Mitchell County, North Carolina

Mitchell County
County
Old Mitchell County Courthouse in Bakersville
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
North Carolina's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 36°01′N82°10′W / 36.01°N 82.16°W / 36.01; -82.16
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Founded	1861
Named for	Elisha Mitchell [1]
Seat	Bakersville
Largest community	Spruce Pine
Area
• Total	221.88 sq mi (574.7 km2)
• Land	221.25 sq mi (573.0 km2)
• Water	0.63 sq mi (1.6 km2)  0.28%
Population  (2020)
• Total	14,903
• Estimate  (2023)	14,999
• Density	67.36/sq mi (26.01/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	5th
Website	www.mitchellcounty.org

Mitchell County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,903. ^[2] Its county seat is Bakersville. ^[3]

The county is home to Spruce Pine, nicknamed the "Mineral City of the World", ^[4] and Bakersville, "Gateway to Roan Mountain", which includes the world's largest natural rhododendron garden and the longest stretch of grassy bald in the Appalachian range. ^[5] Throughout the year such festivals as North Carolina Mineral and Gem Festival and North Carolina Rhododendron Festival bring visitors to the area. ^{[6] [7]}

History

The county was formed in 1861 from parts of Burke County, Caldwell County, McDowell County, Watauga County, and Yancey County. It was named for Elisha Mitchell, professor of mathematics, chemistry, geology, and mineralogy at the University of North Carolina from 1818 until his death in 1857. Dr. Mitchell was the first scientist to argue that a nearby peak in the Black Mountains was the highest point east of the Mississippi River. He measured the mountain's height and climbed and explored it. In 1857 he fell to his death on a waterfall on the side of the mountain. The mountain was subsequently named Mount Mitchell in his honor.

By 1899, Mitchell County had a sundown town policy of preventing Black Americans from living or working in the county. ^[8] By the early 1920s, Black Americans began working and living in the county in larger numbers, especially as mine workers and as convict laborers constructing local infrastructure, including new state highways such as what is now US Highway 19E. In September 1923, a 75-year-old White woman named Alice Thomas accused John Goss, an escaped Black convict laborer, of raping her. A White mob formed in Spruce Pine, and when they could not locate the fugitive Goss, the mob (which included members of the Ku Klux Klan) forced nearly all of the Black people onto train cars heading out of the county. Governor Cameron Morrison, an ally of the infrastructure construction and mining industries, declared martial law and called in the National Guard in an attempt to stop the mob violence, but by the time the Guard units arrived two days later, the Black mine and construction laborers had already been driven from the county. The National Guard occupied Spruce Pine for nearly two weeks. Despite Morrison's declaration of martial law having little effect, it was the first time martial law was declared in response to an instance of mass racial violence in the United States. Ultimately, 86 members of the White supremacist mob were indicted for their actions, many of whom pled guilty to minor offences. Goss was arrested in Hickory four days after the alleged rape, and at the orders of the Governor, jailed in Raleigh to avert lynching. He was tried three weeks later in Mitchell County, convicted by jury after five minutes of deliberation, and executed by electrocution. ^{[9] [10]}

The county took a direct hit from "The Storm of the Century", also known as the "’93 Superstorm", or "The (Great) Blizzard of 1993". This storm event was similar in nature to a hurricane. The storm occurred between March 12–13, 1993, on the East Coast of North America. Parts of Cuba, Gulf Coast States, Eastern United States and Eastern Canada were greatly impacted. The county suffered a tragic event on May 3, 2002, when a fire broke out at the Mitchell County jail in Bakersville, North Carolina. Eight men lost their lives in the fire.

Mitchell County was one of the three entirely dry counties in North Carolina, along with Graham and Yancey, but in March 2009, after much controversy, the Town of Spruce Pine approved beer, wine and limited retail sale.

