There may be no better time of the year than a cool, sunny, fall day. After Mother Nature’s dazzling spring and summer performances, she prepares to exit the stage. Before departing, she blasts us with one last vibrant show of color that leaves us mesmerized and cheering for more! With a bow, she exits with a promise to return when the cycle of renewal is ready to burst forth again.

I was driving on a beautiful fall morning in North Carolina when I rolled into this dream. I didn’t stay in the car for long.

Waxhaw is located south of Charlotte, North Carolina and is experiencing significant population and economic growth as Charlotte continues to stimulate growth in all towns surrounding it. 

In 1888, a railroad link was completed in Waxhaw that still runs through the center of town (image above and below). 

The railroad set the stage for a cotton mill to be built now that its production could be exported to other cities. That cotton mill still exists but, like almost all mills throughout the South, it fell silent and abandoned when less expensive cotton imports became available. The mill has since been renovated and repurposed for condominiums, restaurants, and retail shops. 

Waxhaw’s Main Street is on the National Register of Historic places and there are several architecturally significant historic homes in the area. 

About Waxhaw

The “Waxhaw” name comes from the Native American tribe called the Waxhaws that lived in this area before English settlers arrived. There are several notable historic events that took place in Waxhaw. The first gold in North America was discovered here. Andrew Jackson, America’s 7th President, was born in this area in 1767. The area was also part of an early colonial trading trail between Native Americans and European settlers that led up through the Piedmont region of North Carolina and into Virginia.