Mills River is a town in Henderson County,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, United States. The population was 6,802 at the 2010 census, and was estimated to be 7,406 in 2019.https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/millsrivertownnorthcarolina/PST045218 The town took its name from the nearby confluence of the Mills River and

French Broad River The French Broad River is a river in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Tennessee. It flows from near the town of Rosman, North Carolina, Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into Tennessee, where its confluence with the Holston R ...

. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was incorporated into a town in June 2003.

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

opened a brewery in Mills River in 2014.

History

Prior to European colonization a large

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

settlement existed within the borders of Mills River. Mills River is among the oldest communities in Henderson County, with its first landholder receiving a deed from the state of North Carolina in 1788. It was once a thriving agricultural community, often called the "fertile crescent". The Mills River Chapel was 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 ...

in 1988.

Geography

Mills River lies in the northwestern part of Henderson County, extending northeast to the Buncombe County border and southwest to the Transylvania County border. It is bordered to the northeast by the city of Asheville and the town of Fletcher, and to the south by the unincorporated communities of Horse Shoe and Etowah. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the town has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.74%, are water. The

, one of the primary tributaries of the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...

, flows through the northeastern part of the town. The Mills River, a tributary of the French Broad, flows from west to east through the center of the town, and the southern part of the town is in the valley of Boylston Creek, a small tributary of the French Broad. The town lies within minutes of

Pisgah National Forest Pisgah National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. It is administered by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. The P ...

Interstate 26 Interstate 26 (I-26) is a main route of the Interstate Highway System in the Southeastern United States. Nominally east–west, as indicated by its even number, I-26 runs from the junction of U.S. Route 11W, US Route 11W (US 11W) ...

, and Asheville Regional Airport. Highways 280 and 191 serve as the major arteries and provide access to the nearby cities of Asheville, to the north; Hendersonville, to the southeast; and Brevard, to the southwest.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,078 people, 3,072 households, and 2,046 families residing in the town.

Government

The current mayor is Shanon Gonce, who took office in December 2021, elected by his fellow town council members. The current town council members are Randy Austin (2019), Jeff Young (appointed March 2022), James Cantrell (2021), and Sandra Goode (2021). Councilman Austin also serves the role of Mayor Pro Tem. Mills River is home to two public schools: Mills River Elementary, Glenn C. Marlow Elementary, and is served Rugby Middle School, and West Henderson High School. The Town Hall and Library are located at 124 Town Center Drive. Surrounding the Town Hall is Mills River Park, whos
master plan
includes ball fields, soccer fields, tennis courts, playgrounds, multi-use trails, a dog park, shelters and support facilities. The Mills River runs along the northern boundary of the property.

References

External links

Town of Mills River official websiteHenderson County Partnership for Economic Development
{{authority control Towns in North Carolina Towns in Henderson County, North Carolina Asheville metropolitan area Populated places established in 2003