Willets, North Carolina Explained

Official Name:Willets, North Carolina
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:North Carolina#USA
Pushpin Label:Willets
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:North Carolina
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Jackson
Timezone:Eastern (EST)
Utc Offset:-5
Timezone Dst:EDT
Utc Offset Dst:-4
Elevation Ft:2690
Coordinates:35.4117°N -83.1156°W
Area Code:828
Blank Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank Info:996296[1]

Willets is an unincorporated community in Jackson County, North Carolina, United States. Willets is located along U.S. Route 74, west of Balsam and east of Sylva. It is home to the Balsam-Willets-Ochre Hill fire department, a church, and many homes. It was a thriving unincorporated town along the Murphy Branch of the Western North Carolina Railroad, but seriously declined during the Great Depression in the 1930s, consolidations of the schools in the Scott Creek Township in 1951, and the widening/straightening of US 23 in the early 1950s and early 1970s. Today it is a tiny bedroom community for the larger population centers of Waynesville and Sylva.

History

A post office called Willets was established in 1903, and remained in operation until 1934.[2] The community was named for A. P. Willets, the owner of a local sawmill.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: US Board on Geographic Names. 2008-01-31. United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25.
  2. Web site: Jackson County . Jim Forte Postal History . 23 May 2015.
  3. News: Knowing Jackson...Names Chosen Informally . The Sylva Herald and Ruralite . Aug 17, 1978 . 23 May 2015 . McRorie, J.D. . 2.