On Location: The Hunger Games | District 12

Coincidentally, this is just in time for Halloween.... I know it's been awhile since the first Hunger Games movie came out, but I heard that part of the movie depicting District 12 was filmed near Charlotte.  One day this summer we decided to make a spontaneous trip. The drive was about an hour Northwest of Charlotte and it actually makes for a pretty good day trip. It's right near the town of Hickory which is a pretty cute place. We took the scenic route via Highway 321 and it was very pretty and very green. I recommend going that way if you are traveling from Charlotte. 

The location is called Henry River Mill Village. It's currently a ghost town {my first one!} but was built in the early 1900's and suffered several fires over the years.  It was a small mill town that manufactured fine cotton yarns. By the time it shut down in the 1960's, the mill had produced 12,000 spindles and fine yarn for creating lace. 

Recognize the Bakery from the movie? It's probably the only thing I actually recognized. If I go back and re-watch it, I'm sure it would all make sense but I think the most scenic part is the bakery. 

Legend is that this place is haunted. Doesn't it look the part? I would not want to be around these parts at night. But I'm also the person who never wanted to go graveyard hunting, etc. 

It looks so calm and peaceful now. 

The entire village is actually up for sale for a million bucks. What a steal, right? Well, there is no electricity and you have to keep the structures standing since they are on the register of National Historic Places. But, other than that... 

Aren't the broken windows eerie? 

We had such a fun time exploring this village and a few other people popped by while we were there. Technically, there are a bunch of no trespassing signs, so we probably weren't supposed to be there, but oh well. It was a fun adventure. 

Have you been? Do you want to visit? 

Travel Fully,