Sylva, North Carolina - Neighborhoods

Neighborhoods

The Sylva area has many defined and named neighborhoods. They are:

Downtown: The historical center of Sylva was at one time home to many businesses, homes, people, the central High School, depot, some industry, and many churches. Today it is a historic and picturesque area defined by Main Street and Mill Street, which run as BUS 23 through the middle of the downtown area, as well as by Cowan Street, on the lower part of Kings Mountain, and Municipal Drive, at the base of College Hill, both of which define the southern and northern borders of the central downtown area. The intersection of Chipper Curve Road, BUS 23/East Main Street, and Municipal Drive as well as Keener Street define the eastern and western boundaries of the central business district. Mark Watson Park and US 23 Business/West Main Street west of downtown are also considered part of downtown, as the high school and many industries were once located in the area. The area is also defined by several buildings and parks, notably the Sylva First Baptist Church (1965), the C.J. Harris Building (1902), First Citizens Bank (1928), Sylva Fire Department (1980), all on Main Street, Roscoe Poteet Public Pool (1969) on Municipal Drive, the Hooper House (1906), the last remaining historic home on Main Street, and the Sylva First United Methodist Church (1917) on Jackson Street.

Court House Hill: Named for the 1913 Jackson County Courthouse which sits at the end of Main Street, Court House Hill was once home to many working and middle-class families, and was within walking distance to the old Central High and elementary schools at what is now Mark Watson Park. It extends up onto Kings Mountain from Savannah Drive, and back to Savannah Drive from the courthouse and Main Street. It is defined by the historic Jackson County Courthouse (1913), the new Jackson County Public Library (opening in May 2011, on the back of the historic court house), Sylva's Bicentennial Park (1976), and the old C.J. Harris Hospital (1920). Many older homes survive alongside newer ones, and there are many inexpensive rental units in the neighborhood, including the infamous Court House Hill Inn Apartments, in the old hospital.

Sunrise Park: Located across Cope Creek from the US 23 Business/NC 107 intersection, Sunrise Park is a large neighborhood that is barely visible until entered. It was historically a working-class neighborhood, but has had many middle-class homes added over the past 50 years. The neighborhood is defined by Cherry Street and Sunrise Park Road, which both allow access to the neighborhood, as well as Wilkesdale Baptist Church, which is the most prominent and easily viewed building in the neighborhood from the outside.

Dills Cove: Once the location of Dills Falls, the neighborhood and falls were cut in half by the construction of the Sylva Bypass, which is also known as the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway and US 74/23, in 1973. It occupies a hollow that extends a little over a mile from Dillsboro Road and also includes the sub-neighborhoods of Grindstaff Cove, Dillsboro Road, and the Sylvan Heights Subdivision. St. Mary's Catholic Church (1953), the Jackson County Justice Center (1994), and Jackson Plaza (1978) all define the neighborhood. It is also the location of the Sylva Post Office and the main entrance to downtown from US 74/23.

College Hill: Named for the former Sylva Collegiate Institute, a private Baptist boarding school, which once occupied a campus on the very top of the hill in the middle of the neighborhood from 1910 until 1932. All traces of the former institution have all but vanished but for a few photographs, records, stories, and a plaque that commemorates the location of the sign. There are many older homes located within the neighborhood, along with a few newer ones on the former campus of the institute. Many old working-class and middle-class homes sit empty or neglected, and many apartment complexes and a sea of kudzu are now located on the hill. It is home to a large, 50-foot-tall (15 m) water tower with a lighted star on top, a landmark for those entering Sylva on NC 107/US 23 Business from the south.

Lovedale/Love's Field/Fairview: Located near Webster, the neighborhood is centered around parts of NC 116, Fairview Road, and NC 107. Smoky Mountain High School and Fairview Elementary are located here, and it is one of the most southerly located neighborhoods to downtown. It has several big box stores and supermarkets, notably Walmart, Lowe's, and an Ingles supermarket.

