[bright music]
It may be a small town, but it's a gateway
to big experiences.
Home to scenic railway excursions,
America's most visited national park,
and a bustling downtown, complete with restaurants,
galleries, and shops, Bryson City is a perfect
year-round getaway destination.
Its charm unfolds as you get to know its history.
I was fortunate to interview former
Swain County commissioner, David Monteith,
who passed away in March of 2017,
but had poured his life's blood
into converting this beautiful old courthouse building
into a museum.
It contains historical artifacts
from the 1800s through the 1950s.
Surprisingly, these items are not curated.
They're all donated by locals.
- We don't have no idea what they gonna donate
till they come in and say, "I've got this."
And if it's just one little item, two little items,
we'll just store it till we get enough
to make a display.
This cabin came from the lower end of Swain County.
Our superintendent, used to be our superintendent
of school, Bob Mark, donated this when we first started.
So, we had to take it, tear it apart completely,
cut about eight foot of it off to make it shorter,
and took a couple of windows out,
and we took a crane and picked it up
and stuck them through, a board at a time, a log at a time,
in here to put it back together.
- [Deborah] For Mr. Monteith,
this museum was dear and personal.
He dedicated many family photos and artifacts
to help illustrate the history of this town.
- This particular here would be my dad's grocery store.
My mom and dad's home.
That would be very very favorite to me
because they lived on Four Inch Creek,
and they're gone, these were all torn down and gone
because of Fontana Lake.
And again, Fontana Lake was built for a war effort.
That was why it was built.
TVA came around and told the people at Fontana,
"We need this total of 11,000 acres
"to help end World War II."
- [Deborah] To see the people and original artifacts
of the area's past, you can't get closer
than the Swain County Heritage Museum.
But to experience some of it,
consider a stay at the historic Fryemont Inn,
built in 1923.
- The Fryemont is basically a launching pad for us
to do anything in the Smokies that we want to.
It's perfectly located, a short time from Atlanta.
This time, we got to enjoy some white water rafting
down the Nantahala River, and it was a great time.
- We just love how peaceful it is.
Really disconnected from, because we're from Georgia,
the Atlanta, you know, the craziness.
So, we really have enjoyed our time here
and are relaxing with our family.
- We say disconnect to reconnect.
And so many of us have a hard time getting away
and relaxing fully.
And so, when the hotel was built back in 1923,
there were no TVs or telephones.
It just wasn't part of it.
So people came and they relaxed.
They slept with their windows open,
and just enjoyed being in nature
and enjoyed spending time together,
doing puzzles, playing games.
And a lot of that is still what is a draw
for folks staying with us today.
- [Deborah] Since 1982, the George Brown family
has owned and operated the Fryemont,
which can accommodate individuals and even wedding parties.
Guests rave about the dining menu,
which features this lovely innkeeper's own delicious
Southern recipes, like baked macaroni and cheese,
pecan-crusted trout, and it's simple,
but the best burgers you'll ever eat.
- We have 37 rooms in the main lodge.
There are seven, eight suites and a cabin.
They're two-level suites.
They have living room, bedroom, private bath.
They have a wet bar area, microwave, refrigerator.
Some of them have full kitchens.
They are very comfortable with fireplaces,
and they open out onto this porch.
So you have a lovely view
of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
- [Deborah] Which is another attraction
you'll want to explore while you're here.
A short five-minute drive takes you
to miles of hiking trails.
- We've been in the woods since Friday afternoon.
And we saw some snakes, saw some great mountain views.
And this morning, we saw a baby black bear cub.
- We were just walking down Deep Creek Trail,
and it came out from the creek, and saw us,
and then immediately ran away, but it was so cute,
and it was amazing.
It rounded out our trip for sure.
- And to round out your trip,
you can take several days or just a few minutes like I did.
For a 15-minute hike, this was a pretty nice payoff.
In Bryson City for "North Carolina Weekend,"
I'm Deborah Holt Noel.