The Town of Waynesville was founded in 1810 by Colonel Robert Love, an American Revolutionary War soldier. He donated land for the courthouse, jail, and public square, and named the town after his former commander in the war, General "Mad" Anthony Wayne.
Waynesville also has a connection to another war. With news of General Robert E. Lee's surrender traveling slowly, the American Civil War continued in Western North Carolina. The final shots of that war, east of the Mississippi River, were fired near Sulphur Springs and General James Martin surrendered honorably on May 9, 1865 (See The "Battle" of Waynesville below.)
The Town of Waynesville was incorporated in 1871. In July 1995, the towns of Hazelwood and Waynesville merged into one community and continued to grow with a population today of almost 10,000.
[edit]Frog Level
Frog Level Historic District
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| Location: | Roughly bounded by Commerce and Boundary Sts., Water St. and Richland Creek, Depot St., and 80 Commerce St.,Waynesville, North Carolina |
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| Coordinates: | 35°29′40″N82°59′26″W |
| Area: | 4.9 acres (2.0 ha) |
| Architectural style: | Early Commercial, Romanesque |
| Governing body: | Local |
| NRHP Reference#: | 03000854[5] |
| Added to NRHP: | August 28, 2003 |
Waynesville began to see development after arrival of the railroad in 1884. The agricultural, lumber and tourism industries in Waynesville and Haywood County began to thrive as access to the west was opened up.
The area of Waynesville located along Richland Creek, northwest and down hill from Main Street, was where the railroad tracks were laid. Until this time the area had been essentially a swampland, with a few scattered buildings but no major development. Once the depot was built and the train arrived this section was developed. It was given the name of Frog Level. Frog Level was so named by the local community because of its low-lying location along Richland Creek, the "frog level" when the area flooded.
Downtown and the nearby Frog Level commercial centers of Waynesville continued to be the central focus for social life, transportation, and wholesale and retail businesses through the 1940s. Businesses in the Frog Level area in the 1930s and 1940s included hardware stores, farm supplies, coal sales, auto dealers and garages, furniture stores, wholesale groceries, warehouses and lumber companies, all businesses dependent on the railroad. However, as the automobile became the primary mode of transportation for most residents, the railroad declined in importance. This in turn lead to a shift of business away from Frog Level. The last passenger train arrived in Waynesville in 1949, and freight trains pass through Frog Level twice daily, with most trains continuing on to Sylva.
By the 1980s the railroad in Waynesville had been integrated into the Southern Railway Company system. The first depot burned in 1900, but it was soon replaced with another depot that remained standing until 1987.
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