The late 19th-century textile boom brought North Carolina from its purely agrarian origins to national prominence as a manufacturing powerhouse, and created entire mill communities, mostly across the Piedmont. Glencoe Mill Village on the outskirts of Burlington — once known as the Hosiery Capital of the Nation — is one of the few fully preserved mill communities remaining in the state. Here, you’ll find the Textile Heritage Museum. The museum’s executive director, John Guss, is passionate about preserving our state’s textile history in a time when most of the big mills have closed or moved abroad. Guss believes that it’s important that North Carolinians understand and care about our state’s industrial past.
Split-rail fences don’t shout “keep out.” They lean, they shift, they invite. And in western North Carolina, they remind us that some lines are meant to hold, not harden.
Each May, spring climbs nearly 3,000 feet to the seat of Alleghany County. Here, as the rhododendrons blush, a beloved mountain town welcomes visitors with its food, art, and flourish of color and creativity.
Brief but delicious, soft-shell crab season is cherished by diners as well as the folks who work around the clock to put these native pinchers on our plates.
When it comes to poultry, the best is raised close to home.
