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.[2] Its county seat is Brevard.[3]
Transylvania County
United States
1861
Brevard
380.33 sq mi (985.1 km2)
378.36 sq mi (979.9 km2)
1.97 sq mi (5.1 km2) 0.52%
32,986
33,549
87.18/sq mi (33.66/km2)
Transylvania County comprises the Brevard, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Asheville-Waynesville-Brevard, NC Combined Statistical Area.
History[edit]
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.[4] Until the early 20th century, the vast majority of Transylvania County residents subsisted through agriculture, growing staples such as potatoes and cabbage.[5]
Beginning in the early 20th century, with Joseph Silverstein's tannery 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.[5]
In the following decades, Brevard College and its namesake town each grew at dramatic rates. The Brevard Music Center and its summer Brevard Music Festival began to attract musicians and enthusiasts from around the country to Transylvania County.[5]
Since the late 20th century, Transylvania County's economy has changed. Many of the manufacturing operations went defunct or moved offshore for cheap labor, including Ecusta and DuPont. Since then, the county has worked to reshape its economy around the growing summer and winter tourism industry in Appalachia.[5]
