Swain County, North Carolina
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 11 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1973. Most listings are in or near Bryson City, Cherokee, Fontana.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for North Carolina is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Swain titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP5 of 11 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
11 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Clingmans Dome Observation Tower | Bryson City | 2012 |
| Frye-Randolph House and Fryemont Inn | Bryson City | 1983 |
| Governors Island | Bryson City | 1973 |
| Hall Cabin | Fontana | 1976 |
| Hyatt, Abel, House | Bryson City | 1991 |
| Mingus Mill | Cherokee | 2016 |
| Nununyi Mound and Village Site | Cherokee | 1980 |
| Oconaluftee Archeological District | Cherokee | 1982 |
| Oconaluftee Baptist Church | Cherokee | 1976 |
| Oconaluftee Ranger Station | Cherokee | 2016 |
| Swain County Courthouse | Bryson City | 1979 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBSwain was formed in 1871 (1871-02-24) from Jackson, Macon.
SWAIN created from JACKSON and MACON.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusSwain County population from 1880 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,784 | 8,401 | 13,224 | 12,177 | 9,921 | 8,387 | 10,283 | 12,968 | 14,117 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
National Park Service sites nearby
NPSPark units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).
| Site | Type | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park | National Park | 7.6 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS94 cemeteries and 0 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 80 of 94 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Birdtown Cemetery |
| Blankenship Cemetery |
| Bone Valley Cemetery |
| Bradley Cemetery |
| Bradshaw Cemetery |
| Breedlove Cemetery |
| Brendle Cemetery |
| Brush Creek Cemetery |
| Cable Branch Cemetery |
| Calhoun Cemetery |
| Carver Cemetery |
| Chambers Cemetery |
| Cochran Cemetery |
| Conner - Oconaluftee Cemetery |
| Connor - Hickory Flats Cemetery |
| Cook-Mill Creek Cemetery |
| Cooper Cemetery |
| Copper Cemetery |
| Davis Cemetery |
| Davis Cemetery |
| De Hart Cemetery |
| Deep Creek Cemetery |
| Dock Conner Cemetery |
| Enloe African Cemetery |
| Enloe Cemetery |
| Estes Cemetery |
| Fairview Cemetery |
| Floyd Cemetery |
| Galbraith Cemetery |
| Grant Cemetery |
| Hall Cemetery |
| Hammer Branch Cemetery |
| Higdon Cemetery |
| Hoyle Cemetery |
| Hughes Cemetery |
| Jenkins Cemetery |
| Jenkins Cemetery |
| Jenkins Cemetery |
| Jenkins Cemetery |
| Jerry Flats Cemetery |
| Jonas Jenkins Cemetery |
| Jones Cemetery |
| Kephart Prong Cemetery |
| Kirkland Cemetery |
| Lambert Cemetery |
| Laney Cemetery |
| Lauada Cemetery |
| Laurel Branch Cemetery |
| Ledbetter Cemetery |
| Lower Noland - Monteith Cemetery |
| Maggie Cable Cemetery |
| McClure Cemetery |
| McGhee Cemetery |
| McHan Cemetery |
| Mingus Creek Cemetery |
| Mitchel Cemetery |
| Morrow Cemetery |
| Nations Cemetery |
| Nelms Family Cemetery |
| New Beck Cemetery |
| Noland Children Cemetery |
| Old Beck Cemetery |
| Orr Cemetery |
| Owl Cemetery |
| Payne Cemetery |
| Pikey Cemetery |
| Posey Cemetery |
| Proctor Cemetery |
| Queen - Lower Indian Creek Cemetery |
| Queen Cemetery |
| Randall Cemetery |
| Round Top Cemetery |
| Roundhill Cemetery |
| Sawyer Cemetery |
| Sherrill Cemetery |
| Stiles Cemetery |
| Sutton Cemetery |
| Swain Memorial Cemetery |
| Tabor Cemetery |
| Tabor Cemetery |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Civil War battlefields nearby
ABPPAmerican Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) Civil War study areas near this county.
| Battlefield | Study acres | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Fair Garden | 10,242 | 34.9 km |
Source: NPS American Battlefield Protection Program Civil War Study Areas (public ArcGIS feature service).
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Swain County, North Carolina
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.