[4] Highlands was founded in 1875 after its two founders, Samuel Truman Kelsey and Clinton Carter Hutchinson, drew lines from Chicago to Savannah and from New Orleans to New York City.

They felt that the place where these lines met would eventually become a great trading center and commercial crossroads.

[8] The annual rainfall approaches 100 inches (2,500 mm) due to the orographic lifting effect of storms coming from the lower elevations.

This rainfall, coupled with abundant sunshine, creates a lush and verdant microclimate that appeals to botanists.

Highlands experiences notably cooler weather than the rest of the American South; this cooling is caused by its altitude.

Astride the Eastern Continental Divide, at just over 4,100 ft (1,200 m), the town's elevation contributes to its relatively cool summers and abundant rainfall, averaging 87.57 inches (2,224 mm) per year.

Average snowfall is 13 inches (33 cm), largely due to the fact that Highlands is further south and east in the Appalachian Mountains.

Areas of similar elevation on the northwest side of the Appalachian region, such as Banner Elk, are not as protected from periodic blasts of Arctic air and receive more substantial snowfall.

Highlands is one of the very rare locations at this latitude that has an average high of 78 °F or 26 °C in July, far lower than the rest of the American South.

[citation needed] The summer season (generally March through November) draws large numbers of Southerners from the summertime heat and humidity found throughout much of the region to enjoy the cooler mountains and hometown "Main Street experience".

[citation needed] The town is dotted with antique dealers, restaurants (six of which have received awards from Wine Spectator), shops, and inns, as well as several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.

[citation needed] The historic (NRHP-listed) Lee's Inn, with an enormous tree growing through the middle of its dining room, was lost to an electrical fire in the 1980s and was not rebuilt.

The Martin-Lipscomb Performing Arts Center is a prominent venue in Highlands,[citation needed] featuring independent theater and local musical acts.

It is within area code 828, and all telephone numbers served by the town's exchange begin with 526 or 482, with seven-digit dialing allowed.

WHLC FM 104.5 broadcasts from a house just north of the town and is one of very few stations to still have an easy listening format.

Its omnidirectional broadcast range extends into all three surrounding states, going furthest into upstate South Carolina.

While it is also the nearest automated airport weather station, conditions there do not accurately reflect Highlands, as there is a major difference in elevation, and therefore temperature and precipitation.

A USFS RAWS automated weather station (HGLN7) operates from north-northwest of Highlands, along Flat Mountain Road (N.C. 1544).

Bridal Veil Falls is a 45-foot (14 m) waterfall located in the Nantahala National Forest, northwest of Highlands.

With a short curve of roadway located behind the falls, it has the distinction of being the only waterfall in the state that one can drive a vehicle behind.

There is only one small pull-off near the falls, but walking on the road puts visitors in danger of being hit by a passing vehicle.

During 2008-2009 the Forest Service made improvements to the parking area, which included renovation and expansion and the addition of bathroom facilities.