Waynesville (North Carolina)

Waynesville is a city of 10,000 people (2019) in the Mountain Region of western North Carolina. It grew as an agricultural, lumber and railroad hub, and is home to many historical buildings.

History
Waynesville was the scene of the last and perhaps most unusual skirmish in the eastern theater of the American Civil War. On May 6, 1865, Union Colonel William C. Bartlett's 2nd North Carolina (Federal) Mounted Infantry were attacked at White Sulphur Springs (east of Waynesville) by a detachment of rebels from Thomas' Legion of Highlanders, who had been summoned by locals.

Get in
Waynesville is connected to Interstate 40 and the rest of southwestern North Carolina via the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway, providing easy access from Knoxville and Asheville. The Great Smoky Mountains Expressway is a four-lane divided highway between Sylva and Exit 98 near West Waynesville. Then it is a four-lane freeway to Interstate 40 near Canton. It has exits for Hazelwood, West Waynesville and Russ Avenue through the town.

Asheville Regional Airport and Knoxville's McGhee Tyson Airport are the nearest airports. Asheville is about a 40-minute drive east, Knoxville is an hour and a half to the northwest.

See
Buildings and places listed on the National Register of Historic Places: