Cullowhee, North Carolina facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cullowhee, North Carolina
Census-designated place
Cullowhee, the Valley of the Lilies
Location of Cullowhee, North Carolina
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Jackson
Area
• Total	3.51 sq mi (9.08 km2)
• Land	3.51 sq mi (9.08 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	2,116 ft (645 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	6,228
• Density	1,777/sq mi (686.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	28723
Area code(s)	828
FIPS code	37-15880
GNIS feature ID	1019881

Cullowhee is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jackson County, North Carolina, United States. It is located on the Tuckasegee River, and the permanent population was 6,228 as of the 2010 census.

The community is the home of Western Carolina University, part of the University of North Carolina System. Developing from a high school and normal school, it has 12,000 students and has become a strong influence in community life. The Jackson County Airport is located just outside the CDP limits.

The present community developed at the site of a historic Cherokee town, which was centered around the earthwork Cullowhee Mound. The name was long thought to mean "Valley of the Lilies." In fact, it is derived from the Cherokee phrase joolth-cullah-wee, which translates as "Judacullah's Place." Judacullah, a giant warrior and hunter who the Cherokee believe lived in the area, is an important figure in their religion and culture.

Geography

Cullowhee is located at 35°18′35″N 83°11′01″W / 35.309704°N 83.183726°W / 35.309704; -83.183726.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 10.0 square miles (26 km²), all land.

Climate

Located in a thermal valley, Cullowhee typically has a rather mild winter season. In the summer, high temperatures can reach into the 90 °F (32 °C)s.

History

The Old Cullowhee Road area of Cullowhee in the 1920s

Nestled along a mountain river and in a valley along a creek, Cullowhee was originally a Cherokee village that may have been established as early as 3000 BCE. When European settlers moved into the area, Cullowhee became one of the first settlements in Jackson County and reportedly had the first school in the area, a one-room school in 1830. The area was largely farmland, which was cleared in the 1800s. Today many farms are now wooded or have homes built on them, or college buildings. In 1883, Painter Post Office was founded by Rolling A. Painter, and located in his store. This led to the further development of the Old Cullowhee Road area into a business district. The post office was renamed Cullowhee in 1908, taking over from another post office in the vicinity of Forest Hills. In 1889, Cullowhee High School was founded by Robert Lee Madison, today's Western Carolina University.

Robert Lee Madison, founder of the Cullowhee High School, today's Western Carolina University.

The institution ceased to be named a High School when the first brick graded school opened in 1923 with grades 1-11, now the site of the former Brown Cafeteria Building. In 1940, a massive flood caused severe damage to the business district, wiping away almost all the buildings on the side of the river opposite Western Carolina University, the North Side of the river. The buildings on the opposite side of the river survived, though waterlogged. The flood crested at 21 feet (6.4 m) above Cullowhee Dam, the highest on record. Today such a flood would be impossible due to the dams built since the flood on the East and West forks of the Tuckasegee River. When the area rebuilt, the buildings clung to the higher ground around Old Cullowhee Road and the area closer to the river was abandoned. Many of these newer buildings are today in poor shape. The area underwent massive growth starting in the 1960s and continuing through today and it will continue into the future with plans for a new University Town Center, Old Cullowhee Road revitalization, and many new homes being built or planned for the area. The oldest surviving structure in the area is St. David's in the Valley church, dating back to 1880.

The town has had a public school since 1923, which has moved through four different buildings over the years. Cullowhee Valley School is the latest incarnation of this school. Before Cullowhee Valley, the public school was in Cordelia Camp Laboratory School from 1964 until 1994, McKee Training School from 1939 until 1964, and Cullowhee Training School from 1923 until 1939. The two former buildings still stand on the university campus, but the latter was demolished in the 1950s.

The downtown of Cullowhee was destroyed in the flood of 1940. Nothing was ever built to replace it.

The Joyner Building and Judaculla Rock are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,682 people, 1,269 households, and 165 families residing in the CDP.

