Beaufort ties with Hammondsport, N.Y. for the #1 spot!

• This year’s Coolest Small Towns in America contest had a tie for first: Hammondsport, N.Y. (shown above), and Beaufort, N.C. (Arion Doerr)

We logged 368,000 votes in our seventh annual contest to choose the best hometown escapes in America. This year’s twist? A nail-biter of a finish that crashed our website (temporarily, of course!) and resulted in our first-ever tie for first place.

What’s your idea of cool? How about a place where the local dump doubles as an art gallery. Or a town that’s helped spawn a major foodie movement. A Gold Rush outpost with an unsung history of ethnic tolerance would certainly qualify, right?

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2012/09/05/10-coolest-small-towns-in-america-2012/#ixzz29no0yNYI

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Maxton: “A Good Place To Live”

The first settlers in this area settled along the Shoe Hill Creek and Lumber River in the 1700’s. Incorporated in 1874 as Shoe Hill (from the Gaelic “S”, the shape of the nearby creek), Maxton also held the names of Tilden (after an 1876 Democratic candidate for US President) and Quhele (Gaelic for “arrow part of a stream”). The name was changed back to Shoe Hill in1881 and finally to Maxton in 1887. Maxton was chosen to honor the Scottish settlers to the area.

Education was important in the early years of Maxton in 1841, just outside of town, John Gilchrist Jr. founded Floral College, the first woman’s college in the state to confer degrees. Maxton was also the site of the first school opened by famous black educator, Charles N. Hunter (1818-1831). He went on to form the North Carolina Industrial Association to try to improve the lives of African Americans by emphasizing economic progress rather than political activity.

Maxton is very proud of their hometown people who include: Angus W. McLean Governor of North Carolina 1924-1928; Malcom McLean, founder of McLean Trucking & SeaLand Inc., he was named “Man of the Century” by the international Maritime Hall of Fame; and Alice Russell Micheaux, concert soloist and movie actress-her credits include: The Betrayal (1948), God’s Step Children (1938) Murder in Harlem (1935) and The Broken Violin (1927).

Maxton is a town on the move, over the past few years strives have been made to restore the downtown area. The entire downtown area has been placed on the National Register of Historical Places. The “Avenue of Mayors”, a project that placed utility lines underground along Patterson Street and planted trees in memory and honor of former Mayors. The town offices are housed in the restored Patterson building. The restoration was the brainchild of The Preservation Maxton Foundation, a non-profit organization that raises money to restore and save endangered historical buildings in Maxton. The Town restored the Freight Building, which houses a restaurant with an additional space for rent.

For more info: http://www.ci.maxton.nc.us

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Hiddenite, NC: “Gem of the Brushies”

Source: Associated Content

Published August 12, 2010 by:

David B. Bolick

Hiddenite, North Carolina, is located in Alexander County and in a spur of the Blue Ridge Mountains called the Brushy Mountains. For such a small unincorporated town it boasts some unusual history and interesting attractions.

The area used to be called White Plains and, at one time, was a health resort due to it’s sulfur springs. The town was named after William Earl Hidden, a mineralogist sent here by Thomas Edison to look for platinum deposits. Instead of finding platinum he found something more valuable, some emeralds and a rare mineral that was later named hiddenite. Hiddenite is also the town I live in and after living in many places in the United States I wouldn’t have it any other way. Life is slow paced in many small towns and Hiddenite is no exception. The people are friendly, crime rate is very low and most everything you need readily available.

A lot of families and school children come to Hiddenite to visit the Emerald Hollow Mine. The mine is one of just a few where the public can hunt for emeralds, sapphires, and other valuable gem stones. The mine offers much for your families entertainment and has primitive camping facilities, sluicing facilities, a creek, professional gem cutting and lapidary, and a mineral shop in addition to the main mine. For those that would rather camp in better style, or have RVs, there is the HiddeNite Camp Grounds. The camp is located along the South Yadkin River, has 37 full RV hookups, primitive tent sites, large swimming pool and over 30 acres of nature area.

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Davidson gets state money for energy-saving projects

Source: DavidsonNews.net

Davidson is among eight designated “North Carolina Main Street” communities that will get federal Recovery Act money for energy efficiency projects, Gov. Beverly Perdue’s office announced Tuesday. The town has received two grants totaling more than $19,000 for two projects – one at town hall and one in partnership with the Business Center @ South Main Square.

The town will get $5,300 to replace all overhead lighting in the Davidson Town Hall and in the Davidson Fire Station with energy efficient fluorescent fixtures. The project also includes replacing all incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent mini-spirals, which should bring a 43 percent energy cost reduction, the governor’s office said. The town will match the grant with money from Duke Energy’s Smart Saver Energy Plan and its operating budget.

A second grant of $13,767 will go to a partnership of the town and Urban Organic I LLC, to achieve EPA Energy Star certification of the Business Center @ South Main Square. Urban Organic will provide matching funds. The project will replace manual thermostats with electronic programmable ones, and replace an existing enthalpy controller with a new electronic controller, which is expected to save $750 annually.

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Old Fort, NC – Gateway to the Southern Blue Ridge

Since 1869 travelers through these mountains looked for the familiar sight of a tall water plume, a manmade geyser, and a resort hotel tucked away at the base of the Blue Ridge this signaled the start of the long climb to Asheville through some of the most scenic terrain in North Carolina.

When the train passes through this town again (plans call for passenger rail service to resume within 5 years), travelers will stop at the tall, hand-carved arrowhead next to the depot, signaling a stop in the historic town of Old Fort.

A town committed to preserving its heritage, and having some fun along the way. Originally a fort built by the colonial militia before the Declaration of Independence, the settlement served for many years as the western outpost of the early United States.

