Marshall is a town in Madison County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 777 at the 2020 census,
History
During the Civil War, Marshall, as the seat of Confederate administration for Madison County, was the scene of conflict with the largely pro-Union rural population. On May 13, 1861, the election day for delegates to the state convention on secession from the Union, a man shot and killed the pro-secession county sheriff after a dispute in which the sheriff had shot the man's son.
Later, Confederate authorities restricted the distribution of salt, which was needed to preserve meat in the winter. In January 1863, a group of men raided the salt warehouse in Marshall, then proceeded to ransack the home of Colonel Lawrence Allen of the 64th North Carolina Regiment (the columned house below the courthouse dome in the Main Street photo).
In retaliation, the 64th North Carolina Regiment summarily executed 13 men and boys in the Shelton Laurel massacre.
From the 1950s to the 1980s, Marshall was the seat of the Ponder machine, which controlled all the patronage jobs in Madison County.
The Bank of French Broad, Capitola Manufacturing Company Cotton Yarn Mill, Madison County Courthouse, Marshall High School, Marshall Main Street Historic District, James H. White House, and Jeff White House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
thumb|View towards the Courthouse after the [[Effects of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina|Hurricane Helene flooding in 2024]]
The town was impacted by Hurricane Helene in 2024. The hurricane destroyed several buildings in Marshall, and damaged the town hall.
Geography
Marshall is in southern Madison County, by road northwest of Asheville. The townsite is blocked on one side by the French Broad River and on all other sides by steep mountainous terrain. Madison County residents say Marshall is "a block wide, a mile long, sky high and hell deep."
U.S. Route 70 Business passes through the center of town as Main Street, while U.S. Routes 25 and 70 bypass the town to the northeast. The combined highways lead southeast to Asheville and northwest to Newport, Tennessee.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town of Marshall has a total area of , of which are land and , or 5.21%, are water. The French Broad River, one of the major river systems of western North Carolina, flows westward through the south side of the town.
Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Marshall has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Marshall was on September 6, 1925, July 21–22, 1926, and July 29, 1952, while the coldest temperature recorded was on January 21, 1985.
|source 2 = National Weather Service
Demographics
Marshall is part of the Asheville metropolitan area.
2020 census
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|+Marshall racial composition
!scope="col"| Race
!scope="col"| Number
!scope="col"| Percentage
|-
!scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)
| 698
| 89.83%
|-
!scope="row"| Native American
| 8
| 1.03%
|-
!scope="row"| Asian
| 3
| 0.39%
|-
!scope="row"| Other/Mixed
| 30
| 3.86%
|-
!scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino
| 38
| 4.89%
|}
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 777 people, 346 households, and 195 families residing in the town.
2000 census
thumb|right|Town hall
As of the census
Independent filmmakers Joel Haver and Dylan Dexter released the film 31 Days in Marshall, North Carolina in 2019. The film was shot entirely in Marshall in 2017, and features multiple townsfolk in both the cast as well as background musical talent.
Wiley Cash's 2012 debut novel, A Land More Kind Than Home, is set in Marshall and the surrounding area.
References
External links
- NC STEP and Marshall, NC