Ô Columbus County NORTH CAROLINA VISITOR and RELOCATION GUIDE thecolumbuschamber.com #keepitcolumbus #KeepItColumbus | 1 The Lumber River Visitors Center, opened January 3, 2011 as a place where locals as well as visitors can get information Lumber River about Fair Bluff and the Lumber River. Information and brochures are found in the Visitors Center telling about great places to Welcome Visitors Center visit in Fair Bluff, like our River Walk and our Depot Museum. Established through a grant from the N.C. Tobacco Trust Commission, operated under the Guidelines of the N.C. Department of ETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT OF HE OLUMBUS Transportation, aided by the Town of Fair L T C Bluff and the Greater Fair Bluff Chamber CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND TOURISM. of Commerce, the Visitors Center is located at 1140 Main Street, right in the middle of town. Two main Highways pass by the Center making up Fair Bluff's Main Street, N.C. 904 and US Hwy 76. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC. The Visitors Center is set up for meetings Whether you are planning to visit relocate and special events. Tours of the River Walk are featured and history of the City and the here or just pass through you will find that Lumber River. our county and towns are unique, quaint, and Please stop and visit us as you come through welcoming communities. Our small-town our beautiful town at 1140 Main St., Fair Bluff, N.C. Call us at 910-649-7202, or atmosphere is ideal for raising a family or set- email us at [email protected] . Join us on tling in for retirement. Don’t let our size fool Facebook at Facebook/Fair Bluff N.C. you. We have a lot going on in Columbus County! Throughout the pages of this guide, you’ll get a glimpse of what makes Columbus Visit Beautiful Fair Bluff County special. Whether you are an outdoor enthusiast looking to kayak down our rivers, or enjoy the sights and sounds of one of our many cultural festivals, or simply desire to stroll “Mayberryesque” style through the downtown of one of our beautiful communities, Columbus County has much to offer. I hope you will enjoy your CALLING ALL COOKERS! time here, whether for a day, a week, or a lifetime. -Jennie Holcomb 6th Annual SAVE THE DATE! April 28-29 2017 Presented by the Greater Fair Bluff Chamber of Commerce For More Information, go to http://www.fairbluff.com/bbq-on-the-bluff or call 910-649-7202 2 | thecolumbuschamber.com #KeepItColumbus | 3 A spot to relax at Lake Waccamaw // Paddlers ready for Take the Lake // A time-honored tradition. TABLE OF CONTENTS // Father’s Day paddling along the Waccamaw River // Cyclists during annual Take the Lake events ecotourism Photo credits: On the cover: Fuller Royal things to do & see...p.6 Kayaking at Lake Les High Waccamaw, Mark Gilchrist ecotourism...p.7 children at NC Doug Sasser accommodations...p.9 Museum of Jennifer Holcomb Natural Sciences, Shalon Smith festivals & events...p.12 family bike Liz McLean ride, Southern Grant Merritt healthcare...p.16 hospitality at one Emily Batchelor business & industry...p.18 of our B&B’s instagram scavenger hunt...p.21 putting down roots...p.23 COLUMBUS COUNTY IS ONE OF THE SOUTHEAST’S education & childcare...p.24 premier hunting and fishing locales. our communities...p.26 Covering nearly 1,000 square miles, major map...p.28 swaths of the county are forested or inter- twined with fertile fields. Beautiful Lake arts & culture...p.32 Waccamaw, one of the largest natural famous faces...p.38 lakes between Florida and New York, is survival stories of a trailing spouse...p.39 well known for its schools of white perch. Three wild and scenic rivers, the Lumber, faith & worship...p.41 Waccamaw and Cape Fear, wind their way food & fun...p.44 through scenic lowlands on the way to the day tripper...p.46 Atlantic Ocean and provide bass, catfish, preferred business directory...p.48 crappie and bream fishing. 