Geography

Interactive map of Mitchell County

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 221.88 square miles (574.7 km²), of which 221.25 square miles (573.0 km²) is land and 0.63 square miles (1.6 km²) (0.28%) is water. ^[11] It is the fourth-smallest county in North Carolina by land area and second-smallest by total area. The northwest sections of county border the state of Tennessee. Sections of both the Blue Ridge Parkway and Appalachian Trail are located in the county. Parts of the Pisgah National Forest are located in the northern sections of the county. Several conservation lands are within Pisgah National Forest in Mitchell and neighboring Avery County.

National protected areas

• Blue Ridge Parkway (part)
• Cherokee National Forest (part)
• Pisgah National Forest (part)

State and local protected areas

• Pisgah National Forest Game Land (part) ^[12]
• Pisgah (WRC) Game Land (part) ^[12]
• Yellow Mountain State Natural Area (part)

Major water bodies

• Nolichucky River ^[13]
• North Toe River

Adjacent counties

• Carter County, Tennessee – north-northeast
• Avery County – northeast
• McDowell County – south
• Yancey County – southwest
• Unicoi County, Tennessee – north-northwest

Major highways

• US 19E
• NC 80
• NC 197
• NC 226
• NC 226A
• NC 261

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	4,705		—
1880	9,435		100.5%
1890	12,807		35.7%
1900	15,221		18.8%
1910	17,245		13.3%
1920	11,278		−34.6%
1930	13,962		23.8%
1940	15,980		14.5%
1950	15,143		−5.2%
1960	13,906		−8.2%
1970	13,447		−3.3%
1980	14,428		7.3%
1990	14,433		0.0%
2000	15,687		8.7%
2010	15,579		−0.7%
2020	14,903		−4.3%
2023 (est.)	14,999	[2]	0.6%
U.S. Decennial Census [14] 1790–1960 [15] 1900–1990 [16] 1990–2000 [17] 2010 [18] 2020 [2]

2020 census

Mitchell County racial composition ^[19]

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	13,514	90.68%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	50	0.34%
Native American	30	0.2%
Asian	52	0.35%
Pacific Islander	1	0.01%
Other/Mixed	555	3.72%
Hispanic or Latino	701	4.7%

As of the 2020 census, there were 14,903 people, 6,344 households, and 4,031 families residing in the county.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, ^[20] there were 15,687 people, 6,551 households, and 4,736 families residing in the county. The population density was 71 people per square mile (27 people/km²). There were 7,919 housing units at an average density of 36 units per square mile (14 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.87% White, 0.22% Black or African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.66% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. 1.98% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,551 households, out of which 27.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.90% were married couples living together, 8.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.70% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 21.20% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 27.10% from 45 to 64, and 18.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 95.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,508, and the median income for a family was $36,367. Males had a median income of $26,550 versus $20,905 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,933. About 10.70% of families and 13.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.20% of those under age 18 and 16.40% of those age 65 or over.

Ancestry

As of 2015, the largest self-reported ancestry groups in Mitchell County were: ^[21]

Ancestry	Percent (2015)
American	17.3%
English	14.7%
German	12.2%
Irish	11.9%
Scotch-Irish	9.8%
Scottish	5.0%
French (except Basque)	2.3%
Italian	1.9%
Swedish	1.6%
Dutch	1.5%

Law and government

Mitchell County is a member of the regional High Country Council of Governments.

Politics

Owing to its Civil War-era Unionist sympathies, along with its rural character, Mitchell has continuously been an overwhelmingly Republican county, even during the "Solid South" Democratic era. No Democratic presidential candidate has carried Mitchell County since Samuel J. Tilden in 1876. However, since Tilden's win, every Republican candidate has obtained at least sixty percent of the county's vote, with the solitary exception of the 1912 election when the party was divided between the two candidacies of William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt, the latter of whom carried the county.

