We head out on our road trip on Sunday, June 20th and it is raining! Rain and bad weather have canceled several planned trips for us this past year, but we decided rain or shine we will take this road trip! So we leave my parent's house in Murphy, NC, and drive to the state line to get our drive started!
Alan and I had talked about doing this trip for several years. We had even read a couple articles in the NC Our State magazine about driving US Hwy 64 through NC. So with COVID causing our European cruise and land vacation to be canceled, we decided it was the perfect time to take this road trip.
We did have rain off and on for the first 3 days, but it wasn't a steady pouring rain. As we soon found out, leaving on a Sunday wasn't the best plan because on Sunday, Monday, and many Tuesdays most of the restaurants and stores in the downtowns were closed! Fortunately, for us, we did our "usual" thing and we brought protein bars and apples with us for lunches and yogurt, fruit, and granola breakfast bars with us for our breakfasts!! So, between the rain showers and most downtowns pretty much "closed" we didn't do much walking around the downtowns the first 3 days of our trip.
Regardless of the weather, it was a beautiful drive! Most of the time we were on two-lane country roads. So many beautiful views, with much of Hwy 64 lined with blooming daylilies and also blooming magnolia trees everywhere. We also saw lots of murals in the downtowns and quilt blocks on business buildings, houses, and barns throughout the drive. We saw some beautiful historic downtowns and some that were very sad! One downtown, Parmele, only had its sign and an old train car in its " historic downtown". I didn't take pictures of the "sad" towns and you will see in some towns all we got was a picture of the town's name. Some towns didn't even have a sign, at least not that we saw.
On our first day, we went from the North Carolina/Tennessee state line to Rutherfordton, NC. We stayed just outside Rutherfordton in Forest City. Between the weather and the time of our arrival, we didn't go into downtown Rutherfordton the next day.
Highlands is one of the highest towns east of the
Mississippi River, with an elevation of 4,118 feet. It's also located in one of
the few temperate rainforests in North America.
This information is part of what I found posted online,
under the history Highlands, NC ~ The town of Highlands was founded in 1875 by
two developers living in Kansas who, according to legend, took a map in hand
and drew a line from New York to New Orleans. Then they drew another line from
Chicago to Savannah. These lines, they predicted, would become major trade
routes in the future, and where they crossed would someday be a great
population center. Their logic wasn’t completely insane when one recognizes
that we are just over 120 miles from Atlanta.
What evolved was a health and summer resort at more than
4,000 feet on the highest crest of the Western North Carolina plateau in the
Southern Appalachian Mountains. This paradisiac settlement, the highest
incorporated town east of the Rockies, provided common ground for both northern
and southern pioneers a decade after the Civil war. By 1883, nearly 300
immigrants from the eastern states were calling Highlands home. In the early
1880’s the town contained 8 country stores specializing in groceries, hardware,
and general merchandise, a post office, a hotel and boarding house for summer
guests, a public library, four churches, and a first-class school.
Very little changed until the late 1920s, when the
Cullasaja River was dammed, forming Lake Sequoyah, to provide hydroelectric
power. A spectacularly scenic road to Franklin was carved into the rock walls
of the Cullasaja Gorge. The muddy roads in and out of town were reinforced with
crushed stone. By the time the Chamber of Commerce was established in 1931, the
town’s population had increased to 500 with 2,500 to 3,000 summer guests. There
were now 25 businesses.
Again, very little changed until the mid-1970s, when the influx of multi-family homes and shopping centers spawned land use plans and
zoning laws intended to protect Highlands’ natural assets. The town’s
population stands at slightly over 1,100 year-round residents with 3,200 on the
plateau.
Famous for stunning lake scenery, forested mountain
landscapes, and brilliant waterfalls, Lake Lure is known as a prime location
for some of the world's most iconic films, like “Dirty Dancing” and “Last of
the Mohicans.”
Rutherfordton is a town of firsts. It was the home of
western North Carolina's first U.S. Post Office, first public school, and first
newspaper. It's where the country's first $1 gold coin was minted. Founded in
1787, it was even one of the first towns in the region.
We arrived in Rutherfordton around 1700, so we waited until Monday to drive around downtown Rutherfordton.
