Avery County Museum — Attraction in Newland

Tourism in the area actually began before the War Between the States, and Linville later became the focus in the 1890s.

The county was not formed until 1911, and was named after Colonel Waightstill Avery, a Revolutionary War figure who became North Carolina's first Attorney General (1777-1779).

Cherokee Indians were the first inhabitants, followed by German, Scotch-Irish, and English settlers. Notable figures in the beginning years included George Isaac Crossnore, William Newland, Waightstill Avery, and many others, who live on as the names of the many towns and communities in the area.

The railroad was originally constructed to transport iron ore from the mines at Cranberry, but later opened up for the timber industry. Avery County is noted to be one of the largest producers of Christmas trees.

In addition to a thriving tourism industry, it is known for several agricultural and mineral products, such as kaolin, mica, iron and feldspar. Ski resorts and golf courses are also major attractions. Vineyards are becoming increasingly popular.

The Avery County Historical Museum is housed in the historic Avery County jail. It was built in 1912, and was set aside as a museum by the County Commissioners in 1976. This old jail was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 9, 1989.

This museum will not disappoint. It is full of rich history, and substantiated by many artifacts.

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We traveled to Newland, NC for the Heritage Festival. While we weren't overly impressed with the festival, we did visit the Avery County Historical Museum.

The local museum is housed in the old Avery County Jail, built in 1912. Its purpose is to collect, preserve and display all vital information, photographs and artifacts about people, events, and places that make up the history of Avery County and the surrounding areas of the Toe River Valley.

We had a good time touring the museum and learning about some of the local history. It is definitely worth the time to tour if ever...

We happened across this little museum while traveling through the area and decided to stop! This was super cute and had a lot of interesting artifacts. I would definitely recommend stopping if you're in the area. I saw on the sign in sheet that someone had even visited from Florida! I love just finding little gems like that while driving. I believe they're closed on weekends but we caught them...