Transylvania County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. As of the 2020 census the population is 32,986. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Brevard. Transylvania County comprises the Brevard Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Asheville-Brevard, NC CSA combined statistical area.

History

The North Carolina General Assembly apportioned Transylvania County on February 15, 1861, from lands previously attributed to neighboring

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

and Henderson counties; it was named by representative Joseph P. Jordan. Until the early 20th century, the vast majority of Transylvania County residents subsisted through agriculture, growing staples such as potatoes and cabbage.Archived a
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Beginning in the early 20th century, with Joseph Silverstein's tannery in what was renamed as Rosman in 1905, a manufacturing economy began to develop in the county. It relied on timber and related products harvested from the

Pisgah National Forest Pisgah National Forest is a National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. It is administered by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. The Pisgah National Forest is complet ...

. In the 1930s, Harry Straus opened a paper mill in the Pisgah Forest area; by the mid-20th century, Straus's Ecusta Paper manufacturing site provided jobs to over 3,000 local residents. During the peak industrial years of the 1950s, DuPont had a factory in the county, employing nearly 1,000 more residents. In the following decades, Brevard College and its namesake town each grew at dramatic rates. The

Brevard Music Center Brevard Music Center is a classical music venue and festival held annually located in Brevard, North Carolina. It has been the home to their international summer institute and festival that enrolls about four hundred students, age fourteen and o ...

and its summer Brevard Music Festival began to attract musicians and enthusiasts from around the country to Transylvania County. Since the late 20th century, Transylvania County's economy has changed. Many of the manufacturing operations went defunct or moved offshore for cheap labor, including Ecusta and DuPont. Since then, the county has worked to reshape its economy around the growing summer and winter tourism industry in Appalachia.

Geography

Biltmore Forestry School, Schoolhouse, Brevard vicinity (Transylvania County, North Carolina)

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (0.5%) water. Transylvania County contains the primary headwaters of the

French Broad River The French Broad River is a river in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Tennessee. It flows from near the town of Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into Tennessee, where its confluence with the Holston River at Knoxville form ...

, locally called North Fork, West Fork, East Fork, and Middle Fork. Since the county's northern and western boundaries follow mountain ridges, all these tributaries originate from sources in the county. The French Broad flows primarily east and northward through the county into Henderson County. The county's northern border follows the ridge line proximate to the

Blue Ridge Parkway The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. The parkway, which is America's longest linear park, runs for through 29 Virginia and North Carolina counties, linking Shenan ...

, and the southern border mostly follows the Eastern Continental Divide, from the border of Henderson County and South Carolina, westward to near US 178 and Jackson County. The headwaters of Lake Toxaway lie south of the Eastern Continental Divide, becoming the

Toxaway River The Toxaway River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 26, 2011 waterway that flows south from headwaters in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into Lake Toxaway ...

, descending rapidly through Gorges State Park and into

Lake Jocassee Lake Jocassee (, ) is a , deep reservoir in northwest South Carolina. It was created in 1973 by the state in partnership with Duke Power. The lake is known for the clean and cold Appalachian mountain rivers that flow into it, keeping its ...

on the county's southern edge. This area, known as the Cane Brake, is difficult to access from North Carolina due to the steep slope of the trails in Gorges State Park, but can be reached more easily via the Foothills Trail from South Carolina. Transylvania County is known as the "Land of Waterfalls", due to it having over 250

waterfalls A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several w ...

. This is due to a combination of its high precipitation and location on the Blue Ridge Escarpment. Notable waterfalls in the county include Looking Glass Falls, Moore Cove Falls, Rainbow Falls, and Whitewater Falls, the tallest waterfall east of the

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. It receives over 90 inches of rain annually due to

orographic lift Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and cr ...

, making it the state's wettest county. (

Buncombe County Buncombe County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is classified within Western North Carolina. The 2020 census reported the population was 269,452. Its county seat is Asheville. Buncombe County is part of the Ashevill ...

, 30 miles northeast, is the driest, as it sits in Transylvania County's rain shadow.) The

traverses parts of the county, and has views of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

, which reach over elevation in the county. The highest point, Chestnut Knob, , lies northwest of Brevard.

National protected areas

(part) *

Nantahala National Forest The Nantahala National Forest ( /ˌnæntəˈheɪlə/), is the largest of the four national forests in North Carolina, lying in the mountains and valleys of western North Carolina. The Nantahala is the second wettest region in the country, after the ...

(part) *

(part)

State and local protected areas

Biltmore Forest School The Biltmore Forest School was the first school of forestry in North America. Carl A. Schenck founded this school of "practical forestry" in 1896 on George W. Vanderbilt's Biltmore Estate near Asheville, North Carolina.Fifty Years of Forestr ...

