The arrival of the Western North Carolina Railway (WNCR) in 1869 stimulated the development of a depot and hotel.

[4] In 1871, Sanborn Worthen bought the 2200-acre Old Fort Plantation from George Davidson's grandson and changed its name to Catawba Vale.

[8] In the 1950s the Supreme Court of North Carolina dismissed a case brought by students attempting to attend the all-white school in Old Fort.

[9] In 1984, the town began free weekly mountain music concerts, held in the historic Rockett Building each Friday night downtown.

[13][12] Old Fort has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) and average monthly temperatures range from 38.5 °F (3.6 °C) in January to 75.7 °F (24.3 °C) in July.

[18] Kitsbow Cycling Apparel, a manufacturer of premier sportswear and accessories, employed sixty full-time people in 2014.

Old Fort's Chamber of Commerce sponsors Octoberfest the first weekend in October on the grounds of Mountain Gateway Museum.

[12] At the dedication ceremony, more than 6,000 attendees gathered at the town square to see the unveiling of the 14 ft. rose granite arrowhead on a natural stone base.

[23] In 2010, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission added Old Fort to their list of N.C. Mountain Heritage Trout Towns.

[13][23] In 2009, the N.C. Department of Transportation, local county and town governments, the United States Forest Service, and the local trails association collaborated to arrange for a portion of Old Highway 70, an old forest service road, to be reopened for bicycle and foot traffic.

[12] Point Lookout Trail is a popular paved greenway ascending almost 1,000 feet through the Swannanoa Gap in just under 3.6 miles (5.8 km).