Historic Sites
Elkin
The confluence of the Yadkin River and Big Elkin Creek in North Carolina's Blue Ridge mountains has drawn people to the site of what is today's city of Elkin since the coming of the Paleo-Indians 10,000 years ago. Records show that the Sioux Indians settled along the Yadkin River as early as 500 B.C.
Read more about ElkinHendersonville
Read more about HendersonvilleRutherfordton
Read more about RutherfordtonForest City
Read more about Forest CityRutherfordton
As the county seat of one of Western North Carolina's oldest counties and the seat of the oldest continuous government in the region, Rutherfordton, established in 1787, has a rich history.
Read more about RutherfordtonForest City
Forest City began as a crossroads on the Shelby-Rutherfordton and Spartanburg-Lincolnton Roads. Originally, the town was incorporated as Burnt Chimney in 1877. A replica near the site of the original chimney adorns the public square today. The "chimney" was the remains of the McArthur home that marked the crossroads.
The name was changed to Forest City in 1887, named after a prominent citizen, Forest Davis. In 1914, the Forest City Betterment Club embarked on a project to beautify the town's Main Street and today the original landscaped medians and fountain still exist.
Read more about Forest CityHendersonville
Until the 1785 Treaty of Hopewell, present-day Henderson County was part of Cherokee Indian territory. After the treaty, in which the Cherokee were forced to move further west, immigrant settlement increased, and by the end of the 18th century, all of what is now Henderson County was inhabited by newcomers.
The region developed more slowly that those further to the east, due to the continued presence of the nearby Cherokee Indians, the difficulties encountered in transversing the rugged, mountainous terrain, and the lack of adequate transportation to eastern markets.
Read more about HendersonvilleWilkesboro
Read more about WilkesboroHot Springs
People have been visiting Hot Springs, a tiny village in the Blue Ridge Mountains, as a spa destination for more than 200 years. The Native Americans were the first to discover and use the warm mineral waters, followed by early traders and settlers in the latter years of the 18th century.
The Buncombe Turnpike brought more people through what was then known as Warm Springs, drovers herding thousands of cattle, hogs, horses, even turkeys, to Southern markets. What a treat it must have been to stop in Hot Springs to "take the waters" on that long, dusty hike.
Read more about Hot SpringsWilkesboro
Nestled in the rolling foothills of northwestern North Carolina, the quaint town of Wilkesboro has been the county seat of Wilkes County since 1778.
The town was officially laid out by General William Lenoir in 1801 and incorporated in 1847. Notable distinguished early settlers and leaders to visit include Daniel Boone, Christopher Gist, Colonel Benjamin Cleveland, General William Lenoir and Thomas Fields.
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