Our Vision
Welcome,
The Village of Cheshire was planned by the architectural firm of Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and Company using the Charrette process. The Charrette took place in June of 1998 and involved an intense week of planning with comprehensive input from the public. The architectural code and the master plan were developed during the Charrette to create a place where residents can work, live and play in harmony with nature. Cheshire has a history of recreation. The Village of Cheshire occupies the site of the former Western North Carolina Tennis Camp, run by my father, Caldwell Ragan Jr. in the 1960s and 70s. The Village of Cheshire is named in loving memory of my grandmother, Jocelyn Cheshire Sikes Ragan, who had a special love for the boxwood gardens, which have recently been restored to their full beauty.
Cheshire is designed to allow families, retirees, couples and singles, young and old to experience healthy living, education and communing with Mother Nature within a five-minute walk of their homes. For the past 50 years we have seen communities designed and developed for the automobile rather than for the pedestrian. Cheshire offers the pedestrian many paths, trails, sidewalks, streams and narrow streets designed to encourage slow traffic.
The neighborhood is designed to be diverse in size and style of homes, yet blend with materials that harmonize with one another and our mountain environment. The buildings are designed to front the street and place the car in the rear to allow for a human scale environment to exist. The front porches are set close to the front property line to create functional open spaces playing a vital role in the relationship between buildings and the street.
The Village of Cheshire offers a unique way of life that tastefully blends residential, commercial, and civic space into one mountain village. This village will hopefully set a precedent for the continual growth that our area is experiencing. Whether it is a special time of year, a much-needed vacation or a place you call home, it is Cheshire that gives you a new sense of place. I invite you to come and stay awhile.
Caldwell Sikes Ragan, Village Founder