Hall Heights: Located along US 23 Business and NC 107, the neighborhood has two separate residential areas and lots of businesses located along the highways. The neighborhood's residential areas are an area on a hill known as Hall Heights, and a trailer park near Scotts Creek known as the Bridge Street Trailer Park. Prominent buildings include Ensley's Store, Bogarts, and the Sylva KFC.

Cope Creek: Located along Cope Creek Road and between NC 107 and US 74/23, Cope Creek neighborhood is mostly residential, with a few commercial areas near the highways, including several gas stations, strip malls, fast food restaurants, and banks. Major landmarks include Cody's Hot Spot Gas Station (1998) on the corner of NC 107 and Cope Creek Road (a gas station under the name of Cody's has been located there since the 1950s), the Old Field Church and Cemetery (1830, the church later became Scotts Creek Baptist Church in Beta), and an historic Victorian house that serves as a bed & breakfast. It also appears that more development is about to happen on two hills on the NC 107 end of Cope Creek, due to the fact that a network of roadways have been built on the sides of them and the trees on the hills have largely been cut down.

Dillardtown: Located along Dillardtown Road and extending to US 23 Business, Dillardtown was the original homestead of the Dillard family, who later started a construction company and built the neighborhood between 1948 and 1970. The East Sylva Baptist Church is the dominant building of the neighborhood, with a tall spire and three floors, built in the mid-1950s and replacing an earlier stone church nearby. Dillardtown is home to working and middle-class families and has a large stock of brick and wood-frame ranch houses from the 1950s and 1960s.

Tannery Flats: Located east of downtown Sylva, Tannery Flats is named for the Harris-Rees Tannery, which operated on the location until 1953. The Mead Corporation opened a factory next to the tannery in 1928 and later bought the old tannery. In 1955, Mead expanded and relocated NC 107 and Scotts Creek about 100 feet. This called for the demolition of several buildings, and an A&P supermarket was built on the "reclaimed" land. Mead closed in the mid-1980s, and Jackson Paper opened a few years later. The neighborhood extends along Chipper Curve Road and Skyland Drive (both old US 19/23), and is where Bryson Park is located as well.

Beta (pronounced "Beeta"): Located above Tannery Flats, Beta at one time boasted several stores, a church, two-story wood frame graded school, and several industries. The area has been partially annexed by Sylva over the years, and hasn't seen much commercial development outside of a restaurant, strip malls, and thrift stores. Several industries were once located in Beta, and several homes are located in the area, along with Scotts Creek Elementary School (1951), in an area that lies within both Beta and neighboring Addie. Beta is home to Scotts Creek Church and is full of both lower-class, working-class, and middle-class homes, with a few upper-class homes located in the area as well. It is one of the most rural areas in what is considered Sylva. US 74/23 runs around the edge of Beta, and forms the boundary between it and Cope Creek.

Locust Creek: Located the farthest south in Sylva, Locust Creek is right below Fairview and is accessed via Old Cullowhee Road and Locust Creek Road. Locust Creek has semi-dense development in the lowest areas and gets more rural father up. Locust Creek could also be considered to be located in Webster or Cullowhee. Locust Creek is one of the roads that may be accessible from the future Southern Loop/NC 107 Connector, and is part of the study corridor, but the more direct route to Cullowhee of Cane Creek Road is being considered more seriously. The neighborhood is mostly full of middle-class families, and most of it in the lower area was built in the 1960s and 1970s.

East Sylva: Located east of downtown Sylva, East Sylva encompasses an area along US 23 Business and the beginning of Skyland Drive (Old US 19-23). It is home to many shopping centers, strip malls, two supermarkets, the town's movie theater, known as Quinn Theaters (1980), gas stations, and fast food restaurants, playing off its close proximity to the US 23 Business exit off US 74/23 in Sylva. The county's C.J. Harris Regional Hospital (1959) is also located here. A few homes are in the area, but East Sylva is largely commercial development.