MITCHELL COUNTY

Mitchell was formed in 1861 from Yancey, Watauga, Caldwell, Burke and McDowell counties. It was named in honor of Dr. Elisha Mitchell, a professor at the University of North Carolina. While on an exploring expedition of Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River, Dr. Mitchell fell and was killed. He was buried on the top of this lofty mountain. It is in the western section of the State and is bounded by the state of Tennessee and Avery, McDowell and Yancey counties. The present land area is 221.43 square miles.The population from the 2010 Census was 15,579. Of that population, 14,844 were white, 58 were black or African American, 65 were American Indian, 50 were Asian, 1 was Pacific Islander and 397 were of a different race. Another 164 were reported to be of two or more races and 631 were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The first court was ordered to be held at Eben Child's. Commissioners were named to acquire the land, establish a town by the name of Calhoun, and erect a courthouse in Calhoun. They maintained it was inconvenient to three-fourths of the citizens. They said the matter should, therefore, be referred to the Assembly. In 1862 an act was passed authorizing the people to decide by ballot for Calhoun, or for Davis as the county seat. In 1863 an act was passed which stipulated that the county seat should be located at the geographical center of the county by actual survey and measurements. In 1863 the justices met and unanimously agreed that Norman's Hill should be selected as the county seat. From 1861-1866 commissioners were appointed to acquire the land and lay out a town. At the regular September term, 1866, held at Davis, the commissioners reported that they had acquired 29 acres of land and sold the lots. In 1868 the county seat was changed from Davis to Bakersville. Bakersville was incorporated in 1870 and is the county seat.

Do you have digital photographs of Mitchell County to add to this slideshow?
To view this slideshow, Javascript must be enabled and Adobe Flash Player must be installed.

Mitchell County is in the French Broad River Basin and is a part of the mountain region of the state.

References:

"American Factfinder." 2011. U. S. Census Bureau. Online at http://factfinder2.census.gov/. Accessed 3/3/2011.

Corbitt, David L. 2000. The Formation of the North Carolina Counties, 1663-1943. Sixth printing. Raleigh: State Department of Archives and History.

Powell, William Stevens, and Michael R. Hill. 2010. The North Carolina gazetteer: a dictionary of Tar Heel places and their history. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Additional resources:

North Carolina Digital Collections (Government & Heritage Library and NC State Archives)

NC LIVE resources

NC Natural Heritage Program database

WorldCat (Searches numerous library catalogs)