Everything about Jackson County North Carolina totally explained
Jackson County is a
county located in the southwest of the
U.S. state of
North Carolina. As of 2000, the
population is 33,121. Since 1913 its
county seat has been
Sylva, replacing
Webster.
History
The county was formed in 1852 from parts of
Haywood County and
Macon County. It was named for
Andrew Jackson,
President of the United States from 1829 to 1837.
In 1861 parts of Jackson County and
Henderson County were combined to form
Transylvania County. In 1871 parts of Jackson County and Macon County were combined to form
Swain County.
Law & Government
Jackson County is a member of the regional
Southwestern Commission council of governments.
Jackson County contains a portion of the
Qualla Boundary, a
tribal reservation for the
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, which is subject mostly to tribal/federal laws rather than county or state laws.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 494
square miles (1,281
km²), of which, 491 square miles (1,271 km²) of it's land and 4 square miles (10 km²) of it (0.77%) is water.
Townships
The county is divided into fifteen
townships: Barker's Creek, Canada, Caney Fork, Cashiers, Cullowhee, Dillsboro, Greens Creek, Hamburg, Mountain, Qualla, River, Savannah, Scotts Creek, Sylva, and Webster.
(map)
Adjacent counties
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 33,121 people, 13,191 households, and 8,587 families residing in the county. The
population density was 68 people per square mile (26/km²). There were 19,291 housing units at an average density of 39 per square mile (15/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.68%
White, 1.67%
Black or
African American, 10.20%
Native American, 0.51%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander, 0.55% from
other races, and 1.38% from two or more races. 1.74% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. 18.5% were of
American, 13.7%
English, 11.3%
Irish, 10.5%
German and 9.2%
Scots-Irish ancestry according to
Census 2000. 95.3% spoke
English, 2.1%
Spanish and 1.5%
Cherokee as their first language.
There were 13,191 households out of which 25.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.40% were
married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.90% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.80% 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 2.79.
In the county the population was spread out with 19.00% under the age of 18, 17.90% from 18 to 24, 24.40% from 25 to 44, 25.00% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $32,552, and the median income for a family was $40,876. Males had a median income of $27,738 versus $22,029 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $17,582. About 9.50% of families and 15.10% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 15.70% of those under age 18 and 15.20% of those age 65 or over.
Cities and towns
Balsam (unincorporated, Scott Creek township)
Cashiers (unincorporated, Cashiers township)
Cullowhee (unincorporated, Cullowhee township)
Dillsboro (incorporated town, Dillsboro township)
Forest Hills ("village")
Glenville (unincorporated, Hamburg township)
Highlands (10% of incorporated town, Cashiers township)
Savannah (unincorporated)
Sylva (incorporated town, Sylva township)
Webster (unincorporated, Webster township)
Transportation
Roads & Highways
Jackson County is serviced by three main roads: The Great Smoky Mountains Expressway runs East-West across the northern half of the county and connects the county seat of Sylva to Waynesville and Asheville in the east and Cherokee, Andrews and Murphy in the west. North Carolina State Highway 107 connects Sylva and Western Carolina University to Cashiers in the south. U.S. Highway 64 traverses East-West across the southern part of the county connecting Cashiers to Brevard in the east and Highlands in the west.
Railroads
Norfolk Southern Railway operates a portion the Murphy Branch through Jackson County, providing a rail connection with the rest of the country. In Sylva, NC, Norfolk Southern connects with the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. Interchange between the two lines is handled near Jackson Paper Company. Great Smoky Mountains Railroad operates the rest of the Murphy Branch from Dillsboro, NC to Andrews, NC.
Airports
The county contains one airport, the Jackson County Airport located one mile east of Cullowhee.
Churches
Buff Creek Baptist Church is located just outside of Sylva. It is a small, conservative church with a family atmosphere. Church Website
Scotts Creek Baptist Church is located at 97 Steeple Road in Sylva, North Carolina. church website This family oriented church offers high quality programs for all ages each Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, as well as special events. Pastor Rich Peoples, who was called to the church in 1999, has led the church to involvement in missions and disaster relief locally, across the nation and around the world. The resulting growth created the need for a youth minister, Mark Rogers. He was called in January 2006.
Dick's Creek is a road and community just west of Dillsboro, North Carolina, off of highway 74 in Jackson County. Just over 1.5 miles up the road on the right is historic Dick's Creek Baptist Church built in 1903. Until 1946 this church was used as both a church and school. As of 2005, services are still held.
LifeWay Community Church is located in the heart of downtown Sylva. A non-denominational church, LifeWay meets weekly on Sunday mornings at their main campus and has small group meetings on Wednesday evenings throughout Jackson and Swain counties. Church Website
Popular Culture
Several movies have been filmed in the county including the 1993 blockbuster action-adventure The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, the 1972 drama Deliverance and the 1996 comedy My Fellow Americans starring Jack Lemmon and James Garner.
The infamous train wreck scene in The Fugitive was filmed in Dillsboro along the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. The wreckage set can still be viewed on outbound train excursions from Dillsboro. The later scene in a small hospital was filmed at Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva.
The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad was also used in the filming of My Fellow Americans when they stumble on to a charter train full of UNC-Chapel Hill fans headed for the NCAA Final Four.
Mill Street on the back side of downtown Sylva was used for a short driving scene in the filming of Deliverance.Further Information
Get more info on 'Jackson County North Carolina'.
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