EDITOR’S NOTE: Strangeville explores the curious and unexplained stories that have long defined Asheville and Western North Carolina. The region is full of unanswered questions, from old folklore and local legends to eerie encounters, unsolved moments in history, and the true-crime mysteries that still leave people wondering. Each week, we look back with an open mind and a sense of curiosity, trying to understand why some stories take hold and why some can never be explained.

EDNEYVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW.com) — In the open farmland of rural Henderson County, two oversized fiberglass steers stand watch along Old Clear Creek Road. Beyond them, past rolling pastureland and toward the base of Bald Top Mountain, a ghost town rises from the Clear Creek Valley.

Puncheon Camp Creek Ranch is a privately built Western-style village created by Boyd Leon “Bub” Hyder on land his family has farmed for generations. Though it was never a functioning town, it is known as a ghost town due to its deserted streets and the way it seems to appear out of nowhere as you drive along Old Clear Creek.

Two large fiberglass cows greet visitors along Old Clear Creek Road in Henderson County. The roadside figures are the first sign that something unusual waits around the corner. Photo by Shannon Ballard.

The village sits near Puncheon Camp Creek, a small stream that winds through the property. A white chapel with a five-point star on its steeple overlooks the site. Nearby stand a red schoolhouse, a post office, a jail, a courthouse, and a general store outfitted with vintage Pure Oil gas pumps. A hotel and saloon face the gravel drive. The structures create the illusion of a long-abandoned frontier town near the working ranch.

Closer inspection reveals that nothing here was left to decay by accident. The buildings are maintained. The signs, including no trespassing signs, are deliberate and add to the scene. The courthouse features a domed roof and classical details, possibly inspired by designs from architect Richard Sharp Smith, who shaped much of Western North Carolina’s historic architecture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The word “puncheon” carries several meanings, but in this region, it generally refers to split logs that were smoothed on one side and used as flooring in early Appalachian cabins.

A handmade wooden sign marks the entrance to Puncheon Camp Creek Ranch, a private Western-themed village near Edneyville built by Boyd “Bub” Hyder in the early 1990s. Photo by Shannon Ballard.

Hyder began assembling the village after purchasing part of the Puncheon Camp Creek farm in a 1988 bankruptcy sale. He later expanded the property to nearly 600 acres, operating it as the Puncheon Camp Creek Land and Cattle Company. After restoring existing farm buildings, he repurposed them and constructed additional structures to form the village.

Hyder comes from a long line of Henderson County families who worked as farmers, carpenters, school board members and law enforcement officers in Edneyville. That legacy carries into the present. Hyder holds monthly services at the small church he built on the property, named Marie’s Chapel in honor of his mother, and he continues to host fundraisers for the Boy Scouts.

The general store, post office, and livery stable at Puncheon Camp Creek Ranch include vintage signs, gas pumps, and Old West details. The ghost town sits on private farmland in rural Henderson County. Photo by Shannon Ballard.

Puncheon Camp Creek Ranch is not open to the public. A gate and posted signs make that clear. Visitors who find the site generally do so intentionally and by invitation, following back roads into the countryside. What they encounter is a place that looks abandoned but never was, a town that feels forgotten even though it was carefully imagined.

Puncheon Camp Creek Ranch stands as one of Western North Carolina’s most unusual landmarks. A ghost town rooted in family history and a personal vision that turned farmland into folklore.

The buildings and displays at Puncheon Camp Creek Ranch are located on private property and are not open to the public. The site can be seen from the road, but visitors should observe all no trespassing signs and respect the landowner’s privacy.