Firestarter (’84), Dirty Dancing (’87), and The Last of the Mohicans (’92)

Firestarter (’84), Dirty Dancing (’87), and The Last of the Mohicans (’92) were all at least partially filmed there, and The Esmeralda Inn once again hosted Hollywood stars who relished its history and charm. Little is left of the original Esmeralda Inn after it was completely rebuilt from the ground up following yet another fire in 1996, but the current 4-Star inn and cabins on the Rocky Broad River, registered with Preservation North Carolina, retain the historic character of Colonel Tom’s original 1891 structure.