Black Bear Tree Farms, located in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, has a long and storied history dating back to the Revolutionary War.

History records that during the Revolutionary War, Colonial Jesse Ray "scoured the country of the Tories (British)" during his seven tours of duty as a member of the U.S. Patriots and in addition to this service, he supplied the Army with pig iron from his smelting furnaces using ore mined from the hills of Northwest North Carolina.

In 1826 for his "considerable service in the Revolution" he received from North Carolina Governor, James Iredell, a land grant of nearly 6,000 acres along the New River and Beaver Creek in the newly created Ashe County, (formerly part of Wilkes County). Today over 1,000 acres of the original grant along Beaver Creek remains in the hands of "Colonial Jesse's" direct descendents.

Throughout the past century Ray Farms has been known for its production of livestock and various agricultural products. With the advent of the Fraser Fir tree industry in Northwest North Carolina, Ray Farms switched their focus from cattle to Christmas trees. Currently the farm still grazes a small herd of cattle; two horses and enough hay to feed through the winter but the primary focus is the roughly 250,000 Fraser Fir Christmas trees in various stages of growth.

Childhood memories of a brief encounter with a bear and a bed and breakfast inn (Black Bear Inn) operated in the 50's and 60's by an aunt and uncle in the Baldwin Community of Ashe County, inspired Black Bear Tree Farms. The Black Bear Inn was known from Maine to Miami for its first class lodging, southern cooking and Deep South hospitality. Today that tradition continues through Black Bear Tree Farms with its commitment to quality, service and personal attention to produce and offer the "Perfect Christmas Tree," the North Carolina Fraser Fir