Avery

Formed January 1, 1911 (99^th county)

Avery County (17,812), Newland (713), Banner Elk (1,047)

A partial domed tower tops the 1913 Beaux Arts and Classical Revival courthouse.  It is sited on Montezuma Street at Park Street.  North Carolina State Highway 181 is two blocks west of the site.  The courthouse is a brick and stucco facility.  Wheeler and Runge are the building designers.  The structure has been enlarged.  The facility features columns and the city park is across the street.  Avery County was founded on January 1, 1911 from parts of Caldwell, Mitchell, and Watauga counties as the 99^th county with Newland as the only county seat.  It is named for American Revolutionary War Colonel Waightstill Avery.  The county seat is named for Lieutenant Governor William C. Newland. 

Avery 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 Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, and Yancey counties, Four District Court Judges serve Avery, Madison, Mitchell, Watauga, and Yancey counties and a court clerk serves Avery County (judicial.)  The county is on the western border with Tennessee.  Asheville, North Carolina is southwest and Greensboro, North Carolina is east of the county.  The county center is 3.8 miles North-Northeast of Newland.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Tennessee and Watauga, Caldwell, Burke, McDowell, and Mitchell counties. 

The area of the county is 248 square miles.  It is 95 out of 100 in the state.  It ranks 85 out of 100 in population in the state.  It has a density of 71.8 persons per square mile making it 63 out of 100 in the state.  Avery County has 16.9% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 19 East enters from Tennessee, north, and exits to Mitchell County, west.  United States Highway 221 crosses the county from northeast, Watauga County, to the southwest, Mitchell County.  The county resembles a molar tooth pointing southeast.  Newland is located in the western third of the county.  Banner Elk is in the northeast quarter of the county.  Newland is the county seat and Banner Elk is the largest city.  Newland is 4.0% of the county population while Banner Elk is 5.9% of the county population.