TRANSYLVANIA COUNTY

Transylvania was formed in 1861 from Henderson and Jackson counties. It's name is derived from the Latin words, trans meaning "across" and sylva meaning "woods." It is in the western section of the State and is bounded by the State of South Carolina and Jackson, Haywood and Henderson counties. The present land area is 378.39 square miles. The population from the 2010 Census was 33,090. Of that population, 30,577 were white, 1,292 were black or African American, 95 were American Indian, 144 were Asian, 8 were Pacific Islander and 415 were of a different race. Another 559 were reported to be of two or more races and 964 were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The first court was to be held at the home of B. C. Langford. Commissioners were named to select a site for the public buildings within five miles of W. P. Poor's store and to acquire land and lay out Brevard. Brevard is the county seat.

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Most of Transylvania County is in the French Broad River Basin, but some areas in the southwestern part of the county are in the Savannah River Basin. It 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)