The Library Kitchen & Bar earns the 2025 Village Heritage Award for its thoughtful restoration of the Monteith-Jennings House, honoring Cashiers’ architectural legacy.

Explore Highlands’ past with a self-guided walking tour of 17 historic sites, complete with QR-coded stories and
year-round access.

Storyteller Naomi Chastain takes us back to a 1950s Christmas, where the magic of Christmas morning was matched only by the playful mischief of Christmas Eve, filling hearts with laughter and warmth.

As Highlands celebrates its 150th anniversary, the Highlands Historical Society invites you to explore the town’s rich past through a new audio tour—featuring seventeen landmark buildings, including the storied site of Cleaveland’s Grocery.

Known for her warmth and storytelling, Naomi Chastain looks back on the quiet courage that helped her find her voice—thanks to a teacher’s kindness and a journey that shaped the woman Highlands knows and loves today.

The Cherokee once called Macon and Jackson counties home, where towns like Cowee and Nikwasi thrived amid sacred landscapes, resilient traditions, and legends that still echo through the mountains of Western North Carolina.

While Bobby Jones remains a legendary figure in Highlands golf history, the roots of the sport on the Plateau stretch back decades earlier, with pioneers, pasture courses, and community clubs shaping a vibrant golfing tradition that continues to thrive in the mountain air.

Long before the Plateau became known for its summer festivals and scenic vistas, it bore fruit—rare apples with roots in Cherokee heritage and stories nearly lost to time. Their quiet survival speaks to the land’s memory, and to those who still listen for its whispers.

On September 27, the Highlands Historical Society hosts its annual Descendants’ Reception—celebrating families with 100+ years of local roots and inviting the community to preserve its history through storytelling, music, and shared memories.