Our Blue Ridge Towns

Planned as a utopian settlement—a place where upper-class English second-born sons could live hard-working, honest lives—tiny Rugby is a lesson in perseverance.

The mountains are full of population-5,000ish towns that offer the promise of, well, genuine small-town charm and welcome.

The pandemic has caused havoc. Can our small mountain towns survive in its wake?

A Valentine’s Day Visit to a North Carolina Town. Our columnist found a lot to love about this small town in the southwest corner of the state.

One key to a city on the rise: “A lot of really good people doing really good things.”