High-speed internet service is available. Starlink is the clear winner here and WiFi calling works well.  

Cell Service. Cell phones tend to work sporadically in Sunshine and Golden Valley communities. Options are frequently updated. Currently WiFi calling is our only option.

Electricity: Provided through Duke Energy. Duke has a reputation for excellent service and low electric bills.

Recycling and Convenience center: There’s a Convenience Center at Luckadoo Mountain Road and the Bostic Sunshine Highway for garbage and recycling disposal. They have a swap shop and clothing bins, so if there’s something you’d like to get rid of, but don’t want to put it in the garbage - put it in the swap shop, it’s first come first serve.

Heath Care and Emergency Services: The Cherry Mountain Volunteer Fire Department and a first responder service are on the Bostic Sunshine Highway. 911 service is well established. If you call 911 from a cell phone, be sure to tell the dispatcher you’re in Rutherford County as your phone signal may come from a long-distance tower. The subdivision gates respond to the Yelp system in emergencies. 

Rutherford Hospital, a 143-bed acute care facility complete with a recently renovated Intensive Care Unit and an obstetrical and nursery wing, is about 14 miles from the subdivision.  Regional facilities include Mission Hospitals in Asheville, Bowman Grey Hospital and Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, Duke University Hospital in Durham, and Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.

Rutherford County is home to hundreds of physicians whose specialties include pediatrics, family practice, internal medicine, cardiology, pulmonology, orthopedics, oncology, obstetrics and gynecology, dermatology, and plastic surgery, to name a few.  And there is no shortage of other medical and health professionals, including dentists, chiropractors, midwives, physical therapists, massage therapists, and many more.

If you’re not familiar with Rutherford County, you might like to do a little research. Here’s a link for general area information Wikipedia is always a reliable source, check them out:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutherford_County,_North_Carolina  

Rutherford County is huge at ~566 square miles, and diverse from the flatlands to the mountains with lots of valleys in-between. Rutherford County is comprised of 14 townships with names like: Golden Valley, Duncan’s Creek, Logan’s Store – these I’m told were the areas that hosted post offices, back when mail was delivered by horseback and the townships were about a day’s horseback ride for the mail man. Within those townships there are many communities. My husband and I live in Sunshine Community. Near to us is Washburn Community and Washburn’s Store, which is a general store. You will find a link to the UNCTV YouTube video about Washburn’s Store on my community blog. At Washburn Store you can buy anything from pickles, to hoop cheese, a wood cook stove, cast iron cookware, britches, hats, bread, chips, drinks, a sandwich at lunch, and more.

http://www.rutherfordcountync.gov/  has a lot of local information including tourism. The Chamber of Commerce will be of some benefit. Perhaps you’d like to look at the demographics Rutherford County Chamber  which instead of 566 says we have ~563 square miles.  And in case you ran across the term Isothermal Weather region, here’s my favorite explanation Thermal Belts in NC

You’ll find lots’a links and information at RutherfordBound.com  scroll to the bottom of the page! Don’t miss Camp Golden Valley our local 600 Acre Resort – be sure to see Things to Do on their home page. Woo-hoo! 

Here’s a ROC link Explore, Exercise, Relax. There are lots of things to do here, but most of my buyers don’t come up to do anything. In fact, they come to do nothing. They just want to enjoy the peace and solitude of a real mountain retreat, to appreciate the change of pace, to relax and recharge. I think you’ll find, most of the time, once you get here, you won’t want to leave your property. We like to say we’re 20 miles from anywhere, and we like it like that.

If you need to be near the center of activity, where there’s a lot going on all the time, I can tell you, this will not suit you. We’re so far out in the country the speed limit is 55 and there are NO stoplights. While there’s always something going on, you’re going to have to drive to get there.  Easy access to other areas is just one more reason we love it here. Maybe you will too.