12 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
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Badin Isn't a Material. It's a Frenchman.
· 6.1 mi
Badin, North Carolina, sits where a giant aluminum smelter once hummed, so the name almost sounds like some kind of alloy or material. It isn't. The town was laid out in nineteen thirteen by a French company building a…
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Opera House–Starnes Jewelers Building
· 6.5 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine catching a show right here in the early 1900s, before it became a jewelry store. This building, now known as the Opera House–Starnes Jewelers Building, has been a fixture in Albemarle since 1907. Built in…
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Badin Historic District
· 6.6 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Step back in time as you enter Badin, a town built on aluminum. In the early 1900s, the Southern Aluminum Company of America, later known as Alcoa, established Badin as a company town. It was designed to house workers…
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Narrows Dam and Power Plant Complex
· 7.3 mi · Scraped Hmdb
This dam isn't just a wall of concrete; it powered an industrial revolution in this region. In 1917, Alcoa, the Aluminum Company of America, built the Narrows Dam and its power plant right here to fuel their aluminum…
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Doerschuk Site
· 9.0 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine standing where people stood thousands of years ago, hunting and living off the land. That's what you're near at the Doerschuk Site. This archaeological site, first recorded in 1948 by H. M. Doerschuk, holds…
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Grace Evangelical and Reformed Church
· 12.6 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Pull over here for a minute; you're looking at a congregation with roots stretching back to before the United States even existed! Grace Church, also known as Lower Stone Church, is one of the oldest in North Carolina.…
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Zion Lutheran Church (Rockwell, North Carolina)
· 14.2 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine the echoes of hymns sung for generations – this spot, Zion Lutheran Church, stands as a testament to faith enduring since 1794. German settlers, seeking religious freedom and a new life, built this stone church…
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Lyerly Building for Boys
· 14.7 mi · Scraped Hmdb
This unassuming granite building holds echoes of hope and refuge for generations of boys. Built between 1913 and 1916, the Lyerly Building for Boys, originally known as Nazareth Orphans' Home, provided a home and…
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Michael Braun House
· 17.6 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine building a home to last centuries – that's exactly what Michael Braun did here! This stone house is a tangible link to North Carolina's earliest settlers. Around 1766, Michael Braun, a German immigrant, built…
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Reed Gold Mine State Historic Site
· 17.7 mi · Historical Marker
Site of the first documented gold find in the United States, sparking America's first gold rush.
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Reed Gold Mine
· 17.8 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Get ready to hear about the spot where America's first gold rush took off! In 1799, twelve-year-old Conrad Reed found a seventeen-pound yellow rock in Little Meadow Creek. His family used it as a doorstop for a few…
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Pisgah Covered Bridge
· 19.5 mi · Scraped Hmdb
You're approaching Pisgah Covered Bridge, one of the last two original covered bridges in North Carolina, a testament to a time when things moved a little slower. Built in 1911 by R.M. Maness and his crew, the Pisgah…
