Introduction
Haywood County is located in the western portion of the State of North Carolina and serves as the largest county by population in the portion of the state west of the City of Asheville. The smaller City of Waynesville serves as the county seat, and the artificial Lake Junaluska to the north anchors a significant unincorporated community and a novelty residential area similar to gated communities located elsewhere throughout the nation.
Geography
The City of Waynesville is located within a region straddling the edges of the Great Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains, depending on the associated side of the area. Usually, the community is considered a core community of the Great Smoky Mountains; however, the eastern portion of the county is largely closer to sight of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Attractions
Most of the attractions associated with Haywood County, North Carolina, are located within the City of Waynesville, including, but not limited to, the Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts in the Shelton House of History, Heritage, and Crafts and a number of art conservatories associated with the smaller city as with numerous other Western North Carolina (WNC) communities. Apart from the Waynesville Conservatory, the primary art galleries associated with the smaller city include the Curatory Gallery (Art Contempo), the T Pennington Art Gallery, and the Twigs and Leaves Gallery. The Buckner Gallery is also located within the area, albeit further to the northeast.