Morgantown was another pretty downtown, the home of Catawba Beer and at least four other breweries. There were renovations underway at the Courthouse Square to include the construction of a new amphitheater, common area, and green space on the southern end of the property that everyone will be able to enjoy. As part of these renovations, the stone wall surrounding the square is being restored. Currently, the original stones are being removed from a portion of the wall that borders North Green Street. These stones are being kept, and once structural improvements are made, the wall will be rebuilt using the original stones.
Taylorsville is the namesake of either John Louis Taylor, North Carolinian agriculturist, and political philosopher, or General Zachary Taylor,
the 12th president of the United States. The county is served by US Hwy 64,
which is a controlled access roadway connecting Taylorsville with Lenoir and
Statesville.
The City of Statesville was the first municipality in North Carolina to provide electric service to its citizens. Because of this historical accomplishment, the city has been recognized as the First
Public Power Community in North Carolina.
The first of many fires ravaged Statesville in 1855 destroying the majority of downtown's buildings. Most of the existing downtown was built around the turn of the century, with the majority of buildings dating from 1860 to about 1930.
Some two miles north of Statesville was Fort Dobbs, which was built to defend the forefront of civilization from 1756 to about 1764. It was considered to be the center of this part of the Revolutionary War. Statesville was incorporated as a city in 1847.
The county seat, Mocksville, was known as "Mocks Old
Field" before it was incorporated in 1839. Other communities in the county
include Bermuda Run, Cooleemee, and Farmington. ... Davie County is home to one
of North Carolina's oldest annual festivals, the Mocksville Masonic Picnic,
held each August since 1878.
Lexington~ ~World Famous Barbecue, Award-Winning Wines,
NASCAR History, Fine Art, and Historic Uptown. Located in Davidson County in
the Piedmont area of North Carolina, Lexington is known as “The Barbeque Capital
of the World”.
According to NC historian William S. Powell, the town got
its name from a "passing observer who saw many lizards sunning and licking
themselves on a rail fence." Regardless of the town name, local community
members who are native to the area are proud of their origins, and their
economic future in the area.
Nintendo has a game connected to Lizard Lick!
The Brew Thru Experience
Picture yourself sitting inside your vehicle in the middle of a building, surrounded by large coolers of ice-cold beer, wine, and beverages, racks filled with your favorite beach munchies, and colorful shelves of world-famous T-shirts lining the walls. This is all part of the Brew Thru experience! At this iconic Outer Banks destination, the Brew Thru car tenders grab your beverages and snacks, help stock your cooler and assist you in picking out your Brew Thru souvenirs — all while you relax in the comfort of your car. It’s an ideal way to shop!
No, we did not experience Brew Thru-----But GAS did think about it!! :)
Explored in the late 1500s it was finally settled in 1690. Continental Army Col. James Bonner donated land from his farm to form the first town, originally called Forks of the Tar but then renamed for George Washington in 1776.
New Bern is a riverfront
city near the Atlantic coast. The Tryon Palace complex includes a replica
of the state's 1st capital, historic homes, gardens, and the North Carolina
History Center. The Birthplace of Pepsi is the drugstore where the drink was
invented in the 1890s. Nearby, the New Bern Firemen’s Museum highlights the
Great Fire of 1922. The Croatan National Forest is nearby with diverse
wildlife.
New Bern was originally settled in 1710 by Swiss and German
immigrants who named it after Bern, the capital of Switzerland. The town was
officially founded by Swiss Baron Christoph DeGraffenried. The city emblem, as
in old Bern, is a black bear going up a golden road which appears frequently
throughout the city.
The second-oldest city in North Carolina, New Bern is the
site of many firsts. It was in New Bern that the first state printing press was
set up and the first book and newspaper were published. The state’s first
public school opened here. The first official celebration of George
Washington’s birthday was held in New Bern, and it was here that the world’s
first practical torpedo was assembled and detonated. In the 1890s Caleb
Bradham, a New Bern pharmacist, invented Brad’s Drink, now known as Pepsi-Cola.
Tyron Palace
Thank you for sharing, great pics, looked like you had a really nice road trip.
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