As of October 2022, 58 percent of active voters in Mitchell County are registered Republicans—the highest such rate statewide—while Democrats have their lowest county registration rate. ^[22]

United States presidential election results for Mitchell County, North Carolina ^[23]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	7,090	78.42%	1,867	20.65%	84	0.93%
2016	6,282	77.59%	1,596	19.71%	218	2.69%
2012	5,806	74.77%	1,838	23.67%	121	1.56%
2008	5,499	70.09%	2,238	28.52%	109	1.39%
2004	5,686	72.92%	2,080	26.67%	32	0.41%
2000	4,984	75.52%	1,535	23.26%	81	1.23%
1996	3,874	65.15%	1,496	25.16%	576	9.69%
1992	4,405	62.79%	1,727	24.62%	883	12.59%
1988	4,620	76.82%	1,377	22.90%	17	0.28%
1984	4,737	78.51%	1,286	21.31%	11	0.18%
1980	4,322	68.93%	1,765	28.15%	183	2.92%
1976	3,728	64.50%	2,031	35.14%	21	0.36%
1972	4,240	83.45%	800	15.74%	41	0.81%
1968	3,778	72.65%	819	15.75%	603	11.60%
1964	3,263	65.27%	1,736	34.73%	0	0.00%
1960	4,831	80.45%	1,174	19.55%	0	0.00%
1956	4,269	79.97%	1,069	20.03%	0	0.00%
1952	4,009	76.43%	1,236	23.57%	0	0.00%
1948	2,908	76.35%	818	21.48%	83	2.18%
1944	3,192	75.71%	1,024	24.29%	0	0.00%
1940	3,290	69.41%	1,450	30.59%	0	0.00%
1936	3,380	66.71%	1,687	33.29%	0	0.00%
1932	3,798	68.06%	1,773	31.77%	9	0.16%
1928	3,436	80.60%	827	19.40%	0	0.00%
1924	1,540	68.84%	689	30.80%	8	0.36%
1920	2,153	75.54%	697	24.46%	0	0.00%
1916	1,298	73.75%	462	26.25%	0	0.00%
1912	203	15.57%	385	29.52%	716	54.91%

2016 presidential primaries

In the 2016 Republican Primary in Mitchell County, Donald Trump received 1,775 votes (or 46.8 percent of the total votes) followed by Ted Cruz who came in second with 1,188 votes (or 31.3% of the total votes). In the 2016 Democratic Primary, Bernie Sanders received 450 votes (57.9% of the total) whereas Hillary Clinton only won 314 votes (40.4% of the total). ^[24] In the general election Donald Trump received 6,282 votes (or 77.6% of the total vote) whereas Hillary Clinton only received 1,596 votes (19.7% of the vote) and Libertarian Candidate Gary Johnson only received 138 votes (1.7% of total votes in the county). ^[25]

Economy

The Mitchell County Economic Development Commission (EDC) is a nine-member board with representatives from various business, education, and government sectors in the county. The goal of the board is to promote the establishment, development, and retention of businesses in Mitchell County. ^[26]

Top 10 employers ranked largest to smallest: ^[27]

1. Mitchell County Board of Education
2. Sibelco North America, Inc.
3. Blue Ridge Medical Center, Lllp.
4. Walmart Associates, Inc.
5. Mayland Community College
6. Mitchell County Government
7. Hospice of the Blue Ridge
8. Ingles Markets, Inc.
9. Bombardier Motor Corp of America (BRP)
10. The Quartz Corp USA

Education

Mitchell High School is a comprehensive four-year high school (9-12) centrally located in the community of Ledger when built in 1978.

Spruce Pine is home to three schools: Greenlee Primary (K-2), ^[28] Deyton Elementary (3–5), ^[29] and Harris Middle (6–8). ^[30] Bakersville is home to two schools: Gouge Primary (K-4) ^[31] and Bowman Middle (5–8). ^[32]

Mayland Community College also calls Mitchell County home. Founded by an act of the North Carolina General Assembly in 1971, Mayland hosts some 35 curriculum programs and provides vocational and technical training, along with college transfer opportunities to residents of the region. ^[33]

Penland School of Crafts is an educational facility located in the Penland Community. It is designed to educate students who will apply workable knowledge in creation of books, paper, clay, drawing, glass, iron, metals, photography, printmaking and letterpress, textiles, and wood. ^{[34] [35]} The school was established in the early 1920s, it is the largest and oldest professional crafts school in the United States.

