Balsam, North Carolina
Encyclopedia
Balsam is an unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
located in the Scott Creek township of Jackson County
Jackson County, North Carolina
Jackson County is a county located in the southwest of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2010, the population was 40,271. Since 1913 its county seat has been Sylva, replacing Webster.-History:...
, in the Blue Ridge Mountains
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
of Western North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, USA. As of the 2000 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, the town had a total population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 49. There is one United States Post Office in the town. The Zip Code is 28707.
Balsam is located near Balsam Gap
Balsam Gap
Balsam Gap is a mountain pass between the Plott Balsam Range to the northwest and the Great Balsam Mountains to the southeast on the county line dividing Haywood and Jackson counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina....
, a mountain pass
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
between the Great Balsam Mountains
Great Balsam Mountains
The Great Balsam Mountains, or Balsam Mountains, are in the mountain region of western North Carolina, United States. The Great Balsams are a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which in turn are a part of the Appalachian Mountains...
and the Plott Balsams
Plott Balsams
The Plott Balsams are a mountain range in western North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. They are part of the Blue Ridge Mountain Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Plott Balsams stretch from the city of Sylva in the Tuckasegee River valley to the southwest to Maggie...
, two of the highest ranges in the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
. The town and ranges are named after the nicknames of the red spruce and Fraser fir ("he-balsam" and "she-balsam," respectively), which are the dominant tree types at the highest elevations in the Southern Appalachian mountains.
Geography
Balsam is located at 35.255789°N 83.05217°W (35.255789, -83.05217). The town's altitude above sea level is 3,307 feet (1008 meters.)According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.3 km2), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 49 people, 14 households, and 11 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 759.7 people per square mile (292.9/km2). There were 41 housing units at an average density of 400.3 per square mile (154.3/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 75.1% White, 12.3% African American, 0.9% Native American, 3.6% Asian, 5.5% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.5% of the population.
There were 14 households out of which 50.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.4% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 0.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.4% were non-families. 0.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.50 and the average family size was 3.73.
In the town the population was spread out with 34.7% under the age of 20, 4.1% from 20 to 24, 10.2% from 25 to 34, 14.3% from 35 to 44, 14.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.5 years. The population was 40.8% male, 30.6% female for people 18 and older.
The median income for a household in the town was $44,531, and the median income for a family was $43,750. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $13,869. No families and 0.0% of the population were below the poverty line.
History
Balsam was a tourist stop on the Murphy BranchMurphy Branch
The historically important Murphy Branch is the western most part of what was the Western North Carolina Railroad, later the Richmond and Danville, Southern Railway and today the Norfolk Southern Railway. The branch runs between Asheville, North Carolina in the east and Andrews in the west. It...
of the Western North Carolina Railroad
Western North Carolina Railroad
The Western North Carolina Railroad was a 19th century railroad that ran from Salisbury to Murphy, North Carolina.Future American Civil War officer Samuel McDowell Tate was instrumental in planning and sponsoring the construction of the first leg of the railroad in 1855, then in managing it in the...
, later the Southern Railway
Southern Railway (US)
The Southern Railway is a former United States railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894...
. In the early 20th century, tourists would travel from Asheville
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
to the train depot at Balsam and stay at just up the hill at the Balsam Mountain Inn
Balsam Mountain Inn
The Balsam Mountain Inn is an historic wooden Neo-Classical and Victorian hotel located at 68 Seven Springs Drive in Balsam, North Carolina, United States. In July, 1982, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places....
. Today, the depot no longer stands at the original site but was moved up the ridge, in the 1960s, to a private location and the original siding sees little use by the Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
. Balsam Mountain Inn
Balsam Mountain Inn
The Balsam Mountain Inn is an historic wooden Neo-Classical and Victorian hotel located at 68 Seven Springs Drive in Balsam, North Carolina, United States. In July, 1982, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places....
, renovated in 1990 and refurbished in 2004 is still in operation, serves as a nostalgic reminder of a by-gone era with a great restaurant and wine list. Another notable building, Knight's Store, stands near where the depot once stood at the bottom of the hill the Balsam Mountain Inn sits on. The building was built in the early 1900s and closed in 1979. It is a popular photography subject and many photos can be found of it on Flickr.
The community of Willets is located near Balsam and is sometimes confused as being a part of Balsam, though it is not. Balsam once had several stores, churches, houses, the Balsam Mountain Inn, its own Depot and School, but most remaining buildings are faded memories of what once was. The construction of 4-Lane US 74/23 in the 1970s cut into the community, caused the demolition of several buildings, and further opened Balsam to the outside world. Today it is largely a bedroom community for Sylva and Waynesville. The stores are all long closed though a few of the old store buildings still stand and the schools were consolidated into Scotts Creek Elementary in 1951. The mills are long closed and demolished. Balsam still has a post office and its inn. Balsam Depot was moved up a hill in the 1960s and became a house. Balsam is a shadow of the thriving small tourist town it was from the 1890s up until the 1930s.
Recreation
Balsam is located near several popular recreational areas, some of which are accessible from the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway.Blue Ridge Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. It runs for 469 miles , mostly along the famous Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains...
- Waterrock KnobWaterrock KnobWaterrock Knob is a mountain peak in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the highest peak in the Plott Balsams and is the 16th highest mountain in the Eastern United States. It is the 15th highest of the 40 mountains in North Carolina over 6000 feet....
- Moonshine Creek Campground
- Graveyard Fields
- Balsam Mountain InnBalsam Mountain InnThe Balsam Mountain Inn is an historic wooden Neo-Classical and Victorian hotel located at 68 Seven Springs Drive in Balsam, North Carolina, United States. In July, 1982, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places....