Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Hickory (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Henry River Mill Village, Hickory Museum of Art, and Oakwood Historic District. Also, be sure to include Harris Arcade in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Hickory (North Carolina).
Table of Contents
Henry River Mill Village
Henry River Mill Village is a small textile village in Burke County, North Carolina. It is an unaltered but now-decaying example of an early industrial environment in Burke County. Today the remaining buildings of the Henry River mill village are traces of the industrial heritage of the county.
Built as a planned community, the village was a self-contained complex with its own mill, dam, water and fire-protection systems, and company store. In later years the village gained amenities such as walkways, terraced green spaces, and field stone retaining walls. Today most of the village's original buildings remain sited along a small gorge of the Henry River, just west of Catawba County, North Carolina.
The site is private property but can be driven through via Henry River Road. It is located a short distance from Interstate 40 via an exit near Hildebran. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.[1]
Hickory Museum of Art
Museum in Hickory, North Carolina. Hickory Museum of Art is an art museum in Hickory, North Carolina which holds exhibitions, events, and public educational programs based on a permanent collection of 19th to 21st century American art. The museum also features a long-term exhibition of Southern contemporary folk art, showcasing the work of self-taught artists from around the region. North Carolina's second-oldest museum, Hickory Museum of Art was established in 1944.[2]
Address: 243 3rd Ave NE, 28601 Hickory
Oakwood Historic District
Oakwood Historic District is a national historic district located at Hickory, Catawba County, North Carolina. It includes work designed by architects Wheeler & Stearn. It encompasses 50 contributing buildings, 1 contributing site, and 1 contributing structure in an upscale residential section of Hickory. It includes notable examples of Colonial Revival, Bungalow / American Craftsman, and Queen Anne style architecture dating from the 1880s to 1930s. Notable buildings include the Robert E. Simpson House, Walker Lyerly House, Cline-Wilfong House, Abel A. Shuford, II House, Paul A. Setzer House, John H. P. Cilley House, Charles H. Geitner House, Benjamin F. Seagle House, David L. Russell House, Robert W. Stevenson House, Jones W. Shuford House, Dr. Robert T. Hambrick House, Alfred P. Whitener House, and J. Summie Propst House.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, and enlarged in 2019.[3]
Address: 366 4th St NW, Hickory
Harris Arcade
Harris Arcade, also known as the Arcade Building, is a historic commercial building located at Hickory, Catawba County, North Carolina. It was built in 1938, and is a two-story, brick Commercial Style building, with Tudor Revival-Style arched arcade openings. It features an eight-foot wide arcade passage with a broken-tile terrazzo floor and intact late-interwar period commercial space.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.[4]
Address: 221 1st Ave NW, 28601-6149 Hickory
Harper House/Hickory History Center
Museum, History museum
Address: 310 N Center St, 28601-5031 Hickory
The Crossing at Hollar Mill
Hollar Hosiery Mills-Knit Sox Knitting Mills is a historic knitting mill located at Hickory, Catawba County, North Carolina. It consists of two mill brick manufacturing buildings and a boiler house that were connected by a hyphen in the mid-1960s. The first mill building was built about 1930, and is a one- to two-story, 16 bay, brick veneer structure. The boiler house was also built about 1930, and is a small, brick building, with its flat roof and terra cotta coping. The hosiery yarn mill was built about 1940, and is two-story, six bay by 10 bay, brick-veneered building. Both mill buildings feature banks of steel-sash factory windows. The knitting mill operated until 1968.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.[5]
Address: 883 Highland Ave SE, 28602-1106 Hickory
The Shuford House and Gardens
Relax in park, Park, Lunch, Dinner, Restaurant, Eat and drink, Historical place, Architecture, Scenic walking areas, Fountain
Address: 534 3rd Ave NW, 28601-4918 Hickory
Shuford House
Museum in Hickory. Shuford House, also known as Maple Grove, is a historic home located at Hickory, Catawba County, North Carolina. It was built in 1875, and is a two-story, three bay frame dwelling with a central hall plan. It features a two-story porch supported by four pairs of pillars.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Maple Grove has been restored by the Hickory Landmarks Society and operated as a late 19th-century historic house museum.[6]
Lee & Helen George House
Lee & Helen George House is a historic home located at Hickory, Catawba County, North Carolina. It was built in 1951, and is a one-story, Redwood weatherboard sheathed Modernist / Usonian-style dwelling. The house consists of a center main block with projecting rooms on each end of the façade, a rear wing, and an attached carport.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.[7]
Lyerly Full Fashioned Mill
The Lyerly Full Fashioned Mill is a historic hosiery mill located in Hickory, Catawba County, North Carolina. It was built in two stages between 1930 and 1934, and is a two-story, rectangular, nine-by-twelve bay brick building. It features a Moderne-Style 2 1/2-story stair tower. The mill remained in operation until 1957, after which the building was used as a warehouse for a number of years.
The mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007, but remained vacant until 2014, when the property was sold to Transportation Insight, a global multi-modal logistics company. The building underwent a significant rehabilitation between 2014 and 2015 to become the headquarters and flagship building for Transportation Insight's corporate campus. The property was designated a local historic landmark by the City of Hickory in 2016 and Transportation Insight received the 2016 North Carolina Main Street Award of Merit for Best Historic Rehabilitation for its work to save and rehabilitate the mill building.[8]
Hickory Municipal Building
Hickory Municipal Building is a historic municipal building located at Hickory, Catawba County, North Carolina. It was built in 1920–1921, and is a two-story brick building in the Classical Revival style. It has a three-story auditorium. The front facade features a one-story limestone portico, protecting the center entrance. In 1977, the city administrative offices were relocated to the new city hall. It houses the Hickory Community Theatre.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.[9]