Ghost towns?

GotLime?

GotLime?

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2009
Location
Mooresville, NC
Do you guys know of any ghost towns in the central part of the state? I'd like to take the kids on a little adventure. The more remote the better. Out and back from Mooresville, NC in one day is preferred.
 
That may be hard to find on the East Coast. I was just in Nevada and they have them all over the State, lots of fun to visit and explore. Interesting to see if there are any around here.
 
Might be wrong but I think there's an area of the SC/GA border that was bought out by the gov for some kind of test area or something but may still be illegal. course I don't even know if the towns are still there.

EDIT: they were relocated and the towns dont exist but a google dug up this.
http://greensh.livejournal.com/159440.html
http://greensh.livejournal.com/159440.html

also a site called ghosttowns.com or something and you can search by state but I think the term remote can be thrown out on the east coast.
 
you really won't find a "ghost town" as to what you would find out west. In researching settlements and such,I have found that when a place closed up,they generally moved the buildings somewhere else or they simply rotted away through time.Our weather here doesn't preserve wood very well and termites do there damage quickly.Also machine made,hard clay bricks didn't start showing up till the middle 19th century and were expensive.You can find old settlements and towns all over the state but you will just see one or two old country stores and that's if you are lucky. They have been lost through the raveges of time or swallowed up by urban sprawl.
 
Not a ghost town, but there are some old mill areas around that are interesting. Cooleemee, NC has a ton of old mill houses, one you can tour & a museum. I've only driven through it. If you haven't been to Henry River, NC you need to check it out before it sold & destroyed etc. be careful here as there are no trespassing signs. It has had a lot of traffic after the Hunger Games was filmed there. The old Heritage USA, down by Carowinds, is creepy too. I haven't been down there in a while, but a lot was falling apart quickly.
 
got 2 books for ya:
North Carolina atlas and gazzateer.... this is a great map of the state in large book form.
North Carolina Gazzateer... this book came out first in 1968 and a second addition came out in 2010.This lists by name counties,towns,communties,camps,ferry crossings,etc.etc. Their locations,when founded,histories.Very Very usefull book when used in conjunction with the state atlas.
 
Gmachine said:
The old Heritage USA, down by Carowinds, is creepy too. I haven't been down there in a while, but a lot was falling apart quickly.
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The security/police will run you out of there if you don't have business to be there. (ie. know people that live back in the campground) But is does get pretty creepy and you can always claim you're lost and leave. No signs last I was there and no harm no foul. I had never heard of the place and was just out riding around one night and ran across it. The security guy was pretty cool about it.
 
Another book suggestion for your kids is Weird Carolinas by Roger Manley. This book will send you on many very interesting road trips. I bought it and enjoy it as an adult. Lots of true stories & folklore.
 
Not in Eastern NC, but I know of an old abandoned mill town outside of Hickory. They filmed some scenes from The Hunger Games there.
 
Macdaddy4738 said:
Not in Eastern NC, but I know of an old abandoned mill town outside of Hickory. They filmed some scenes from The Hunger Games there.
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Someone above mentioned it was marked as "No Tresspassing". Can you confirm? If it's legal can you give more specific directions? Thanks.
 
GotLime? said:
Someone above mentioned it was marked as "No Tresspassing". Can you confirm? If it's legal can you give more specific directions? Thanks.
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The main road drives though the abandoned mill town. That's legal to drive through, & the old general store is on the road. There's a place to pull off & take some pics. There are 13 or so abandon homes harly still standing so stay out of those or exploring the rest of the grounds much & you'll probably be fine. I was run off by a LEO years ago when there were not any signs up. Given the popularity of the movie, I think they are a little more relaxed as there have been a lot of visitors.

Google Henry River. It's neat to see. I wish someone would make it a working tourist stop. Most of these places are gone now & it's a huge part of local history. Given its proximity to I-40, someone may just buy it & level it all. That's if some kids don't set fire to a house or two before its all over.
 
not really a town but the old Devils Tramping ground outside of Siler City has some neat history!
 
Over in Western NC out one of the rivers that comes off the end of Lake Fontana is an old settlement/homestead area that's kinda neat to walk through. but I think it's pretty well picked through. It seems like it was from the 1930's or there about. You had to walk across a swinging bridge then downriver through the woods.
 
GotLime? said:
Someone above mentioned it was marked as "No Tresspassing". Can you confirm? If it's legal can you give more specific directions? Thanks.
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Yeah it is now, especially since the movie. When I used to go it never was, but that was years ago. Apparently some guy tried to murder a prostitute down there several years back, he dumped her through this part of the dam and she fell like 3 stories but survived.

The houses were pretty cool. I found a newspaper in one from 1931 and a sweet ALF mug
 
Have done a good deal of Urban Exploration type stuff over the years, I know theres a huge following in the Charlotte area, but I am generally unfamiliar. Also not really something I would ever bring kids along for, but we have always found some very very cool things.​

Not too long ago we explored an old (early 1900's building) in greensboro, used to be a bank, still had power, old bank vaults, safety deposit boxes, etc... ​

Its great fun, but pretty far from legal in most places. ​

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Pictures were taken by a friend, a few different places, but always cool stuff. My brother and his room mate found a stack of old playboys, farrah fawcett, etc... and are trying to sell them on Ebay lol
 
mbalbritton said:
Over in Western NC out one of the rivers that comes off the end of Lake Fontana is an old settlement/homestead area that's kinda neat to walk through. but I think it's pretty well picked through. It seems like it was from the 1930's or there about. You had to walk across a swinging bridge then downriver through the woods.
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Ive heard about this place, I was told it was about a 2 mile Hike but forgot all about it shortly after that.
 
Gmachine said:
Not a ghost town, but there are some old mill areas around that are interesting. Cooleemee, NC has a ton of old mill houses, one you can tour & a museum. I've only driven through it. If you haven't been to Henry River, NC you need to check it out before it sold & destroyed etc. be careful here as there are no trespassing signs. It has had a lot of traffic after the Hunger Games was filmed there. The old Heritage USA, down by Carowinds, is creepy too. I haven't been down there in a while, but a lot was falling apart quickly.
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I live about a half mile from where they did the filming. I used to rid bicycles down around there alot when I was little. I was shot at quite a few times but that was 25 years ago. Yes the traffic is still pretty heavy from the movie and is still posted but haven't heard of anyone getting in trouble. It also says there is 24 hr. camera survailence but I think that is a crock. It really is a creepy little area.

Just yesterday I took a littl side road between the houses and my wife dropped a few of us off with a canoe and a rubber raft and put in just below the dam and floated the river and done a little fishing for about four hours. If there is cameras there they will be showing up at my house w/ a trespassing warrant anytime now. But we did no harm just carried the boats about 400 ft through the woods and did no harm to anything but I guess it was still trespassing.

Yes some people have looked at the property to make it a tourist thing but the old man that owns it has lots of money and really no need to sell it I don't think. He wanted like a million for it for years before the movie. He made a crap load on the movie and now wants like 1.5 million for it. It would be awesome if someone fixed it up so someone might buy some of my land near the interstate cause of it.
 
XJfreakHO said:
Ive heard about this place, I was told it was about a 2 mile Hike but forgot all about it shortly after that.
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I don't recall it being that far, but you take US19 to 28 south towards Franklin. A couple miles down turn right on an old dirt road today takes you to the river. Go across the swinging bridge and the settlement is back over to the left. Seeing as it's in the bend of the river, I don't think it could be more than a couple hundred yards from the bridge.
 
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