Relief 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 Mitchell County,

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 community is located along the banks of the

North Toe River The North Toe River is the River source, headwaters of the Nolichucky River and a tributary in the French Broad River Drainage basin, basin. From its source at Sugar Gap, between Bald Mountain and Sugar Mountain (North Carolina), Sugar Mountain, i ...

, connected to

North Carolina Highway 197 North Carolina Highway 197 (NC 197) is a South-to-North state highway in Western North Carolina. The route is approximately in length and with its continuation into Tennessee as SR 395 connects Erwin, Tennessee to Flat Creek, North Carolin ...

(NC 197) via Relief Road (SR 1314).

History

In 1870, the Squire Peterson’s Store sold a

patent medicine A patent medicine, sometimes called a proprietary medicine, is an over-the-counter (nonprescription) medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name (and sometimes a patent) and claimed ...

called Hart's Relief, in which the principal ingredient was alcohol; patrons enjoyed the “relief” it provided. In 1888, the Relief Post Office was established; during its tenure it assumed mail service from nearby Poplar (1949), Street (1917), and Tipton Hill (1951). In 1974 the post office was closed and replaced with

rural letter carrier Rural letter carriers are United States Postal Service and Canada Post employees who deliver mail in what are traditionally considered rural and suburban areas of the United States and Canada. Before Rural Free Delivery (RFD), rural Americans an ...

service from Green Mountain.

References

Unincorporated communities in Mitchell County, North Carolina Unincorporated communities in North Carolina {{MitchellCountyNC-geo-stub