* Bracken Preserve * Camp Creek Falls *

Davidson River Recreational Area Davidson may refer to: * Davidson (name) * Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan * Davidson Media Group * Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA * Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA * ...

DuPont State Recreational Forest DuPont State Recreational Forest, commonly known as DuPont Forest, is a state forest, located in Henderson and Transylvania counties of North Carolina. The name originates from the fact that the DuPont company arranged the sale of the original t ...

(part) * Gorges State Park * Headwaters State Forest *

Southern Highlands Reserve Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, ...

(part) * Sycamore Flats Recreational Area

Major water bodies

* Atagahi Lake * Cascade Lake * Dupont Lake *

* Horsepasture River * Kings Creek *

* Lake Julia * Lake Toxaway * Lake Wanteska *

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

* North Fork French Broad River * Shoal Creek * South Fork Flat Creek * Thunder Lake *

Thompson River The Thompson River is the largest tributary of the Fraser River, flowing through the south-central portion of British Columbia, Canada. The Thompson River has two main branches, the South Thompson River and the North Thompson River. The ri ...

* Ticoa Lake * Toxaway Creek

Adjacent counties

* Henderson County - east *

Greenville County, South Carolina Greenville County is located in the state of South Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 525,534, making it the most populous county in the state. Its county seat is Greenville. The county is also home to the ...

- southeast *

Pickens County, South Carolina Pickens County is located in the northwest part of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 131,404. Its county seat is Pickens. The county was created in 1826. It is part of the Greenville-Anderson- Mauldin ...

- south *

Oconee County, South Carolina Oconee County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,607. Its county seat is Walhalla and its largest city is Seneca. Oconee County is included in the Seneca, SC Micropol ...

- southwest * Jackson County - west * Haywood County - northwest *

- northeast

Major highways

* * * * * * *

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 32,986 people, 14,567 households, and 9,978 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 33,090 people, 14,394 households, and 8,660 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 83 people per square mile (30/km²). There were 15,553 housing units at an average density of 41 per square mile (16/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.4%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 3.9%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian, and 1.12% from two or more races. 2.9% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race. There were 12,320 households, out of which 25.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.60% were married couples living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.74. In the county, the population was spread out, with 20.40% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 23.10% from 25 to 44, 26.90% from 45 to 64, and 21.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 92.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $38,587, and the median income for a family was $45,579. Males had a median income of $31,743 versus $21,191 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $20,767. About 6.60% of families and 9.50% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 11.80% of those under age 18 and 7.00% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

At present Transylvania is a solidly Republican county, although much less so than the vast majority of Appalachia. No Democratic presidential nominee has carried Transylvania County since Jimmy Carter did so in 1976. Transylvania County has a council-manager form of government, with a five-member Board of Commissioners elected at large. The Commissioners hire and supervise a separate County Manager. The current County Manager is Jaime Laughter. The current members of the Board of Commissioners are Jason Chappell (chairman), Jake Dalton (vice-chairman), Teresa McCall, Larry Chapman, and David Guice. Transylvania Regional Hospital (TRH) was formed in 1933 with the mission to serve the community's health care needs. A 94-bed facility fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), it has more than 120 active, consulting and courtesy physicians representing a full spectrum of specialties. Transylvania County is a member of the Land-of-Sky Regional Council of governments. The current mayor of Brevard is Maureen Copelof. The current mayor of Rosman is Brian Shelton.

Communities

Map of Transylvania County North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels

City

* Brevard (county seat and largest city)

Town

* Rosman

Townships

* Boyd * Brevard * Cathey's Creek * Dunn's Rock * Eastatoe * Gloucester * Hogback * Little River

Unincorporated communities

* Balsam Grove * Cathey's Creek * Cedar Mountain * Connestee Falls * Dunn's Rock * Lake Toxaway * Little River * Penrose * Pisgah Forest * Quebec * Sapphire

Points of interest

, first school of forestry in North America * Blue Ridge Community College, Transylvania campus *

* Brevard College * Brevard Little Theater *

* DuPont State Forest * Gorges State Park * Lake Toxaway * Looking Glass Falls *

* Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute *

* Sliding Rock * Transylvania Arts Council * Transylvania County Schools * Whitewater Falls, highest

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

References

External links

HendersonvilleNews.com - The Times-News Online

Cradle of Forestry In America website

Transylvania County government website

Transylvania County Library

Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy

Waterfalls in Transylvania County

NCGenWeb Transylvania County
- free genealogy resources for the county

- Free Insider Guide to Brevard and Transylvania County {{authority control Transylvania County, North Carolina, Counties of Appalachia 1861 establishments in North Carolina Populated places established in 1861