Blue Ridge Country March/April 2023 - 16
OUR BLUE RIDGE TOWNS
MOUNTAIN TOWN WITH A KEEN SENSE OF SELF
Smokies'
'Eastern Entrance'
Cradled in the Great Balsam Mountains, Waynesville,
North Carolina, claims its tourism heritage proudly.
By JOAN VANNORSDALL
I
n 1936, Franklin Delano Roosevelt rode through
Waynesville on his way to dedicate the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park. Not long after, Waynesville
leaders erected an arch over Main Street:
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Eastern Entrance
Never mind that Waynesville sat 30 miles outside the
park-and that both Maggie Valley and Cherokee were
much closer to the park. From the mid-1930s until 1970,
the arch spanned Main Street, laying claim to being a primary
Park entrance...and proud of it.
But Waynesville's outreach to visitors goes back well
before the opening of the national park.
" Waynesville history is entrenched in tourism, " says
Alex McKay, Haywood County native and chair of the
Waynesville Historic Preservation Commission. " Originally
we were largely a farming area. But when the railroad
came here in 1883, people came. "
16 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
Along with a booming lumber industry and one of
the largest tanneries in the United States, Waynesville
became home to many large hotels and thriving shops.
" Families formed generational histories of vacationing
here-the story was that Haywood County could cure
visitors of hay fever, " McKay says with a smile.
We sit in the dining room of McKay's restored Arts and
Crafts home in Hazelwood Village, once an independent
town but since 1995 part of the town of Waynesville.
McKay's roots go deep in Haywood County-his mother's
family back to the early 1800s and his father's in the
late 1800s. And after leaving for college, McKay is back to
continue the family story.
" Our heritage means a lot to us in the mountains, "
he says. " And we have a lot of things happening to draw
folks here. "
Walking Hazelwood Avenue down the street from
McKay's house, you can see that in spades. There's the
longstanding Hazelwood Soap Company, a fragrant draw
to anyone passing by. Blue Ridge Books, with one of the
best regional book collections I've seen. Robin Blu, an
eclectic, expansive gift shop. Smoky Mountain Coffee
Roasters. A bakery, a pharmacy, a bridal shop. It's a beautiful
neighborhood to wander.
A mile or so back on Waynesville's Main Street, the
sidewalks are packed with visitors studying real estate listings
and photos, pondering restaurant menus, browsing
gift shop and furniture store window displays. There's
not a vacant parking space along Main Street, and it's still
early afternoon on a weekday.
Ben Wilder, the Haywood County tourism development
manager, states what's abundantly clear: " Tourismwise,
we're strong. " But he also wonders, " How much
more can we handle? And how much more do we want? "
http://www.BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
Blue Ridge Country March/April 2023
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country March/April 2023
Blue Ridge Country March/April 2023 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country March/April 2023 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country March/April 2023 - 3
Blue Ridge Country March/April 2023 - 4
Blue Ridge Country March/April 2023 - 5
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Blue Ridge Country March/April 2023 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country March/April 2023 - Cover4
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