Formed February 1, 1861 (90th county)
Transylvania County (32,986), Brevard (7,750)
The red brick Georgian Revival courthouse was constructed in 1881. The courthouse is at the intersection of Broad and Main streets. Broad Street is United States Highway 64 in the town. Thomas Davis is the building designer. The building was enlarged in 1921 and renovated in 1983. It features a tower with a working clock and veteran memorials on the grounds. The county was established on February 1, 1861 from Jackson and Henderson counties as the 90th county with Brevard as the only county seat. The county name is Latin for “across the woods.” Brevard is named for Doctor Ephraim Brevard.
The area of the county is 380 square miles. It is 72 out of 100 in the state. It ranks 69 out of 100 in population in the state. It has a density of 86.8 persons per square mile making it 60 out of 100 in the state. Transylvania County has 25.7% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 64 crosses the county northeast to west from Henderson County to Jackson County. United States Highway 178 originates and heads south into South Carolina. United States Highway 276 enters from Haywood County, north, and exits into South Carolina, south. The county looks like a scoop facing southwest. Brevard is located in the eastern third of the county. Brevard is the county seat and the largest city. It is 23.5% of the county population.
Transylvania County government consists of a manager, a register, a sheriff, an attorney, and a clerk (executive). It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.) Twenty-seven Superior Court Judges serve Transylvania, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Watauga, and Yancey counties, Six District Court Judges serve Transylvania, Henderson, and Polk counties and a court clerk serves Transylvania County (judicial.) The county is in southwest North Carolina on the border with South Carolina. Asheville, North Carolina is north and Charlotte, North Carolina is east of the county. The center of the county is 5.4 miles Southwest of Brevard. The county is surrounded clockwise by Henderson County and South Carolina and Jackson and Haywood counties. The county is pronounced TRAN-SIL-VAEN-YA. The county seat is pronounced BRE-VARD. This county is in the Brevard Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Brevard
Rosman
