Welcome to Banner Elk-Naming the Town

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Start tour in Banner House Museum Parking lot. Select "Follow Me" at the bottom right of your screen for better navigation. Each tour stop will feature brief directions to the next stop at the end of the information paragraphs. Welcome to Banner Elk! It is an odd name for a town, isn't it? Well, you see, in the 1850's, five brothers from the Banner family each brought their wives and children from their family home in Surry County on the Virginia border to what was then a very remote area along the Elk River (this lovely clear waterway that runs in front of the Banner House Museum along Highway 194). Other families arrived around the same time, but there were so many members of the Banner family that the area was called “Banners at Elk River,” later shortened to “Banner’s Elk.” In 1911, the town was incorporated and the “apostrophe S” was dropped making the name simply “Banner Elk.” (See Image 2 for an early view entering town on Shawneehaw Avenue) Walk along the grassy shoulder of Hickory Nut Gap Road and stop in the yard of the Banner House Museum, just in front of the sign facing Hickory Nut Gap Road. Please move safely off the road while you read the information.