Newland is a town in and the county seat of Avery County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 715 at the 2020 census. By elevation, Newland is the highest county seat located east of the Mississippi River.

History

Before its founding, the area was known as "Old Fields of Toe". It was an early muster ground in the campaign against Indians and before the Battle of Kings Mountain. On November 9, 1783, the land was granted to Colonel Waightstill Avery.

The name comes from the legend of Estatoe (pronounced 'S - ta - toe'), one of a genre of folktales about a daughter of a native tribal chief who fell in love with a warrior of a rival tribe. Because their love could never be accepted by either family, they jumped from a precipice into the depths of a nearby river. In an alternative version, their love caused a bloody war between the tribes and Estatoe crafted a peace pipe with two stems in which both chiefs could smoke at once. The two rival chiefs assembled their respective followers on the bank of the river, and smoked till peace was concluded and Estatoe married her lover. In 1911, upon the establishment of Avery County, Old Fields of Toe was designated as the site for the county seat and was renamed Newland, after the North Carolina Lieutenant Governor William C. Newland. In 1912, the Newland Post Office was established; while in 1913, the Avery County Courthouse and Avery County Jail opened (both in the National Register of Historic Places). In that same year, Newland was incorporated as a town. In 1914, the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (ET&WNC), successor of the LRR, opened the Newland Depot, which was equipped with telephone and telegraph services; burned down in 1921, but was soon rebuilt and continued operations till 1940.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land.

The East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad ("Tweetsie") passed through the town until 1940.

Demographics

2020 census

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

|+Newland racial composition

!scope="col"| Race

!scope="col"| Number

!scope="col"| Percentage

|-

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

| 560

| 78.32%

|-

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

| 14

| 1.96%

|-

!scope="row"| Native American

| 9

| 1.26%

|-

!scope="row"| Asian

| 4

| 0.56%

|-

!scope="row"| Other/Mixed

| 36

| 5.03%

|-

!scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino

| 92

| 12.87%

|}

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 715 people, 388 households, and 178 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the census

See also

  • East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad
  • North Toe River
  • Spanish Oak Mountain

References

  • Official website
  • Cy Crumley ET&WNC Photo Collection
  • Calloway Cemetery