Plans

Forest Hills, a village/town located in the area known as Cullowhee, has had a proposal placed before it to become the town/city of Cullowhee, incorporating areas along Old Cullowhee Road and NC 107. The area around Old Cullowhee Road would then become a large traditional downtown area with mixed use buildings, a city hall, homes, walkable neighborhoods, supermarket, and trails/parks along the river and throughout the area. The Elementary School could even be relocated here, as well as the Post Office and other town/city functions. A "town center" to be constructed on some 35 acres (14 ha) owned by WCU is one area targeted for annexation and development as well. The plan is controversial, as it may attract business away from Old Cullowhee Road and wouldn't allow local small businesses, only chain stores and businesses. The "town center" could accommodate as much as 270,000 square feet (25,000 m²) of commercial, housing and multi-tenant office space, with parking for 871 vehicles including a 320-space parking garage on 22 acres of land owned by the university, currently home to the Cordelia Camp Outreach Center (Old Cordelia Camp Laboratory School, built in 1964), the intramural fields, and several parking lots. The annexation will also include the area that is the business district on Old Cullowhee Road (S.R. 1002) near the former campus entrance.

The Old Cullowhee Road area has declined since it was bypassed by the relocation of N.C. 107 in the late 1970s-early 1980s; CuRvE's formation grew from a desire to rejuvenate the once-thriving commerce center. The CuRvE (Cullowhee Revitalization Endeavor) organization wants to make Cullowhee "a unique and highly attractive area – a mix of residences and businesses along rivers and streams". CuRvE's vision is more supported by the community than the Western Carolina University "town center" vision, as CuRvE would allow small businesses, while the "town center" would not, and the Old Cullowhee Road area is along a mountain river, and many agree the site is more beautiful than the Cordelia Camp/"town center" site.

Gallery

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  The Joyner Building was the main Western Carolina University building from 1916 until 1939.

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  The Dam at Cullowhee on the Tuckasegee River, built of concrete for electrical generation in 1930. It hasn't generated electricity since the 1960s, but instead holds back water for the county water system intake pipes.

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  McKee Training School served as the local Public School from 1939 until 1964.

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  The Old Cullowhee Road area after the flood of 1940.

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  The Ramsey Center hosts many local events, as well as many of the major Western Carolina University Sports Programs.

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  Western Carolina University in 2007, before work on the Quad, new dormitories, and Courtyard Cafeteria started.

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  Cullowhee Valley K-8 School, located in Cullowhee, North Carolina along NC 107.

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  The new CuRvE Mural in Cullowhee, North Carolina, located along Old Cullowhee Road.

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  Cullowhee as seen from the Jackson County Airport on Berry Ridge above Little Savannah Road.

Points of interest

• Appalachian Trail
• Blue Ridge Mountains
• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Dillsboro
• Great Smoky Mountains
• Great Smoky Mountains Railroad
• Eastern Cherokee Indian Reservation
• Nantahala National Forest
• Nantahala Outdoor Center
• Qualla Boundary

Education

Western Carolina University is a constituent campus of the University of North Carolina system. WCU is the fifth-oldest institution in the UNC system. It was founded in 1889 with a few hundred students in a small, one-story wood building. In the 21st century, it has more than 12,000 students, offering approximately 220 majors and concentrations for undergraduates, and more than 45 graduate-level programs of study. The campus covers approximately 600 acres (240 ha) and takes up much of the Cullowhee Valley.

It has created a Cherokee Studies program, including language immersion study, in collaboration with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the only federally recognized tribe in the state. It is based in Cherokee, North Carolina, at Qualla Boundary. WCU faculty have also worked with EBCI representatives on surveys of historic town and earthwork mound sites, to create a database of known resources; archeological and anthropological studies conducted with outreach to the Cherokee people to gain their perspective from tribal oral histories, and other programs. More than 50 platform mound sites have been identified in the eleven westernmost counties of North Carolina.

The public K thru 8 school, Cullowhee Valley School, opened in 1994. It replaced a 30-year-old structure on the University's Campus. Since 1988, when the town's high school closed, students of high school age attend Smoky Mountain High School in nearby Sylva.

Notable people

• Cal Raleigh, professional baseball player for the Seattle Mariners
• Nick Searcy, actor

Images for kids

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  St. David's-in-The-Valley Church (1886)

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  Former McKee Training School (1939)

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  Cullowhee Baptist Church

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  A solar eclipse passed over Cullowhee on August 21, 2017. This is an image as viewed from the campus of WCU.

See also

In Spanish: Cullowhee para niños