Halloween Ghost Ship in Southport!

Climb aboard the ghost ship! Little mariners will enjoy spooky tales of lost souls, pirates, and other mysteries along the Lower Cape Fear. Games and activities for goblins and ghouls include pirate bean bag toss, design your own trick-or-treat bag, ghost writing, and shadow drawing
NC Maritime Museum @ Southport 204 E. Moore Street, Southport
Contact: NC Maritime Museum @ Southport
910/457-0003
Admission/Fees: Free. Registration Required.
More info: http://www.cityofsouthport.com/index.aspx?page=16&recordid=448

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Small towns continue to appeal to folks…

Holly Springs, N.C.: Quiet town in ‘Research Triangle’ emerges as new second-home market

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012

BY  SHANNNON ROXBOROUGH

Not all that long ago, to suggest Holly Springs, N.C., as a destination would have been a stretch. Up until the last decade of the 20th century, the central North Carolina town led a quiet existence, generally bypassed by the state’s economic ascent as a high-tech hub. It was not on anyone’s radar.

In the past 20 years, however, the town has made enormous strides in growth and development, putting itself squarely on the regional map as a place ripe for business and personal life. Today, Holly Springs is blooming, thanks to its proximity to the technology incubator that is the Research Triangle, formed by the cities of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill.

About 17 miles southwest of Raleigh, Holly Springs’ current and future prosperity hinges on its new role as both an environment conducive to enterprise — Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis built its $600 million flu vaccine manufacturing facility here — and convenient for upwardly mobile professionals seeking an easy commute into the tri-city area.

Real estate agents say that the bedroom community’s property market is dominated by commuters rather than people buying second homes. But many of the same attributes that make Holly Springs attractive to working couples and families also give it allure to those in the market for vacation getaways or retirement homes.

Continue reading…

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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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Ellerbe: Small town character in the Sandhills of NC!

Once known as a peach center, Ellerbe now features truck farming, tobacco farms, and poultry and swine farms in the surrounding area.

Downtown has antique stores, a general merchandise store, a hardware; beauty salons, funeral homes, a realty/forestry office, a medical clinic, banks, churches, grocery stores, a feed, seed, and fertilizer store, a small-engine repair shop, garages, service stations, a post office, a drugstore, an ice cream stand, a hosiery mill, a recycling center, and three restaurants. A restaurant/inn is located just 1/2 mile north of the city limits.

The town has a multi-cultural population. The 2000 census reported 1,021 residents.

Visit: http://www.ellerbenc.com/

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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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Sylva, NC: More than just a cool courthouse…

Welcome to Sylva… a progressive small town in Jackson County situated amidst the Great Smoky Mountains. Downtown, a Main Street community, has many restaurants and shops along its tree-lined streets.

Educational opportunities are virtually unlimited, with Western Carolina University only 7 miles away in Cullowhee, and Southwestern Community College in Sylva.

Recreational opportunities are numerous and diverse here. They have a state of the art playground designed by our children and built by the community.

The town owns a pristine tract of land, Pinnacle Park, that boasts hiking trails, waterfalls, and a town view from 5,000 feet.

The Tuckasegee River is known for its whitewater and trout populations.  And the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a 30 minute drive away.

For more, visit http://www.mountainlovers.com!

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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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