Nu-Wray Inn
Encyclopedia
The Nu Wray Inn is an historic hotel in Burnsville, North Carolina
. It was built in 1833 at the time Yancey County was formed and a year before Burnsville was established. It was originally built of logs and had eight bedrooms and a dining room and kitchen. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. http://www.hpo.dcr.state.nc.us/nrlist.htm
Thomas Wolfe
spent the night there in 1929 when he was a witness at a murder trial in Burnsville. Elvis Presley
and William Sidney Porter (O. Henry
) were also guests.
It was owned by the same family for a century until the death of Wray family patriarch Rush Wray.
Writing about the Inn in 1941 the journalist Jonathan W. Daniels
said:
Burnsville, North Carolina
Burnsville is a town in Yancey County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,623 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Yancey County.-Geography:Burnsville is located at ....
. It was built in 1833 at the time Yancey County was formed and a year before Burnsville was established. It was originally built of logs and had eight bedrooms and a dining room and kitchen. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. http://www.hpo.dcr.state.nc.us/nrlist.htm
Thomas Wolfe
Thomas Wolfe
Thomas Clayton Wolfe was a major American novelist of the early 20th century.Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels, plus many short stories, dramatic works and novellas. He is known for mixing highly original, poetic, rhapsodic, and impressionistic prose with autobiographical writing...
spent the night there in 1929 when he was a witness at a murder trial in Burnsville. Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
and William Sidney Porter (O. Henry
O. Henry
O. Henry was the pen name of the American writer William Sydney Porter . O. Henry's short stories are well known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings.-Early life:...
) were also guests.
It was owned by the same family for a century until the death of Wray family patriarch Rush Wray.
Writing about the Inn in 1941 the journalist Jonathan W. Daniels
Jonathan W. Daniels
Jonathan Worth Daniels was an American author, editor, and White House Press Secretary. Daniels' term serving as White House Press Secretary was the shortest since the inception of the position in 1937. He held the position in 1945 under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman...
said:
Everything is on the table in the Nu Wray Hotel at Burnsville. Nobody waits to give an order. They bring it in, three or four kinds of meat, all the vegetables of the whole mountain countryside. There are dishes of homemade jellies and preserves. The country ham is excellent. The stout tables do not groan but the stuffed guest rising sometimes does. It is country plenty, country cooked and country served, but in proof that the persisting homesickness for country eating is not entirely based on legend.