Love Valley is a small town located in a remote valley in the Brushy Mountains of northwestern North Carolina. Its creation in 1954 marked the fulfillment of a dream for founder Andy Barker. Barker developed two visions as a young man—he wanted to build a Christian community, and he wanted to be a cowboy. In 1954 he combined those visions to create an Old West-style village in the hills of northwestern Iredell County. The town was incorporated on April 2, 1963.[1][2][3]

Modeled after the Old West towns seen in countless Hollywood films, Love Valley boasts a saloon, general store, hitching posts, and rodeos. Automobiles are not allowed inside the town limits; people still use horses and horse-drawn vehicles to travel in the town. A small, nondenominational Christian church sits on a hill overlooking the town, thus emphasizing Barker's vision of a Christian utopia. The town garnered its share of controversy in the 1960s and 1970s, including around the "Love Valley Rock Festival", which local farmers complained brought drug addicts and other "troublemakers" to the area. However, over the last two decades the town has settled down considerably and is now known as a popular gathering spot for horse-lovers and horseback riding. There are miles of horseback riding trails in the surrounding Brushy Mountains.[2][3]