Saxapahaw, N.C.

The town of Saxapahaw, N.C., may sound more like a sneeze than a name. Yet for a town nobody has heard of, it has its wondrous rustic charm, one that effortlessly combines the old and the new. Half artsy hipster and half pure backcountry North Carolina, the town ensconces about a three-mile radius, interrupted by a bridge across the grand Haw River. The feeling of the town is one of enduring openness—in people, activities and space. Buildings are constructed with old-age brick and hardwood floor, but brim with modern technology and style. Doors are perpetually open, buildings are lined with porches replete with white-washed rocking chairs, every third room is an open food-and-wine-stocked kitchen, and people—including outsiders like Nate, my photographer, and myself, are allowed to explore as we please.

The day-life of the town centers on artsier pursuits. There’s an art gallery with three stories that is a veritable museum, featuring exceptional local art—“so much more than country art,” according to owner Suzanne Collins—within a 30-mile radius. There’s a puppet gallery, Paperhand Puppet Intervention, which features room-sized puppets, used for shows around the Triangle area (there’s one soon at Morehead Planetarium, apparently). During the summer, the town ripples with free live music and farmer’s markets, and down the banks of the green hills and fields that crest throughout the town, the Haw River flows enthusiastically—open for hiking, kayaking and doing whatever else you would like. Apparently, the only thing you’re not allowed to do here is litter.

At night, Saxaphaw transforms into the shorter, more risqué “SXPHW.” The town illuminates itself with Christmas lights. Not a single dark window is to be found; every railing and balcony softly glows. The town flows with wine, beer, good times, from the vineyard to the pub to the airy concert hall of the Haw River Ballroom. On concert night, the venue pulsates with the sounds of the Johnny Folsom Four, a Johnny Cash revival band, a perfect aesthetic for the charmingly contrasting town of Saxapahaw and its simple yet modern charisma. The line-up for the rest of this season includes Megafaun and Archers of Loaf. At only 45 minutes drive from Durham, it’s definitely worth a visit—or two, or three or 10. Nate and I are already looking at apartment listings.