In Edenton, the brick courthouse on the green has heard cases since 1767, longer than any other government building in North Carolina. A few hours west, Bryson City sends a steam train into the Smokies most mornings. Andy Griffith turned his Mount Airy boyhood into Mayberry, and the town still plays the part. Up in the high country, Highlands stands higher than any incorporated town east of the Mississippi. The pull might be a courthouse, a railroad, or a ridgeline, and every one of these towns still gets passed over.
Highlands
Two Kansas developers founded Highlands in 1875 with a map trick. They drew one line between Chicago and Savannah, another between New York and New Orleans, and built a town where the two crossed. The spot landed at 4,118 feet, one of the highest incorporated towns east of the Mississippi River. Close to 90 inches of rain a year make it one of the few temperate rainforests in North America.
The Highlands Plateau spreads through Nantahala National Forest, a botanical hotspot in the southern Appalachian Mountains. The Hudson Library is one of the oldest in the state. Bridal Veil and Dry Falls drop right beside the highway into town, close enough to walk behind.