Micaville is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in
Yancey County
Yancey County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,470. Its county seat is Burnsville.
This land was inhabited by the Cherokee prior to European settlement, as was much of the S ...
,
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 So ...
, United States.
The name comes from a mineral mined there called
mica
Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is ...
. It was the central mining location in the county.
Micaville was a main point on the
Yancey Railroad
The Yancey Railroad was an American Class III shortline railroad that operated for freight service from a connection with the Clinchfield Railroad at Kona, North Carolina, through Micaville, to Burnsville, . A short branch ran from Micavill ...
(YAN) carrying mica and
feldspar
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) feldsp ...
, along with fertilizer, building materials, livestock feed and steel spring wire. Due to damage from
Hurricane Agnes
Hurricane Agnes in 1972 was the costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, from the Caribbean to Canada, ...
and flooding from other storms most of the bridges , track and branches were destroyed. Engine number 40 now sits abandoned along
19E in Micaville, across the road from the Silver Bullet convenience store.
In the early 1900s, the Black Mountain Railroad, later operating as the Yancey Railroad (YAN) transformed the economy from an agricultural-based into a mining community with later lumber harvesting adding into the economy.
Education
Micaville Elementary School is operated by Yancey County Schools System.
See also
Burnsville, North Carolina
Burnsville is a town that serves as the county seat of Yancey County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,693 at the 2010 census.
History
The town was founded on March 6, 1834, from land conveyed by John "Yellow Jacket" Bailey, ...
, the neighboring incorporated town and county seat.
References
External links
Micaville Elementary School Yancey County Historical Society
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Unincorporated communities in Yancey County, North Carolina
Unincorporated communities in North Carolina