An early life spent in this "Old Kentucky Home" inspired the writings of North Carolina's most famous novelist.

The lesser-known lost colony of Roanoke was a safe haven for formerly enslaved people during the Civil War.

Colorful murals stationed throughout Charlotte bring poetry to everyone.

From failed port town to Civil War fort, the ruins of this former defense saw their finest day in the television age.

This 5-by-6-foot wooden hut is the smallest historic post office in the U.S.

Step back in time on this preserved 1800s farm.

Andy Griffith's hometown has made itself up to look like the fictional town of Mayberry.

The highest point in North Carolina and the United States east of the Mississippi River, Mount Mitchell is named after argumentative explorer Elisha Mitchell.

Garden dedicated to native carnivorous plants and site of huge flytrap heist.

Gnarled canopies of pink and purple wildflowers arch over the trail to the summit.

A former Oz-themed attraction that has fallen into disrepair, but still holds some of the original magic.

This woodland architectural installation acts as a camera obscura for the heavens.

These eerie outliers of the lightning bug family glow a mysterious blue color.

This chicken coop pays homage to a classic architectural style made famous throughout the southern United States.

The language and heritage of a nearly forgotten culture can still be explored in this Southern enclave.

4,000 monkeys used for medical testing on an island off of South Carolina.

Settled in 1696, abandoned after the Revolutionary War.

The sole remaining outpost of a once-thriving South Carolina chain still sells “pic-a-nic” baskets.

Despite being burnt down multiple times, the ruins of this South Carolina church are still standing.

One of the oldest living oak trees in the Southeast.

The tree is thought to be the oldest oak in Texas and was once crowned state champion for its monumental size.

Civil War dumping ground for the bodies of terrorized Union sympathizers.

Tracks near this Texas nature site were once thought to support the Creationist belief that man and dino coexisted.

An abandoned quicksilver mining town surrounded by the Big Bend parks.