The fort is now being rebuilt by the non-profit corporation “Davidson’s Fort Historic Park, Inc.”

For more info, visit: http://www.oldfort.org

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Spruce Pine reaps tourism gains from Blue Ridge Parkway

Source: Asheville Citizen-Times

The owners of the Orchard at Altapass took North Carolina to court when the state proposed acquiring 200 acres of the apple orchard to create the Blue Ridge Parkway in the 1930s.

The owners at the time ran a wholesale apple business and did not see the benefit of having the scenic road come through the middle of their land, said the orchard’s current owner Bill Carson.

“They knew it was inevitable that it was going to go through, but they argued that it would cause more damage than good,” he said. “I don’t know if they ever thought the traffic would be much up there.”

More than 70 years later, the parkway has not destroyed the orchard. In fact, said Carson, it may be the thing that saved it.

Although apple growing in the region has declined, the orchard’s location on the Mitchell-McDowell county line on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Carson’s transformation of the orchard into a place to experience local culture and history, has helped the Historic Orchard at Altapass become a stop for 60,000 parkway visitors each year, about half of which Carson estimates are nonlocal travelers.

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For more info about Spruce Pine, visit: http://sprucepineonline.com

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Scotland Neck, NC – Small Town Character

In 1722 a colony of Scotch Highlanders led by Lord Nairn settled in the “neck” of the Roanoke River. The name Scotland Neck first described the small communities that clustered around this original settlement. Nearly 150 years later, a progressive citizen named John Hyman adopted the name for the town he was to establish in this thriving area of commerce. Scotland Neck was officially incorporated in 1867 and work began creating the spacious avenues and tree-lined median of the north and southbound lanes of Main Street.

Today this historic median is festooned with glorious crepe myrtles that bloom each summer, a sight that welcomes thousands of visitors to Scotland Neck’s annual Crepe Myrtle Festival in August. Live music, craftspeople with their wares, food and drink entertain the visitors, guests and home folks who fill our streets. However, this festival is just one highlight in a town that values civic involvement.

Kiwanis, Lions, Junior Order, Masons and other civic groups take pride in annual projects that add value to the community. These clubs are joined by Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian and Catholic churches working together to broaden Scotland Neck’s base of support, attracting people of all backgrounds and denominations to the community.

For more information, visit: http://www.townofscotlandneck.com

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Edenton aims to draw tourists with new businesses

Source: HamptonRoads.com

The Virginian-Pilot
© October 18, 2009

By Connie Sage,  Correspondent

EDENTON, N.C.

With a 12 percent jobless rate, this tourism-dependent community of 5,000 has been hit hard by the recession.

But entrepreneurs are hoping that more than a half-dozen new or planned restaurants, inns and a yacht club will lure guests to historic Edenton.

A new bed and breakfast had its coming-out party last week. Another inn is to open by December. Two oyster bars and grills are to be in business by November. Another eatery had its grand opening earlier this month. There’s a new bistro at the local country club. And a local chef expects to start serving dinner before Christmas.

Paul Waff has leased space for an oyster bar and grill in a new three-story building at his Wharf Landing condominium community. Wharf Landing overlooks the juncture of the Chowan River and the Albemarle Sound at the Chowan River Bridge.

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VISIT THE TOWN OF EDENTON, NC

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Top 5 Reasons To Live In Clayton, NC

Finding a good home in the best of the North Carolina’s small towns might seem a daunting task, if only because there are so many good, small communities out there with beautiful landscapes and top notch living arrangements. Towns like Clayton, North Carolina are just such perfect towns and offer what every good family raising destination should, good quality living with a small town atmosphere and wonderful neighbors. The reasons to consider Clayton when deciding where to move in the Raleigh area are growing, but I’m going to give you just five.

Only a few short miles from Raleigh and the industrial and educational centers of the state, Clayton is a town that has recently begun to look mighty good to the hundreds of thousands living in the area. With so many high paying jobs in the Research Triangle, it’s only natural that the average household income in the area is a fairly decent wage and that the quality of life is so high.

Home to an ever growing Chamber of Commerce and the recently built Research Training Zone, a joint venture with the county and NC State University, Clayton is quickly turning from small town to developing landscape. Because of the beauty and untouched nature of the surrounding area though, developers are taking special care to maintain the charm of the small town.

Sitting in the heart of North Carolina’s biggest Educational sector, Clayton is in perfect striking distance of any number of major Universities; schools like Duke, NC State, and UNC at Chapel Hill. The location also makes its developing public school system a top notch program, quickly growing and developing.

As with any small town area rapidly growing, the housing costs are sure to rise, but at the moment it’s as good a time as any to hit the housing market and pick up one of any number of homes at a cost well below the national averages in a soon to be much larger market.

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Visit The Town of Clayton, NC

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Franklin, NC Endorses Economic Development Plan

Source: The Franklin Press

By Melanie Lebert

Aldermen have formally endorsed the Town of Franklin Economic Development Plan.

Paul Combs, the STEP coach from the North Carolina Rural Center, presented the plan to the town board at their meeting Monday night.

“The intent of the Rural Center is to help small towns,” Combs said. “It’s been a good process here in Franklin.”

A team including members of the Franklin Main Street Program board and other community representatives have been working on the project for more than a year. The program is seeking a $100,000 grant to implement an Economic Development Plan from the NC STEP Program, which helps revitalize small towns in the state. Franklin became an NCSTEP community through the efforts of the Main Street Program.

Alderman Sissy Pattillo, who is the liaison board member for the Main Street Program, commented on how well the diverse committee has been able to collaborate. Combs agreed. “I think they’ve done a tremendous job,” he said.

READ MORE AND CHECK OUT THE PLAN

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