Maggie Valley and the surronding areas are rich in history, and a short drive can take you back to the ways things were over a century ago.

Mountain Farm MuseumFavorite area to visit are the Farmstead Meuseum at the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National park on Hwy. 441. The working homestead is a collections of structures from around the park before it became a national park. Well restored and maintained, it will give you an idea of the hardships of farming in the smokies over a century ago.

Mingus Mill
A half-mile north of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center is Mingus Mill. Built in 1886, this historic grist mill uses a water-powered turbine instead of a water wheel to power all of the machinery in the building. Located at its original site, Mingus Mill stands as a tribute to the test of time. Hours: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM daily mid-March through mid-November. Also, open Thanksgiving weekend.Boone-Withers House
305 Church St., Waynesville, NC

Cataloochee Valley
A variety of historic buildings have been preserved in the valley, including two churches, a school, and several homes and outbuildings. This is the best place in the park to see historic frame buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Cataloochee Valley is nestled among some of the most rugged mountains in the southeastern United States. Surrounded by 6000-foot peaks, this isolated valley was one of the largest and most prosperous settlements in what is now the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Some 1,200 people lived in this lovely mountain valley in 1910. Most made their living by farming, including commercial apple growing, but an early tourism industry developed in Cataloochee with some families boarding fishermen and other tourists who wished to vacation in the mountains.

Visitors to Cataloochee also enjoy viewing deer, elk, turkey, and other wildlife. Wildlife watching can be especially fruitful during mornings and evenings in the valley’s open fields.