Home to “wonderfully quirky” nature lovers, artists and gardeners, Celo in Yancey County is one of the oldest intentional communities in the nation.

“There is something mystic about it. It sucks you back.”

-Gilbert Johnson, Celo resident since 1977.

A pair of women do the dishes
A family stands in a small space, doing gardening stuff
A woman looks over papers while a girl stands on a counter in the background

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  • A motorcycle with its light on
  • A set of gold gears
  • A pair of hands grasped together
  • A cow's skull sits on a wooden outdoor walls
  • A woman in glasses smiles at two parishioners
  • A pair of windows on an old, wooden grain mill
  • A man works on a ceramic on a pottery wheel
  • A pair of hands work on iron decor
  • A young girl with a pink hat bites her lip
  • A woman works on a glass flower sculpture
  • A boy sticks out his tongue while his mom brushes his teeth
  • A group of women sit on a tractor going through the mountains
  • A man pushes a piece of wood through a saw
  • A puppy tugs on a woman's green skirt
  • A woman in overalls walks through rows of tall grasses
  • A chainsaw cuts through a log
  • A set of brown horses look directly to camera
  • A woman uses a scraper on a grill