From producing cotton yarn to making history as District 12 in The Hunger Games, the Henry River Mill Village in Hickory offers visitors a step back into the last century and the rich heritage of North Carolina’s mill towns.
The promise of jobs and prosperity attracted many, and before long, the town grew to incorporate more than 20 buildings, supporting a population that worked at the local mill, which produced fine yarn. But like every boom town we write about, the good times were destined to go bust.
The Henry River Mill burned in the 1970s, and the town was abandoned by the 1990s when the last residents split. In 2012, Hollywood came calling and pumped new life into the village when it became the perfect setting for the post-apocalyptic District 12 featured in The Hunger Games.
Wade Shepherd owned the town and died in 2015, two years before Henry River Mill Village was sold. For almost 30 years, the village had sat abandoned, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 9, 2019.
The area is said to be haunted.
Written By: John G. Clark Jr.
Image: John G. Clark Jr.
