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Buncombe County, North Carolina facts for kids

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Buncombe County
Buncombe County Courthouse in Asheville
Buncombe County Courthouse in Asheville
Flag of Buncombe County
Flag
Official seal of Buncombe County
Seal
Official logo of Buncombe County
Logo
Motto(s): 
"People To Match Our Mountains"
Map of North Carolina highlighting Buncombe County
Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
Map of the United States highlighting North Carolina
North Carolina's location within the U.S.
Country  United States
State  North Carolina
Founded 1792
Named for Edward Buncombe
Seat Asheville
Largest municipality Asheville
Area
 • Total 659.95 sq mi (1,709.3 km2)
 • Land 656.50 sq mi (1,700.3 km2)
 • Water 3.45 sq mi (8.9 km2)  0.52%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 269,452
 • Estimate 
(2023)
275,901
 • Density 410.37/sq mi (158.44/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district 11th

Buncombe County (/ˈbʌŋkəm/ BUNK-um) is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is classified within Western North Carolina. The 2020 census reported the population was 269,452, making it the 7th-most populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Asheville. Buncombe County is part of the Asheville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The area of modern day Buncombe County and its environs was originally populated by the Anigiduwagi, better known as the Cherokee people. Europeans, primarily of German, Scottish and English descent, began to live in Buncombe in the early 18th century. Some the earliest permanent European settlers in Buncombe arrived in 1784. These European settlers frequently broke their treaties with the Cherokee, gradually forcing them off of their land in Buncombe County by force.

In December 1792 and April 1793, John Dillard was a commissioner in a local political dispute of determining where the county seat of Buncombe County should be located. It was provided in an act creating Buncombe County for a committee of five persons to be appointed for the selection of the site. A dispute arose between two factions of Buncombe County residents on opposite sides of the Swannanoa River, one faction pressing for the county seat to be north of Swannanoa, which is now the center of Asheville, and the other faction demanding it to be at a place south of Swannanoa River, which later became known as the "Steam Saw Mill Place", and is now the southern part of the city of Asheville.

Buncombe County was organized by European Americans after the American Revolutionary War in the home of Colonel William Davidson, a cousin of William Lee Davidson who was elected as the county's first state senator. The first meeting of the county government took place in April 1792 in Colonel Davidson's barn (located on the present-day Biltmore Estate).

At first, deeds were recorded in Morganton, the nearest county seat. That was inconvenient for residents as roads were poor. In December 1792, seven men met to select a courthouse location for the county. The first courthouse was built at the present-day Pack Square site in Asheville.

The county was formed in 1791 from parts of Burke and Rutherford counties. It was named for Edward Buncombe, a colonel in the American Revolutionary War who was captured at the Battle of Germantown. An earlier proposed name was "Union County". The large county originally extended to the Tennessee line.

Many of the early settlers were Baptists. In 1807 the pastors of six churches, including the revivalist Sion Blythe, formed the French Broad Association of Baptist churches in the area.

As population increased in this part of the state, parts of the county were taken to organize new counties. In 1808 the western part of Buncombe County became Haywood County. In 1833 parts of Burke and Buncombe counties were combined to form Yancey County. In 1838 the southern part of what was left of Buncombe County became Henderson County. In 1851 parts of Buncombe and Yancey counties were combined to form Madison County. Finally, in 1925 the Broad River township of McDowell County was transferred to Buncombe County.

In 1820, a U.S. Congressman whose district included Buncombe County, unintentionally contributed a word to the English language. In the Sixteenth Congress, after lengthy debate on the Missouri Compromise, members of the House called for an immediate vote on that important question. Felix Walker rose to address his colleagues, insisting that his constituents expected him to make a speech "for Buncombe." It was later remarked that Walker's untimely and irrelevant oration was not just for Buncombe—it "was Buncombe." Buncombe, afterwards spelled bunkum and later shortened to bunk, became a term for empty, nonsensical talk. That, in turn, is the etymology of the verb debunk.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Buncombe county has a total area of 659.95 square miles (1,709.3 km2), of which 656.50 square miles (1,700.3 km2) is land and 3.45 square miles (8.9 km2) (0.52%) is water.

The French Broad River enters the county at its border with Henderson County to the south and flows north into Madison County. The source of the Swannanoa River, which joins the French Broad River in Asheville, is in northeast Buncombe County near Mount Mitchell, a part of the Black Mountains range. Mt. Mitchell is the highest point in the eastern United States at 6,684 ft. Its summit lies in adjacent Yancey County; the highest point in Buncombe County is Potato Knob, at 6400+ feet, which lies a short distance south of Mount Mitchell.

A milestone was achieved in 2003 when Interstate 26, still called Future I-26 in northern Buncombe County, was extended from Mars Hill (north of Asheville) to Johnson City, Tennessee. This completed a 20-year, half-billion dollar construction project through the Blue Ridge Mountains.

National protected areas

State and local protected areas/sites

Major water bodies

Adjacent counties

Major highways


  • I-26 / Future I-26 (small section undesignated)
  • I-40
  • I-240
  • US 19
  • US 23

  • US 23 Bus.

  • US 23 Bus.
  • US 25
  • US 25A

  • US 64 Truck
  • US 70
  • US 74
  • US 74A
  • NC 9
  • NC 63
  • NC 81
  • NC 112
  • NC 146
  • NC 151
  • NC 191
  • NC 197
  • NC 251
  • NC 280
  • NC 694

Major infrastructure

  • Asheville Regional Airport

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1800 5,812
1810 9,277 59.6%
1820 10,542 13.6%
1830 16,281 54.4%
1840 10,084 −38.1%
1850 13,425 33.1%
1860 12,654 −5.7%
1870 15,412 21.8%
1880 21,909 42.2%
1890 35,266 61.0%
1900 44,288 25.6%
1910 49,798 12.4%
1920 64,148 28.8%
1930 97,937 52.7%
1940 108,755 11.0%
1950 124,403 14.4%
1960 130,074 4.6%
1970 145,056 11.5%
1980 160,934 10.9%
1990 174,821 8.6%
2000 206,330 18.0%
2010 238,318 15.5%
2020 269,452 13.1%
2023 (est.) 275,901 15.8%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790–1960 1900–1990
1990–2000 2010 2020

Since 1970, the county has had a steady rise in population, attracting retirees, second-home buyers and others from outside the region.

2020 census

Buncombe County racial composition
Race Number Percentage
White (non-Hispanic) 214,862 79.74%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 15,017 5.57%
Native American 727 0.27%
Asian 3,274 1.22%
Pacific Islander 467 0.17%
Other/Mixed 13,183 4.89%
Hispanic or Latino 21,922 8.14%

As of the 2020 census, there were 269,452 people, 106,741 households, and 63,675 families residing in the county.

Public libraries

Buncombe County Public Libraries has 11 branch locations, with a central location at Pack Memorial Library in downtown Asheville.

Communities

Map of Buncombe County North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels
Map of Buncombe County with municipal and township labels

City

  • Asheville (county seat and largest municipality)

Towns

Townships

  • Asheville
  • Avery Creek
  • Black Mountain
  • Broad River
  • Fairview
  • Flat Creek
  • French Broad
  • Hazel
  • Ivy
  • Leicester
  • Limestone
  • Lower Hominy
  • Reems Creek
  • Sandy Mush
  • Swannanoa
  • Woodfin
  • Upper Hominy

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Condado de Buncombe para niños

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