Map of Sylva town

Sylva is an incorporated town located in central Jackson County, in the Plott Balsam Mountains of Western North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 2,588. It is the county seat, taking over the role from nearby Webster in 1913.

Sylva town overview:
Name:	Sylva town
LSAD Code:	43
LSAD Description:	town (suffix)
State:	North Carolina
County:	Jackson County
Incorporated:	1889
Elevation:	2,036 ft (620 m)
Total Area:	3.17 sq mi (8.21 km²)
Land Area:	3.17 sq mi (8.21 km²)
Water Area:	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km²) 0%
Total Population:	2,578
Population Density:	812.74/sq mi (313.84/km²)
ZIP code:	28779
Area code:	828
FIPS code:	3766500
GNISfeature ID:	0995798
Website:	www.townofsylva.org

Online Interactive Map

Sylva online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Sylva location map. Where is Sylva town?

Sylva location on the U.S. Map. Where is Sylva town. — Sylva location on the U.S. Map.

Sylva location on the North Carolina map. Where is Sylva town. — Location of Sylva in North Carolina.

History

The town became the county seat in 1913 after the county voted to move the seat from Webster to Sylva, which gained a railroad station. Subsequently, Webster declined, as the railroad had not established a stop in that town. Many businesses followed the court and railroad to Sylva. The Jackson County Courthouse was constructed in 1914 and is located on a hill at the end of Main Street in downtown Sylva. The building no longer serves as the official courthouse; the Justice Center was constructed in 1994 a few blocks away. Since 2011, the Jackson County Courthouse has been the site of the Jackson County Public Library.

The town has the main county high school, Smoky Mountain High School; the county library, county hospital, Justice Center, and two K-8 elementary schools: Scotts Creek east of town, and Fairview located behind the high school. The local newspaper is The Sylva Herald, which was founded in 1926.

Sylva claims that it once had Dills Falls, a 249-foot waterfall, making it the only town in the US that had a waterfall in town limits, until it was destroyed to build the Sylva bypass. However, the waterfall was only approximately 40 feet tall, and was never destroyed. Many towns in the US, and even North Carolina, have waterfalls in their town limits. The town had the first municipally owned swimming pool west of Asheville. The stone and concrete pool was built in 1938 by the WPA during the Great Depression; it was demolished in 1969 to be replaced by the current pool. Thomas Edison and Franklin D. Roosevelt both traveled through Sylva: Edison in 1911 and FDR in 1936 during his presidency.

The Downtown Sylva Historic District, Dr. D. D. Hooper House, and Jackson County Courthouse are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sylva Road Map

Sylva city Satellite Map

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.3 km), all land.

Sylva is close to the Cherokee Indian Reservation (the Eastern band) and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, both of which are popular, well-known vacation spots.