‘The Hunger Games’ fans flock to this NC filming location. Now, it needs repairs
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Millions of fans have flocked to see a real-life landmark featured in “The Hunger Games” — but now, it has fallen into disrepair.
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“Nestled in the foothills of North Carolina, Henry River Mill Village served as the filming location for District 12,” the nonprofit Henry River Preservation Fund wrote as it raised money on GoFundMe. “For generations before Hollywood arrived, it was a thriving mill community where families worked, lived, shopped, and built their lives.”
At many buildings in the historic town, co-owner Elaine Namour said “floors are falling in, walls are coming down” and roofs are caving in. The damage extends to the village’s company store, which was the backdrop for character Peeta Mellark’s family bakery in the popular 2012 movie, WJZY first reported in late July.
“Years of exposure to the elements have taken a devastating toll,” the fund wrote. “Holes in the roof allow water to pour into the structure, accelerating deterioration and threatening the building’s survival.”
Here’s what we know about the village’s ties to “The Hunger Games” and the efforts to save its buildings.
Henry River Mill Village is in the Hickory area, a roughly 60-mile drive northwest from uptown Charlotte. The village was established in 1905 and became a “bustling hub of textile production,” according to the nonprofit and the Visit North Carolina tourism website.
The mill closed in the 1970s before the town was abandoned. Then more recently, “The Hunger Games” put the spotlight on the workers’ homes and store, which Namour called the “focal point of the village.”
“I call it the Walmart of today because everything happened in there,” Namour told The N&O in a Monday, Aug. 3 phone interview. “There was a grocery. There was a post office. There was a bank. There was school. There was church. The mill owner’s offices were in the back.”
In addition to the store, one of the workers’ cottages was transformed into the on-screen home of the main character Katniss Everdeen, played by actress Jennifer Lawrence. Movie buffs flock there each year to see it on tours of the village.
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“I just hope that people come there because of ‘Hunger Games’ and fall in love with the history,” Namour said.
In addition to that house, visitors can see another cottage that has been renovated and turned into Airbnbs. But the rest of the homes all have “some form of deterioration” and “need to be preserved,” according to Namour.
Of the 35 original homes at Henry River Mill Village, 20 still stand. The people who built the village used the materials they could find, making their own bricks on the site and using wood from local trees.
“Most people think of like the Biltmore in Asheville and how the rich lived. And this is the other side of the spectrum because it’s really how the poor people lived. I think that’s always interesting to showcase or highlight,” Namour said, adding that former residents often walked around without shoes and used cardboard to insulate their homes.
To continue preserving the places those mill workers left behind, the historic fund may need nearly $1 million. For now, the GoFundMe is seeking $18,000 to renovate the company store building.
“Without immediate intervention, we risk losing not only a significant piece of North Carolina history but also an iconic location cherished by ‘Hunger Games’ fans around the world,” the nonprofit wrote.
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This story was originally published August 17, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
