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Penley

Ghost town · Watauga County, North Carolina

Blowing Rock quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1942, 1:62,500)
Blowing Rock quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1942, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Penley is a ghost town in Watauga County, North Carolina. It is one of 5 former communities in Watauga County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 18th among the 48 North Carolina counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Penley as a historical populated place on the Deep Gap topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 36.1354° N, 81.5579° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleDeep Gap
Elevation2,278 ft
Nearest living townBlowing Rock, NC
Distance to it6.1 miles
GNIS feature ID1959830
Coordinates36.13541, -81.55788

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Penley is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Blowing Rock, NC (population 848), about 6.1 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 2,278 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Penley?

Penley is in Watauga County, North Carolina, at 36.1354, -81.5579.

How many ghost towns are in Watauga County?

Watauga County, North Carolina has 5 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.