BLUF: Museum telling the history of Swain County plus a Gift Shop for Smoky Mountain National Park…read morein the historic circa 1907 courthouse. I love local museums so I was looking forward to checking out the exhibits in the former Swain County courthouse that dates back to 1907. Today the courthouse is the Swain County Heritage Center and in addition to providing exhibits that tell the history of the county, it also has a sizable gift shop related to Smoky Mountains National Park. As a bonus, those planning to visit the National Park can purchase a parking pass at the gift shop. Also, there are restrooms inside the building. I was impressed with how nice the exhibits were and it was helpful to understand the roots of Swain County. I particularly enjoyed learning about the original purpose of the tracks that are now used by the Smoky Mountains Railroad for tourism purposes. The museum is well curated and covers many different aspects of Swain County. For those wanting to pop into the museum, there is street parking in the area as well as a small lot behind The Hotel Everett that is right next to the museum. We appreciated how welcoming the employees were.

Great little museum with all kinds of old tools and articles from the surrounding area they also…read morehave a visitor center with maps . they have also bathrooms and a gift shop. Friendly staff. Parking on the side but if you want to stay longer you have to pay to park.

This place is a jewel! Tucked away on a side street, we easily could have missed it but so glad we…read moredidn't! So many different gemstones and artifacts from around the world and well arranged geographically. This collection spans over 50 years and there are some wonderful finds. Also includes a cell from the old jail. Staff is super friendly and helpful. All of this is provided for free by volunteers so donations are appreciated but not required.

I enjoyed my visit to the Franklin Gem & Mineral Museum. It's housed in a very old building that…read moreactually used to be a jail. I can't think of a better place for a museum that holds so many valuables. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that they don't charge anything for admission. I made sure to buy something from the gift store because of this. The exhibits are located in several rooms on the first and second floor. As we started looking in the first room one of the volunteers was pretty much shadowing us. At first I thought this was rather odd, but I actually ended up being glad that he did. There are so many gems crammed into each display case and the placards only listed what the gem was. The volunteer was able to explain a lot of details and interesting facts about many of the pieces on display. If we would have been just looking at the pieces ourselves we would have missed out on a lot of interesting information. My favorite exhibit was the fluorescent rock display. When you looked at them they appeared to be just normal rocks. Once you pushed a button the room darkened and a black light came on, revealing some amazing colors. Upstairs they had an old jail cell you could go into. It was an interesting look into the building's past. It won't take you long to complete your tour of the museum but I felt it was definitely worth the time to visit.

My bride and me went in on a whim on a getaway to get away from the kids and the jobs. Being a guy…read morewho made his living as a historian, does living history as a hobby, and is an Ulster Scot transplant by way of about 12 generation in a heavily celticized part of SC? Aye! We're going in! I was pleasantly surprised with some of the items. Actually, most of them. Most of these types of stores are campy, kitschy, and have about as much knowledge of the history of the people who migrated from there to here as our pet cat. This one stood out as a positive experience. Being a native of the north eastern part of South Carolina and roots over on the south eastern North Carolina side? This place was definitely applicable to me. I bought my clan ancient tartan tie that I now wear to church, and keep it with my other corps of cadets tie from The Citadel to cheese my wife at every opportunity. Still lusting after that tactical kilt, though. The folks for whom I'm working would not be amused by breaking uniform. But you only live once, right? The museum was an interesting side trip, and was worth the couple of bucks I paid for it. If you're expecting the Smithsonian, the Imperial War Museum, or anything like that? You were either drunk or stupid when you went in the door. It's a family business! And for family business? It was well done. All around? I'm very positive experience. And being the dolt that I am? I forgot my wallet and the proprietor walked across the street and gave it to me. A true Scot. Give these folks your business! Often! As for these other reviews I've seen of rudeness? I think you misunderstand the culture? It's very informal and very blunt. Otherwise would be just plain inhospitable.

It cost $8 per person to get into the museum so we didn't do it…read more We were short on time. We did look around the store and they have lots of lots of Scottish outfits anything your little heart could desire. I am parked Scottish and English. I do love all the plaid stuff.

Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Not…read moreentertaining, not reliable, not a real tarot reader.

This is my second reading with Rebecca in the last two years :) she is beyond gifted but also a…read moregreat mentor. She is so compassionate, kind, soothing, and patient when it comes to my questions. Not only are her readings accurate in relation to my situations - she gives great advice on how to alter the negativity surrounding the energy in my situations. She answers all questions thoroughly and ensures to show light to the difficult aspects of my current circumstances :) I highly recommend her to anyone.

Lovely little stop on our way through Great Smoky Mountains National Park, it had some really great…read morebuildings to teach us about how travelers used to cross these areas and a genuinely fascinating insight on how life was just a couple hundred years ago. Staff at the center and out by the museum were all very friendly and informative, grounds were lovely, we saw a bunch of wildlife on our way in, and there was a lovely little (1 mile or so?) hiking trail along a creek just past the old buildings.

Stopped at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center on our way into the Smokies and quickly walked through…read morethe Mountain Farm Museum that is on a trail right beside the visitor center. They have a small collection of historic log buildings beside a creek, so it was very picturesque. They also have some pigs and chickens roaming the grounds. They also had a staff person on one of the porches helping to answer questions. I thought it was nicely done and handy for those just passing through.

I contacted this office last winter (of 2017). Mr. Allred, the Services Officer, got right back to…read moreme. He is a very nice man who cares about helping others. His office is located on the third floor of the courthouse. Open eight a.m. to five p.m. Mr. Allred can help with: -Pensions -Compensation -Education Benefits -Medical Care -Burial Benefits -Discharge Upgrades -Loans Terrific service all around.

kinda torqued off about what should have been a 90-minute drive becoming four hours of wheel time…read morebecause AlphaBetCo started off showing me this venue right up 77 not way out west... but the map is only as useless as the folks publishing it so there's that :-\ the actual real life place is pretty impressive to behold: wall of glass is pleasingly reflective during the day but at night the lights shine through displaying the two-story lobby in all it's glory. our hotel backed up to the property so after dropping my lovely bride at the will call I went back and parked and walked over... yeah common sense! clean and nicely appointed upstairs and down, elevator or stairs to make the switch so you can come or go as you please. couple of snack bars on the main floor, and another for the balcony. no beer, no wine, just coffee and sodas and popcorn and stuff like that at reasonable prices so find your seat and relax... seats are a bit narrow but not horribly so, a gentle reminder to drop a couple dozen or so kilos :-\ acoustics are good and I can't imagine a bad seat in the house except the guy running the sound board tonight missed it "by-that-much" since the talky parts were fine but the occasional singy bit got clipped from the program... restrooms could use a little more room but that holds true of all venues... still not a bad night out and I got to sit in the balcony holding hands with my best girl all night :-)

I bragged about this place since entering. It's really beautiful but that's where it ends. I'm an…read moreaverage sized petite female (just pregnant) and I literally had to squeeze my hips in the seat. I look around at all the larger adults and I don't know how they are sitting here. It boast to be a 1500 seat concert hall but realistically it should only be about 1000 seats. This will keep me from returning. All I can think of is how uncomfortable this is and the concert hasn't begun. Think about guests comfort and not just how much $$ you can squeeze out of the place. Disappointing

Beautiful merchandise! The folks in this establishment are…read morevery nice and friendly towards folks visiting. They are also family, child friendly. Also, fresh/clean water out front for the four legged family members

My favorite gallery here! Very nice and friendly. Run by artists. Many wonderful artists to see…read morehere!