Early Maps Depict Brevard, Transylvania County

1868 Transylvania County Map

The map collection in the Local History Room at the Transylvania County Library has over 500 maps.   This includes a variety of maps covering different areas of the county, the Pisgah National Forest and western North Carolina, as well as a small number beyond the region.

The largest group is USGS topographic maps from the 1930s through the 1970s.  Topographic maps feature large-scale detail, usually using contour lines, showing both natural and man-made features. 

Natural land features include named mountains, knobs, rocks, coves, gaps, and valleys, along with their elevations.  Water features include rivers and lakes, as wells as smaller streams and creeks and waterfalls.

Man-made features include the roads and towns but also mark small communities, such as Cedar Mountain and even subdivisions, like Sherwood Forest.  The older editions can also aid in pinpointing locations of sites that no longer exist, such as Breese Mill on Hogsed Creek, the Little River School or Camp Burgess Glen.  Other man-made features include churches, cemeteries, 

community centers, airports, golf courses, lookout towers, power plants, gaging stations and bridges.

The earliest map of Transylvania County is dated 1868.  It shows townships, rivers, roads, bridges, churches and mills.  The map was drawn by T.G. Henson, the first county surveyor.

Early Town of Brevard Map

The earliest Town of Brevard map shows a town square for public use with four small lots on each the east and west sides.   Main Street was laid out running east-west through the square.  Broad Street ran to the south only.  Caldwell Street was the main north-south thoroughfare.

Another group of maps cover forest lands in the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forest and along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  These included both trail and land management maps.

There are over 100 subdivision plats from the 1970s covering housing developments in Boyd, Brevard, Cathey’s Creek, Dunn’s Rock, Eastatoe, Gloucester, Hogback and Little River Townships.

In addition there are reprints of historical North Carolina maps.

To access an index of the map holdings visit the Transylvania County Library website at library.transylvaniacounty.org.  Click on the Local History button and then Indexes.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-3151 X242.