Willets 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 Jackson 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. Willets is located along

U.S. Route 74 U.S. Route 74 (US 74) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Primarily in North Carolina, it serves as an important highway from the mountains to the ...

, west of

Balsam Balsam is the resinous exudate (or sap) which forms on certain kinds of trees and shrubs. Balsam (from Latin balsamum "gum of the balsam tree", ultimately from Semitic, Aramaic ''busma'', Arabic ''balsam'' and Hebrew ''basam'', "spice", "perfume ...

and east of Sylva. It is home to the Balsam-Willets-Ochre Hill fire department, a church, and many homes. It was a thriving unincorporated town along the Murphy Branch of the

Western North Carolina Railroad Western North-Carolina Railroad Company was incorporated under act of North Carolina on February 15, 1855.Interstate Commerce Commission. ''Southern Ry. Co.'', Volume 37, Interstate Commerce Commission Valuation Reports, November 6, 1931, p. 215 ...

, but seriously declined during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

in the 1930s, consolidations of the schools in the Scott Creek Township in 1951, and the widening/straightening of US 23 in the early 1950s and early 1970s. Today it is a tiny bedroom community for the larger population centers of Waynesville and Sylva.

History

A post office called Willets was established in 1903, and remained in operation until 1934. The community was named for A. P. Willets, the owner of a local sawmill.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Jackson County, North Carolina Unincorporated communities in North Carolina