Maggie Valley — a popular destination and resort community
Maggie Valley is Haywood County’s smallest, yet fasting growing community. Nestled peacefully at the base of towering mountain peaks, the once isolated wilderness settlement, once commonly referred to as “the village,” is now a popular resort community.
While tourism is the primary employer and lifeblood of Maggie Valley, the population is predominantly seasonal, making Maggie a permanent home to less than 1,000 people.
Many of Maggie’s seasonal residents are second-home owners who retreat to Haywood County for a few weeks, or months of the year to enjoy beautiful views and a temperate climate.
For a town so small in size, Maggie Valley offers guests and residents a lot of activity.
Within miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway, on the fringe of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and bordering two national forests, the charming mountain town is conveniently located in close proximity to an endless array of adventuresome possibilities. Maggie residents will find plenty of opportunity to enjoy the outdoors in a variety of ways, including such favorites as hiking, camping, biking, whitewater rafting, horseback riding and elk viewing in nearby Cataloochee Valley.
Maggie is also home to a number of attractions that draw hundreds of summer tourists each year. Many tourists spend their days watching gunfights at Ghost Town in the Sky, a unique mountaintop western theme park; touring the evolution of America’s 2- and 4-wheel transportation at Wheels Through Time Museum, hiking the backcountry at Cataloochee Ranch or playing a round of golf at the Maggie Valley Country Club.
At night, the valley comes alive with live music shows performed at the Maggie Valley Opry House — home of five time world champion banjo picker Raymond Fairchild; Eaglenest Entertainment; Carolina Nights Dinner Theater or the Springhouse, while some spend their evenings dancing at The Stompin’ Ground or Diamond K Dance Ranch.
The town’s festival grounds, situated beneath a mountainous backdrop, serves as host to a number of annual festivals and events that also draw flocks of guests to the valley each year.
Although tourism is heaviest during spring, summer and autumn months, the growing popularity of Maggie’s winter attractions, like Cataloochee Ski Resort and Tony’s Tube World, is quickly enhancing the town’s appeal as a year-round destination.
Maggie’s official town limits generally encompasses a five-mile linear stretch of U.S. 19, also known as Soco Road, one of only two major roads providing access to town, along U.S 276, also known as Jonathan Creek Road.
Maggie’s commercial corridor encompasses a short stretch of Soco Road, home to businesses that cater mostly to the seasonal, tourist crowd — a variety of mom and pop-style restaurants, retail shops and mostly overnight accommodations, including approximately 35 motels, hotels and inns, among a number of large campgrounds and RV parks.
For more information, contact the Maggie Valley Area Visitors Bureau, located at 2961 Soco Road, by calling: (828) 926-1686, or toll free at: 800-624-4431, or by visiting: maggievalley.org.
Maggie Valley Facts—
ELEVATION: 3,018 feet
LOCATION: 35°30.52 N, 83°4.1 W
SIZE: 1.6 square miles
POPULATION: 607 at the 2000 census
POPULATION DENSITY: 372.8 per square mile
RACE: 96 percent white, 1 percent African American, .16 percent Latin American, 0.66 percent Native American, 0.66 percent Asian, 0.16 percent from other races
GOVERNMENT: Mayor, four aldermen, town manager
History behind the name —
Maggie Valley is named after Maggie Mae Setzer, a pretty 14-year-old mountain girl with long blond hair and deep blue eyes. On Dec. 21, 1890 — 10 years after Maggie was born — her father, Jack Setzer decided that the isolated wilderness settlement, unnamed at the time, needed its own post office. Setzer, who had been hiring someone to ride 5 miles to the nearest Plott post office to pick up mail for the valley, wrote to the U.S. postal department requesting permission to establish his home as a new post office that would service the area.
Setzer built a wooden box, used to file incoming letters and newspaper and worked out of one corner of his home for six months, keeping careful records, as requested by the postal service.
At the end of six months, Jack submitted his records to the post office department and they accepted his application. Now, the only thing missing was a name for the post office. Jack was asked to submit potential names to the postal service, but the first three names that he submitted were rejected because they had already been used for other North Carolina post offices.
So, Jack submitted the names of his three daughters: Cora, Mettie and Maggie Mae. He also suggested naming the post office Jonathan Creek, after the creek that ran through the Setzer’s home. On May 10, 1904, Jack received an official letter from the U.S. Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock notifying him that post office authorities had made their decision. The official name of the mountain settlement post office was to be Maggie, N.C.
