Sylva, North Carolina

Jackson County's Seat Grew up by the Railroad Line

Sylva, Jackson County's seat and biggest town (pop. 5,000), traces its origins to 1880. The town became the county's focal point when the Western North Carolina Railroad rolled in during the summer of 1884, and Sylva was incorporated in 1889. Three decades later, Sylva wrestled the county seat away from Webster in a heated election, and the town has been at the core of county commerce and industry since. Now designated a Main Street North Carolina town, Sylva is home to one of North Carolina's largest recycling plants and is busy revitalizing its early twentieth century Main Street.