Tweetsie Railroad

Tweetsie Railroad

One of the most historic railroads in Southern Appalachia, the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina,ran from Johnson City, TN, to Boone, NC, from the late 1800s until 1950. It was born when the Tennessee state legislature granted a charter to construct the railroad in 1866.

Hot Springs

Hot Springs

Located in Madison County at the confluence of the French Broad River and Spring Creek, Hot Springs has long been a destination for therapeutic relief. First Native Americans, then European settlers “took the cure” in the hot mineral waters. In 1831 James Patton of Asheville built the 35- room Warm Springs Hotel.

Historical Markers

Historical Markers

In 1935, North Carolina created one of the nation’s first highway historical marker programs to point out places of historic interest to the motoring public. Over 1400 of the silver and black highway signs have been erected throughout the state. . .

Grove Park Inn

Grove Park Inn

We have pure air, common-sense, digestible food, quiet in the bedrooms at night, the finest orchestra outside of New York and Boston, a great organ, and an atmosphere where refined people and busy business men with their families find great cofort and a good time.” ~From the 1916 Maps and Road Book of Western North Carolina.”

Blue Ridge Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

  Essay By Timothy N. Osment History, M.A. WCU 2008 The Blue Ridge Parkway, stretching 469 miles between the Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks, has offered visitors breathtaking vistas, wilderness access, and a reprieve from fast-paced...
Tanning

Tanning

Tanning is the ancient craft of transforming animal skins into durable leather.
It was widely practiced in the southern mountains. . .