While tourism is the primary employer and lifeblood of Maggie Valley, the population is predominantly seasonal, making Maggie a permanent home to less than 1,000 people.
Many of Maggie’s seasonal residents are second-home owners who retreat to Haywood County for a few weeks, or months of the year to enjoy beautiful views and a temperate climate.
For a town so small in size, Maggie Valley offers guests and residents a lot of activity.
Within miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway, on the fringe of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and bordering two national forests, the charming mountain town is conveniently located in close proximity to an endless array of adventuresome possibilities. Maggie residents will find plenty of opportunity to enjoy the outdoors in a variety of ways, including such favorites as hiking, camping, biking, whitewater rafting, horseback riding and elk viewing in nearby Cataloochee Valley.
Maggie is also home to a number of attractions that draw hundreds of summer tourists each year. Many tourists spend their days watching gunfights at Ghost Town in the Sky, a unique mountaintop western theme park; touring the evolution of America’s 2- and 4-wheel transportation at Wheels Through Time Museum, hiking the backcountry at Cataloochee Ranch or playing a round of golf at the Maggie Valley Country Club.
At night, the valley comes alive with live music shows performed at the Maggie Valley Opry House — home of five time world champion banjo picker Raymond Fairchild; Eaglenest Entertainment; Carolina Nights Dinner Theater or the Springhouse, while some spend their evenings dancing at The Stompin’ Ground or Diamond K Dance Ranch.
The town’s festival grounds, situated beneath a mountainous backdrop, serves as host to a number of annual festivals and events that also draw flocks of guests to the valley each year.
Although tourism is heaviest during spring, summer and autumn months, the growing popularity of Maggie’s winter attractions, like Cataloochee Ski Resort and Tony’s Tube World, is quickly enhancing the town’s appeal as a year-round destination.
Maggie’s official town limits generally encompasses a five-mile linear stretch of U.S. 19, also known as Soco Road, one of only two major roads providing access to town, along U.S 276, also known as Jonathan Creek Road.
Maggie’s commercial corridor encompasses a short stretch of Soco Road, home to businesses that cater mostly to the seasonal, tourist crowd — a variety of mom and pop-style restaurants, retail shops and mostly overnight accommodations, including approximately 35 motels, hotels and inns, among a number of large campgrounds and RV parks.
For more information, contact the Maggie Valley Area Visitors Bureau, located at 2961 Soco Road, by calling: (828) 926-1686, or toll free at: 800-624-4431, or by visiting: maggievalley.org.
Maggie Valley Facts—
ELEVATION: 3,018 feet
LOCATION: 35°30.52 N, 83°4.1 W
SIZE: 1.6 square miles
POPULATION: 607 at the 2000 census
POPULATION DENSITY: 372.8 per square mile
RACE: 96 percent white, 1 percent African American, .16 percent Latin American, 0.66 percent Native American, 0.66 percent Asian, 0.16 percent from other races
GOVERNMENT: Mayor, four aldermen, town manager
History behind the name —
Maggie Valley is named after Maggie Mae Setzer, a pretty 14-year-old mountain girl with long blond hair and deep blue eyes. On Dec. 21, 1890 — 10 years after Maggie was born — her father, Jack Setzer decided that the isolated wilderness settlement, unnamed at the time, needed its own post office. Setzer, who had been hiring someone to ride 5 miles to the nearest Plott post office to pick up mail for the valley, wrote to the U.S. postal department requesting permission to establish his home as a new post office that would service the area.
Setzer built a wooden box, used to file incoming letters and newspaper and worked out of one corner of his home for six months, keeping careful records, as requested by the postal service.
At the end of six months, Jack submitted his records to the post office department and they accepted his application. Now, the only thing missing was a name for the post office. Jack was asked to submit potential names to the postal service, but the first three names that he submitted were rejected because they had already been used for other North Carolina post offices.
So, Jack submitted the names of his three daughters: Cora, Mettie and Maggie Mae. He also suggested naming the post office Jonathan Creek, after the creek that ran through the Setzer’s home. On May 10, 1904, Jack received an official letter from the U.S. Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock notifying him that post office authorities had made their decision. The official name of the mountain settlement post office was to be Maggie, N.C.