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Dillsboro is a town in
Jackson County, North Carolina Jackson County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,109. Since 1913, its county seat has been Sylva, which replaced Webster. Cullowhee is the site of Wes ...
, United States. The population was 213 at the 2020 census down from 232 at the 2010 census.


History

Dillsboro was founded when the Murphy Branch Railroad came to the area in the 1880s. In 1882, the first post office in the area opened. Called the Tunnel Post Office, it was named after the nearby Cowee Tunnel. In 1882, the postmaster, William Allen Dills, built a large home on a hill overlooking the Tuckasegee River, later the home of Charles Joseph Harris and now The Riverwood Shops. The unincorporated village was called Depot, New Webster, and Webster Station until the state legislature had its name officially changed to Dillsboro when the village was incorporated as a town in 1889 to honor William Allen Dills, the town's founder (another source names George W. Dill, an early settler.) Railroad executive Alexander Boyd Andrews suggested the town be named Dillsboro. One of the oldest buildings in the town dates to the 1870s, before the town was officially founded. As of 2024, it serves as a barber shop. The building is one floor and was built on Front Street when the town was largely farmland. Around 1884, the historic Jarrett House hotel was constructed by Dills. In a relatively short time period, Dillsboro became a thriving town; by 1888, it was the most important town on the Murphy Branch of the Southern Railway in the areas of Industry, with two sawmills, two clay mines, a locust pin company, a
corundum Corundum is a crystalline form of aluminium oxide () typically containing traces of iron, titanium, vanadium, and chromium. It is a rock (geology), rock-forming mineral. It is a naturally transparency and translucency, transparent material, but ...
crushing plant, a chestnut pole yard, a chestnut corkwood yard, two
livery stable A livery yard, livery stable or boarding stable, is a stable where horse owners pay a weekly or monthly fee to keep their horses. A livery or boarding yard is not usually a riding school and the horses are not normally for hire (unless on wor ...
s, six general stores, a large hotel, and a shoemaker. A rivalry existed between Sylva and Dillsboro in their early days, as the efforts of one town were matched by the other, and the two towns were very much alike, and the same distance from the then-county seat of Webster. But a flood in 1894 ended the milling operations of the Blue Ridge Lumber Company, and near the turn of the century, two back-to-back floods at a
tannery Tanning, or hide tanning, is the process of treating skins and hides of animals to produce leather. A tannery is the place where the skins are processed. Historically, vegetable based tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound derived fr ...
construction site in Dillsboro caused owner C.J. Harris to move the factory to the present site of the Jackson Paper Plant in Sylva. Around 1899, Dillsboro was the most-populated non-county seat town in the state west of
Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populous city in Western North Carolina a ...
with about 750 residents. Dillsboro's population has declined over the years, mostly due to little new housing being built in town limits and the fact that many homes are now shops in the downtown area. Since 1975, when Wade W. Wilson became mayor due to many write-in votes, Dillsboro has made a successful effort to restore many older buildings in the town to their original appearance. In 2012, the Dillsboro Dam and Powerhouse were demolished to restore the Tuckasegee River's ecosystem. Downtown Dillsboro was partially flooded in 2024 during
Hurricane Helene Hurricane Helene ( ) was a deadly and devastating tropical cyclone that caused widespread catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities across the Southeastern United States in late September 2024. It was the strongest hurricane on record to ...
. The Jarrett House and Elias Brendle Monteith House and Outbuildings are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. Gertrude Dills McKee, first woman elected to the
North Carolina State Senate The North Carolina Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The Senate ...
, was a native of Dillsboro; she was the daughter of William Allen Dills.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the town has a total area of , all land.


Demographics


2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 213 people, 112 households, and 53 families residing in the town.


2000 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 205 people, 111 households, and 45 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 126 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 92.68%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.98%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 3.41% Asian, and 2.93% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 0.98% of the population. There were 111 households, out of which 15.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.3% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 58.6% were non-families. 54.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 34.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.85 and the average family size was 2.85. In the town, the population was spread out, with 16.6% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 31.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females, there were 66.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 59.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $18,750, and the median income for a family was $27,188. Males had a median income of $20,000 versus $20,000 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the town was $14,365. About 12.8% of families and 22.8% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including none of those under the age of eighteen and 30.9% of those 65 or over.


In popular culture

The train wreck scene in the movie '' The Fugitive'' (1993) was filmed on a portion of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Dillsboro.Take a Ride with 'The Fugitive': The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad of North Carolina Provides Exclusive Look at Train Wreck
''Yahoo Movies'' (retrieved July 3, 2014)


See also

National Register of Historic Places listings in Jackson County, North Carolina This list includes properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Jackson County, North Carolina. Click the "Map of all coordinates" link to the right to view an online map of all properties and districts with l ...


References


External links


Town of Dillsboro
{{authority control Towns in Jackson County, North Carolina Towns in North Carolina Populated places established in 1882 Communities of the Great Smoky Mountains