4 | thecolumbuschamber.com #KeepItColumbus | 5 things things to do to do andsee andsee The NC Museum of Natural Sciences // Lake Waccamaw State Park Face painting at Bug Fest at the Museum of Natural Sciences // Lake Waccamaw State Park Bug Fest at the Museum of Natural Sciences // encompasses Lake Waccamaw, a shallow, Carolina Bays lake that’s NC Museum of Natural Sciences one of the largest natural bodies of The museum experience in Whiteville is modeled after waters from New York to Florida, proven interactive programs at the Museum’s Raleigh-based plus more than 2,000 acres of Nature Research Center, Nature Education Center and the forest and shoreline. The lake is Prairie Ridge Ecostation. The Whiteville museum features an home to several rare species of Investigation Lab, Naturalist Center, Outdoor Nature PlayS- fish and mollusks, and the park pace and Discovery Forest. It offers education and inspiration contains naturally growing carniv- to visitors free of charge. orous plants such as the Venus flytrap. The park has a boat ramp, primitive campsites, hiking trails, a long boardwalk that extends into the 3X5-mile lake, and a visitor’s center with regular programs. NORTH CAROLINA NATURALIST CENTER DISCOVERY FORESTMUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES NATURE PLAYSPACE Historic Railroad Depots INVESTIGATE LAB AT WHITEVILLE Columbus County has six historic railroad depots, four of which are museums. The depots in Lake Waccamaw, Chadbourn (shown here), Fair Bluff and Tabor City naturalsciences.org/whiteville • 910.914.4185 have artifacts and exhibits that represent their respective towns’ history and the history of the rail- road. The Riegelwood depot serves as that community’s library, and 415 SOUTH MADISON ST. WHITEVILLE the Whiteville depot, known as HOURS Vineland Station, is the town’s civic TU E S DAY–SATU R DAY center and hosts a large number of 9AM–5PM events. It was one of the first brick depots in the state. 6 | thecolumbuschamber.com #KeepItColumbus | 7 A runner completes in Take the Lake // Chukar hunting on a private pre- serve. // A father and son // Camp- ecotourism ing at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Accommodations COLUMBUS IS ONE OF THE STATE’S most bed & breakfast Laundry Meeting Non-Smoker Pets Internet Rooms Facilities Space Rooms Allowed Access rural counties, and there is a welcom- Lake Shore Lodge Pool ing tradition for outdoorsmen. We 2014 Lake Shore Dr., Lake Waccamaw, NC 28450 3 No No Yes No Yes 910-646-3748 No offer expansive areas for hunting bear www.lakewaccamawbandb.com or deer in the massive Green Swamp, The Madison House Bed & Breakfast Inn 5 No Yes Yes No Yes wading the lowlands and beaver ponds 101 N. Madison St., Whiteville, NC 28472 Yes for wood ducks, or plying the fields for 910-640-2132 quail, turkey or dove on both private www.whitevillenc.com/madison house 1 Yes No Yes No Yes and public lands. Outfitters, some with Weaver’s Landing Lake/pier 121 Weaver Dr., Lake Waccamaw, NC 28450 cabins for overnight guests, are avail- 910-646-3832 able. Handicap Meeting Non-Smoker Pets Internet Accessible Rooms Allowed Access hotels & motels Rooms Pool Space “Fishing is a Budget Inn - 914 N. Brown St., Yes No Yes No No Hwy. 74/76 Business, Chadbourn, NC 28431 28 No 910-654-5035 time-honored www.budgetinn.com Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Econolodge - 503 J.K. Powell Blvd., 91 Yes Hwy. 701 Bypass, Whiteville, NC 28472 tradition... 910-642-2378 www.econolodge.com Fishing is a time-honored tradition No No Yes Yes Yes Economy Inn - 1406 E. Fifth St., 25 No here. Whether they use a cane pole to Hwy. 701 N., Tabor City, NC 28463 wrestle in a feisty redbreast in one or 910-653-3169 our black water rivers or casting into a Yes Yes Yes No Yes Quality Inn - 1415 N. J.K. Powell Blvd., 62 Yes frenzied school of white perch at Lake Hwy. 701 Bypass, Whiteville, NC 28472 Waccamaw, fishermen will not go 910-641-0644 www.qualityinn.com home disappointed. Laundry RV Store/ campgrounds Cabins Pool Facilities Spaces Arcade Snackbar Golf Carts Carrollwoods RV Campground 0 95 Dots Dr., Tabor City, NC 28463 No Yes 22 No Yes No 910-653-5538 www.grapefullsistersvineyard.com/carrollwoods.html 4 Lumber River Campground Yes No 20 No Yes No 426 Tar Landing, Evergreen, NC 28438 910-770-1159 www.lumberrivertrailride.com 15 Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park @ Daddy Joe’s Yes Yes 137 Yes Yes Yes 626 Richard Wright Rd., Tabor City, NC 28463 877-668-8586, 910-653-2155 www.taborcityjellystone.com No Yes No Boys and Girls Home Exhibition Center 0 No No 66 205 Top Tobacco Rd., Lake Waccamaw, NC 28450 910-477-0277 www.boysandgirlshomesofnc.com 8 | thecolumbuschamber.com #KeepItColumbus | 9 On every page, in every story, there’s an opportunity to leave your mark. colliersjewelers.com At International Paper, we embrace the opportunity to be good neighbors, particularly when it comes to educating children in the communities where we live and work. 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