Proctor, North Carolina
Proctor is a former town located in Swain County, North Carolina, U.S.A. It was on Hazel Creek. It is named after Moses Proctor, first white settler to this area. The town was flooded by Fontana Lake, which was created by the construction of the Fontana Dam, and remains submerged unless lake levels are very low.
While the Proctor mine offices were flooded, much of the town and cemetery are above the water line. There is one home left and remains of the lumber mill.
Former residents were promised a road but only seven miles were built because the former town became part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the National Park Service opposed the road, though they did provide ferry boats to allow visits to the cemeteries, which are accessible only by trails.
The town of Proctor is mentioned in an episode of ASY TV’s “It Happened to Me”, where hiker John Vineyard recalls an ill-fated trek through the town that featured bear encounters, rattlesnakes and paranormal activity.
