Transylvania County, North Carolina

Transylvania County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census the population is 32,986.

Transylvania County comprises the Brevard, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Asheville-Waynesville-Brevard, NC Combined Statistical Area.

History

The North Carolina General Assembly apportioned Transylvania County on February 15, 1861, from lands previously attributed to neighboring Jackson and Henderson counties; it was named by representative Joseph P. Jordan. Until the early 20th century, the vast majority of Transylvania County residents subsisted through agriculture, growing staples such as potatoes and cabbage.

Beginning in the early 20th century, with Joseph Silversteen's Toxaway Tanning Co. in what was renamed as Rosman in 1905, a manufacturing economy began to develop in the county. It relied on timber and related products harvested from the Pisgah National Forest. In the 1930s, Harry Straus opened a paper mill in the Pisgah Forest area; by the mid-20th century, Straus's Ecusta Paper manufacturing site provided jobs to over 3,000 local residents. During the peak industrial years of the 1950s, DuPont had a factory in the county, employing nearly 1,000 more residents.

Transylvania County contains the primary headwaters of the French Broad River, locally called North Fork, West Fork, East Fork, and Middle Fork. Since the county's northern and western boundaries follow mountain ridges, all these tributaries originate from sources in the county. The French Broad flows primarily east and northward through the county into Henderson County.

The county's northern border follows the ridge line proximate to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the southern border mostly follows the Eastern Continental Divide, from the border of Henderson County and South Carolina, westward to near US 178 and Jackson County. The headwaters of Lake Toxaway lie south of the Eastern Continental Divide, becoming the Toxaway River, descending rapidly through Gorges State Park and into Lake Jocassee on the county's southern edge. This area, known as the Cane Brake, is difficult to access from North Carolina due to the steep slope of the trails in Gorges State Park, but can be reached more easily via the Foothills Trail from South Carolina.

Transylvania County is known as the "Land of Waterfalls", due to it having over 250 waterfalls. This is due to a combination of its high precipitation and location on the Blue Ridge Escarpment. Notable waterfalls in the county include Looking Glass Falls, Moore Cove Falls, Rainbow Falls, and Whitewater Falls, the tallest waterfall east of the Mississippi. It receives over of rain annually due to orographic lift, making it the state's wettest county. (Buncombe County, northeast, is the driest, as it sits in Transylvania County's rain shadow.) The Blue Ridge Parkway traverses parts of the county, and has views of the Appalachian Mountains, which reach over elevation in the county.

National protected areas

Blue Ridge Parkway (part)
Nantahala National Forest (part)
Pisgah National Forest (part)

State and local protected areas

Biltmore Forest School
Bracken Preserve
Davidson River Recreational Area
Dupont State Forest Game Land (part)
DuPont State Recreational Forest (part)
Gorges State Park
Headwaters State Forest
Headwaters State Forest Game Land

| align-fn = center

| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census<br />1790–1960 1900–1990<br />1990–2000 2010 2020

| align = right

thumb|2020 population density of Transylvania County NC by census block

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had 32,986 people and 9,978 families, and the median age was 50.4 years.

17.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 29.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older; for every 100 females there were 92.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.5 males.

39.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 60.4% lived in rural areas.

Of the 14,385 households, 22.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.5% were married-couple households, 16.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|21,981

|24,004

|27,305

|30,049

|style='background: #ffffe6; |28,542

|93.87%

|94.06%

|93.08%

|90.81%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |86.53%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|1,236

|1,185

|1,228

|1,279

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,027

|5.28%

|4.64%

|4.19%

|3.87%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.11%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|31

|78

|76

|93

|style='background: #ffffe6; |102

|0.13%

|0.31%

|0.26%

|0.28%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.31%

|Asian alone (NH)

|54

|98

|111

|143

|style='background: #ffffe6; |173

|0.23%

|0.38%

|0.43%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.52%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |22

|0.02%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.07%

|Other race alone (NH)

|19

|13

|33

|style='background: #ffffe6; |115

|0.08%

|0.00%

|0.04%

|0.10%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.35%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|296

|521

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,307

|1.01%

|1.57%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.96%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|96

|154

|298

|964

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,698

|0.41%

|0.60%

|1.02%

|2.91%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.15%

|Total

|23,417

|25,520

|29,334

|33,090

|style='background: #ffffe6; |32,986

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 33,090 people, 14,394 households, and 8,660 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 15,553 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 92.4% White, 3.9% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian, and 1.12% from two or more races. 2.9% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 12,320 households, out of which 25.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.60% were married couples living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.74.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 20.40% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 23.10% from 25 to 44, 26.90% from 45 to 64, and 21.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 92.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,587, and the median income for a family was $45,579. Males had a median income of $31,743 versus $21,191 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,767. About 6.60% of families and 9.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.80% of those under age 18 and 7.00% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Transylvania is a solidly Republican county in federal elections, although less so than most of Appalachia. No Democratic presidential nominee has carried Transylvania County since Jimmy Carter did so in 1976. In 2024, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein flipped the county, marking the first time a democratic gubernatorial candidate had won the county in 20 years.

Transylvania County has a council-manager form of government, with a five-member Board of Commissioners elected at large. The Commissioners hire and supervise a separate County Manager. The current County Manager is Jaime Laughter. The current members of the Board of Commissioners are Teresa McCall (chair), Larry Chapman (vice chair), Jason Chappell, Jake Dalton, and Chase McKelvey.

Transylvania Regional Hospital (TRH) was formed in 1933 with the mission to serve the community's health care needs. A 94-bed facility fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), it has more than 120 active, consulting and courtesy physicians representing a full spectrum of specialties.

Transylvania County is a member of the Land-of-Sky Regional Council of governments.

The current mayor of Brevard is Maureen Copelof. The current mayor of Rosman is Brian Shelton.

Points of interest

thumb|350px|[[Looking Glass Falls ]]

Biltmore Forest School, first school of forestry in North America
Blue Ridge Community College, Transylvania campus
Blue Ridge Parkway
Brevard College
Brevard Little Theater
Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute
Pisgah National Forest
Sliding Rock
Transylvania County Schools
Whitewater Falls, highest waterfall in North Carolina

Communities

thumb|275px|Map of Transylvania County with municipal and township labels

City

Brevard (county seat and largest community)

Town

Rosman

Townships

Boyd
Brevard
Cathey's Creek
Dunn's Rock
Eastatoe
Gloucester
Hogback
Little River

Unincorporated communities

Balsam Grove
Blantyre
Cedar Mountain
Lake Toxaway
Penrose
Pisgah Forest
Sapphire

References

External links

Transylvania County Library
Waterfalls in Transylvania County
NCGenWeb Transylvania County, genealogy resources for the county