Brevard, North Carolina

Brevard ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Transylvania County, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 7,744 as of the 2020 census.

Brevard is located at the entrance to Pisgah National Forest and has become a noted tourism, retirement and cultural center in western North Carolina. A moderate climate, environmental beauty and cultural activities attracts retirees to the area.

Brevard is also known for its white squirrels. There are several theories of how they came to live there, including an overturned carnival truck and an escaped pet breeding with native squirrels.

Along with nearby Asheville and Hendersonville, Brevard forms the Asheville-Brevard, NC CSA combined statistical area.

History

According to the Transylvania Heritage Museum, the North Carolina General Assembly apportioned Transylvania County on February 15, 1861, from lands previously attributed to neighboring Jackson and Henderson counties. In the county's creation, a county seat was required to be conveniently accessible to most of the county's citizens. Its namesake was to honor Colonel Ephraim Brevard, M.D., a reputed Revolutionary War veteran.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.12 square miles, of which 0% is water.

Climate

Brevard is located in a temperate rainforest and has a climate that borders between a humid subtropical and oceanic climate and receives abundant rainfall year round due to orographic lift due to its location in the Blue Ridge Mountains and the nearby Great Balsam Mountains. It is one of the wettest towns in the US outside of the Pacific Northwest. It is also common for the town to get small amounts of snow in the winter. The town does not have any dry season, but fall gets the least amount of rain of all the seasons.

Demographics

thumb|right|West Main Street in Brevard, circa 1886

2020 census

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"

|+Brevard racial composition

!scope="col"| Race

!scope="col"| Number

!scope="col"| Percentage

!scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)

| 6,140

| 79.29%

!scope="row"| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

| 677

| 8.74%

!scope="row"| Native American

| 25

| 0.32%

!scope="row"| Asian

| 75

| 0.97%

!scope="row"| Pacific Islander

| 15

| 0.19%

!scope="row"| Other/Mixed

| 386

| 4.98%

!scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino

| 426

| 5.5%

As of the 2020 census, Brevard had a population of 7,744. The median age was 46.7 years. 16.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 30.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 81.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 77.2 males age 18 and over.

There were 3,427 households in Brevard, including 2,005 families, and 20.9% of households had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 36.9% were married-couple households, 17.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 39.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 40.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. takes place on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday preceding Memorial Day. It features the white Squirrel, Pisgah Pete, live music, arts & crafts, and food. The white variant of the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is commonly seen around Brevard.

Independence Day is a major event in Brevard. The celebrations include an annual fireworks display and a car judging competition. Streets downtown are blocked off for a festival including games, arts and crafts, concerts and food vendors.

Halloweenfest takes place on the last Saturday of October in downtown Brevard. Brevard is located in Transylvania County and it shows up in the enthusiasm seen in the costumes during the event. Live music, other street performers, arts & crafts, Flight of the Vampires 5K Run, pet costume contest, haunted house, ghost tour, and other activities happen all day.

Twilight Tour: Early in the morning runners come out for the Reindeer Run 5K Run. Street vendors appear in the afternoon after downtown is closed to traffic. The Christmas Parade proceeds down South Broad Street around 3pm, starting at Brevard High School and ending at Brevard College. After the parade, Twilight Tour takes place with, horse-drawn carriages, luminaries, seasonal music, and food in the many downtown shops & restaurants.

Education

thumb|Ross Hall in [[Brevard College]]

Transylvania County Schools has two public high schools: Brevard High School and Rosman High School. The system also has an alternative high school in Davidson River School. There are four elementary schools and two middle schools. There is also one charter school, Brevard Academy, and several smaller private schools.

Brevard College, a four-year liberal arts institution, is located in Brevard.

The town is also home to the Brevard Music Center, and to a campus of the Blue Ridge Community College.

During the summer Brevard holds a distance runners camp at Brevard College.

Notable people

Kevin S. Brown (born 1968) Episcopal bishop of Delaware
Joseph R. Bryson (1893–1953) member of U.S. House of Representatives
Gil Coan (1922–2020) Major League Baseball outfielder
Spencer Fisher (born 1976) mixed martial artist
Courtney W. Hamlin (1858–1950) member of U.S. House of Representatives
James A. Hefner (1941–2015) former president, Tennessee State University (son of Art Hefner)
Clifford B. Hicks (1920–2010) author
Allen Hunt (born 1964) radio personality
Randy Johnson (1944–2009) football player
Moms Mabley (1894–1975) stand-up comedian
Mickey Marvin (1955–2017) football player, Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders
Cliff Melton (1912–1986) Major League Baseball pitcher
Lauren Myracle (born 1969) author
James Champlin "Champ" Osteen (1877–1962) Major League baseball infielder
Woody Platt bluegrass musician
Marie M. Runyon (1915–2018) activist and politician
O. K. Smathers (1914–1997) world champion archer
Charles H. Taylor (born 1941) former member of U.S. House of Representatives
Charles O'Rear (born 1941) photographer of Bliss, the default wallpaper of Windows XP

Sister city

Brevard has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International:

Pietroasa, Bihor, Romania