Short History and Place Names of Ashe County, NC
Short History
Ashe County is located in the Northwest corner of North Carolina.
Named for the Revolutionary patriot and NC govenor, Samuel Ashe, Ashe county
was formed in 1799 from the North side and North West corner of Wilkes County.
The county seat is Jefferson, founded in 1803, which was named after the then-
current president Thomas Jefferson. Later, in 1849, Ashe County gave up
its South West border to help create Watagua County. In 1859, it
gave up part of its Northeast section to create Allegheny County. Since
then, the boundaries have not changed. Ashe County was one a claimed bye
the state of Franklin (now Tennessee).
Places in Ashe County
This is a list of place names that I've been able to find information on:
- Jefferson - Founded in 1799; originally called Jeffersonton and designated as the county seat in 1799
- Lansing - Incorporated May 16, 1928; occupies less than 1/2 a square mile of land
- West Jefferson - Incorporated in 1909; West Jefferson was a major stop along the Norfolk and Western Railroad;
This is a list of unincorporated towns in Ashe County not on the map above:
- Beaver Creek
- Bina - originally named Berlin, but name changed during World War I
- Comet
- Crumpler - named for Civil War major Thomas Newton Crumpler who died of wounds received during war; popular retreat in late 1800s and early 1900s because of a spring discovered in 1885 and another All Healing Springs nearby
- Fig
- Grayson
- Parker
- Scottville - originally known as Flint Hill and settled around 1830; name changed around 1855; believed to be named after respected citizen Mrs. Elizabeth Scott who died in 1856
- Sturgills - named for Sherriff B. Sturgills
- Todd - incorporated 1915, but county line changed so now a part of Watauga County; Used to be known as Elk X Roads when a post office was established here, but changed to Todd in 1882
- Warrensville - settled 1826 as Buffalo Creek, name changed for name of owner of first gristmill and sawmill
Above information gleaned from a variety of sources, including the following:
- Powell, William S. Encyclopedia of North Carolina. Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, 2006.
- Powell, William S. The North Carolina gazetteer. Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, c1968.
