Eden

About Eden

Eden takes its name from William Byrd II, the Virginia planter who owned a vast estate here in the 1700s and called it the Land of Eden. He dreamed of settling it with Swiss Protestant families, but the plan never came to pass, and the land was later sold to the Farley brothers and became known as the Sauratown tract. Settlers, including many Scots, farmed the rich bottomlands where the Smith River meets the Dan River.

In the late 1800s and 1900s three neighboring mill towns grew up here, Leaksville, Spray and Draper, making textiles, blankets and sheets that were sold across the country. In 1967 the three towns joined together as the city of Eden. Each still keeps its own character, from the brick storefronts of downtown Leaksville to the old mill buildings of Spray and the mill village streets of Draper.

Today Eden is a friendly small city that makes the most of its two rivers, with paddling and fishing on the Dan and Smith rivers and a riverside greenway. Historic churches and homes line its older streets, the classic Eden Drive-In still shows movies under the stars, and Mayo River and Hanging Rock state parks are within easy reach.