The Ghost Town of Henry River Mill Village

Getting off the beaten track in North Carolina

The United States is not short on places which can be classified as being haunted or borderline eerie. Many of the tourist traps in the US are comprised of tacky shops and expensive restaurants. There is not a single person who would sum up the beauty of America is embodied in its tasteless outlet malls and cookie-cutter boutique shops.

The true essence of the United States can be found beyond the supermarkets and endless asphalt parking lots. America is about pushing the limits and exploring the unknown, this side of the country can not be found on an organized bus tour showing off all of the “cultural” relics of a town.

Despite Americans always looking towards the future and constantly reinventing themselves, some relics of the past still exist tucked deep away into the countryside or even hidden in plain sight within concrete jungles. One of these places is Henry River Mill Village, an old mill town forgotten at the base of the Appalachian mountains.

You can read more about traveling in North Carolina’s Appalachian Mountains here!

The Ghosts of America

During the early 20th century, The South experienced a textile boom. With this newfound industry, a wave of small towns sprouted up in the vicinity of these mills. These quaint wooden cottages would be the last of their kind, later being abandoned for cheaper, easy to build materials.

Unfortunately, this last gasping breath of homegrown American industry could not be dragged out longer than 1973. As many left the small remote town for opportunities elsewhere, the mill closed its doors. It was nearly a decade later when the last resident of Henry River Mill Village left, leaving the wooden porches to rot and the town to be occupied by no one but ghosts.

Looking for more abandoned places? Read about Bali’s haunted hotel here!

Forgotten America

Not far from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Burke County you will find the remnants of a once lively community. Even before you reach the center of the ghost town, you will find that many of the houses along Henry River Road have met the same fate as the rest of the village.

The entire town is comprised of over than 20 cottages (originally there were 35). Despite the obvious age and desolate appearance, these mill houses are all in surprisingly good condition. The crisscrossed boards nailed across each window further gives the abandoned village a more haunted appearance.

At the heart of the ghost town lays a two-floor brick building, with the words pastries and cakes chipping away below the two storefront windows. While buildings such as these can be found lining nearly any old town in the United States. This lone general store stands to represent the hopes of what this town could have been.

You can find the location of Henry River Mill here:

Breathing Life Into The Past

Since Henry River Mill Village has been left to crumble in on itself, it has been a playground for vandals and delinquents. It wasn’t until the filming of the popular movie franchise “The Hunger Games” that more attention was brought to this forgotten ghost town. Serving as the location for District 12,  tourists and fans have made the pilgrimage to the eerie cottages of Burke County well after the film concluded shooting.

Even being put in the spotlight by Hollywood wasn’t enough to restore the decrepit scene to a fraction of its former glory. A TV show named Hollywood Treasure failed to sell the village for an estimated 1.2 million dollars. So there the cottages continued to sit, slowly being weathered away by the elements.

Henry River Mill Village was finally purchased by a group of young college graduates in 2017. Their dream for the town is to restore the houses and make the village a place for special events such as weddings. The cottages will also be transformed into guest houses and restaurants. While the wheels are moving slowly, life is slowly returning to Henry River Mill Village.

The only drawback of this once ghost town being renovated and spruced up to attract tourists with deep pockets is that North Carolina will lose one of its most off worldly destinations. The grey dying wood will be covered in fresh paint, new window panes will replace the dramatic cracked glass, and the creaking of century-old floorboards will become a thing of the past.

As much as those who hate to see the horror movie element depart from the grounds of Henry River Mill Village, we are all grateful that this small Southern town is being given a second chance to come back from the dead.

You can read more on the future of Henry River Mill Village here!