Media

The county is served by The Mitchell News-Journal, a weekly newspaper printed by Community Newspapers, Inc. ^[36] and WTOE radio, at 1470 kHz on the AM dial to cover local news. ^[37]

Communities

Map of Mitchell County with municipal and township labels

Towns

• Bakersville (county seat)
• Spruce Pine (largest community)

Townships

• Bakersville
• Bradshaw
• Cane Creek
• Fork Mountain-Little Rock Creek
• Grassy Creek
• Harrell
• Poplar
• Red Hill
• Snow Creek
• Spruce Pine

Unincorporated communities

• Bailey Settlement
• Bandana
• Buladean
• Clarrissa
• Estatoe
• Hawk
• Kona
• Ledger
• Little Switzerland
• Loafers Glory
• Penland
• Poplar
• Red Hill
• Tipton Hill
• Toecane

See also

• List of counties in North Carolina
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Mitchell County, North Carolina

References

1. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p.  210.
2. "QuickFacts: Mitchell County, North Carolina". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
4. Mims, Bryan (March 31, 2014). "Exploring the Spruce Pine Mining District". Our State. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
5. "Roan Mountain State Park". Hiking In The Smokys. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
6. Mitchell News-Journal (July 26, 2023). "Pair of annual gem shows return to area". Mitchell News-Journal. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
7. "North Carolina Rhododendron Festival". RomanticAsheville.com. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
8. "Negro Laborers Not Allowed There; Railroad Company Wants Protection". The Dayton Evening Herald . Dayton, Ohio. November 6, 1899. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com. The Ohio River & Charleston Railroad Co. will appeal to Governor Russell for protection for its gangs of negro laborers in Mitchell county. The residents of this county escorted three gangs of laborers to the border line and told them not to return under pain of death. It is the boast of the people of Mitchell county that no negroes are allowed to live or work there. Up to date the boast has been made good. The situation is serious, and blood may flow if the railroad company brings its colored laborers back.
9. Neufeld, Rob. "Visiting Our Past: Feldspar mining and racial tensions". The Asheville Citizen Times. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
10. Jaspin, Elliot (2007). Buried in the Bitter Waters: the Hidden History of Racial Cleansing in America. New York: Basic Books. pp. 201–217. ISBN   9780465036363.
11. "2020 County Gazetteer Files – North Carolina". United States Census Bureau. August 23, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
12. "NCWRC Game Lands". www.ncpaws.org. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
13. Igelman, Jack (January 3, 2022). "The struggle over protecting the Nolichucky River". Carolina Public Press. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
14. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
15. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
16. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
17. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
18. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
19. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
20. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
21. Bureau, U.S. Census. "American FactFinder - Results". factfinder.census.gov. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
22. Gong, Phillip Joonbae (October 26, 2022). "Who are North Carolina's Republican Voters? A 2022 Update". Carolina Demography. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
23. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
24. "North Carolina Primary Election Results 2016". The New York Times. September 29, 2016. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 16, 2018.
25. "North Carolina Election Results 2016". The New York Times. August 1, 2017. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 16, 2018.
26. "Economic Incentives". Mitchell County Economic Development Commission. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
27. "Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) Largest Employers". Demand Driven Data Delivery. 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
28. "Greenlee Primary School". sites.google.com. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
29. "DES". sites.google.com. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
30. "Harris Middle School". sites.google.com. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
31. "Gouge Elementary". sites.google.com. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
32. "Bowman Middle School". sites.google.com. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
33. "About Mayland - Mayland". April 9, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
34. "Studios". Penland School of Craft. November 26, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
35. "Mission". Penland School of Craft. November 26, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
36. "mitchellnews.com/about". www.mitchellnews.com. August 7, 2022.
37. "Mitchell". WKYK, WTOE. Retrieved August 8, 2022.

External links

• Geographic data related to Mitchell County, North Carolina at OpenStreetMap
• Official website
• NCGenWeb Mitchell County, genealogy resources for the county