Having an eye for history and being drawn to old things, James Keith and his wife Amanda are currently renovating the NuWray Hotel in Burnsville — the longest continuously operating hotel in North Carolina. Built in 1833, the hotel exemplifies WNC as a long-standing tourist destination.

The NuWray Hotel was built early in Burnsville's history, before Yancey County was formed. When the hotel was built nearly 200 years ago, many people arrived by stagecoach. Travelers had to make frequent stops, and many towns were formed around popular stopping points. Burnsville, home to logging and manufacturing industries with a relatively close proximity to Asheville as well as its own mountain scenery and activities, was one of those towns.

Hospitality was critical to the area’s early travelers, and in addition to providing lodging, the early NuWray owners owned a farm and canned vegetables, which provided for a ‘southern smorgasbord’ style restaurant within the hotel. Visitors were served family-style meals including items like smoked ham and fried chicken while music was played on a reginaphone. In the early 1900s, the popularity of the hotel and its restaurant landed it in national publications.

“It attracted visitors, many of them famous, because of its traditions,” Amanda Keith said. “At its height, the hotel had 40 rooms. It was always a bustling place.”

Similarly to the Keiths, who are now on their third historical renovation, many visitors are attracted to destinations rich with history. Travelers visit places like Burnsville just for the ambiance of staying in a historic hotel, as places like the NuWray offer a sense of nostalgia and a deep connection to history.

Since COVID, the popularity of visits to small towns has increased. The Keiths agree that an increasing number of visitors to WNC may choose an outlying town that offers the experience of a mountain vacation without the crowds of Asheville, and with that, they also create charming, memorable experiences.

“The unique story is really the town,” Amanda Keith said. “We have a charming town square, a friendly feel, and a close community connection. It’s harkening back to old times, and it’s reassuring that those things still happen in today’s world. It’s not a television show; it’s just the culture here.”

While tourists visit WNC from all over the US, many from the deep south, the Keiths said they see a lot of people visiting small mountain towns like Burnsville from nearby metro areas like Asheville and Johnson City. 

“It’s a different aesthetic for these visitors,” James Keith said. “They like these quaint places, and historic places in small towns allow them to feel like they’ve really left the city behind.”

The aesthetics are an important part of the draw for many visitors, but the historical preservation is an important aspect for the entire community. Once the use of an old building has changed or a building has become defunct, it tends to go away, and the Keiths wanted to make sure that didn’t happen to the NuWray. Their goal is to have it in great condition for another century of service, giving it a second chance while preserving the history.

“We’re not just looking at the return on our investment,” James Keith said. “It would have been easier and cheaper to tear it down and rebuild it, but that would have been a huge loss for the community. This preservation is for visitors and the tourist tradition, but more so for the locals. We want to be here for them because the tourists are going to come regardless, but this building’s history is so important for Burnsville.”

The Keiths’ renovation plans include maintaining aspects of the hotel that have historically been a draw for tourists, including a restaurant which will serve southern-style, classic dinners similar to what has been offered in the past. They plan to maintain the mountain-lodge feel of the lobby, offer rooms with clawfoot tubs, open a downstairs speakeasy, and finish the décor with antique furnishings.

“Guests entering the hotel will feel just like guests did when they entered in the 1920s, but with a balance of modern comforts and the historic feel,” Amanda Keith said. “We want people to keep coming here for the hotel, but in reality, the things that draw people to this area are the same things that have drawn them here for hundreds of years. They come for the outdoors, the refreshment, and the southern hospitality. It’s the overall beauty of these mountains; it’s a place where people can really get away."