Blue Ridge Parkway
Well Bred Bakery
Maggie B’s
Get Featured
Bordering the beautiful Reems Creek Valley, Weaverville was founded in 1875, and named for Michael Montraville Weaver, who donated the land along Dry Ridge. Weaver’s parents, John and Elizabeth Weaver, were among the area’s first pioneer settlers. The town’s founding members fostered a strong sense of community, which remains a hallmark of the town’s identity today.
Notably, Weaverville’s community spirit extends to newcomers, and school children actively identify with the town. Artists find support for their work, with thriving galleries, a pottery studio, the juried Art in Autumn show, and the semi-annual Weaverville Art Safari. The Main Street Candlelight Stroll in December attracts regional visitors, and the nearby restored 1830s homestead and birthplace of Civil War Governor Zebulon B. Vance also offers a seasonal candlelight tour and period re-enactments.
The short story writer O. Henry resided in Weaverville, regaining his health after a grave illness. Small town mountain life didn’t agree with him, and he returned to New York City, where he relapsed and died in 1910. His remains are at Riverside Cemetery, Asheville. Visitors often leave $1.87, an allusion to Della’s carefully saved coins in “Gift of the Magi.”
Rattlesnake Lodge is an easy area trail located above mile marker 375 off the Blue Ridge Parkway (with access in the Reems Creek community). The trail is named for a lodge which burned in 1926, and ends at the extensive foundation ruins of the site.