How Sylva Was Na
I I
II received its name from William D. Sylva,
lint to this ilay the people off Jackson County
know practically nothing' about him.
SYLVA, the county seat of
Jackson County, is the only
town by that name in the
United States. Aside from the fact
that it has a very original name, it
is also the leading business center
for a wide area of mountain terri¬
tory, and is located in one of the
most beautiful scenic regions of
western North Carolina.
. Many odd and interesting tales
have come out of the highland
country of Jackson County, but
perhaps the strangest of them all
is the story older residents tell of
of how the town of Sylva got its
name. It all happened well over
sixty years ago when the village
of Webster served as the seat of
county government.
Arrival of a Stranger
One January afternoon in 1879,
when the descending twilight had
wrapped its cloak about the little
town of Webster near the banks
of the Tuckaseegee River, a
stranger strolled up to the resi¬
dence of Judge Riley Cannon;
knocked on the door and asked
if he could find a place there to
spend the night. The man who
came to the door on that occasion
was General E. R. Hampton, Judge
Cannon’s son-in-law, who later
founded the town of Sylva. The
dusty and rather unkempt appear¬
ance of the new-comer showed
that he had probably traveled for
a considerable distance. But his
youthful countenance and the
sparkle of adventure in his eyes
indicated that he was more than
just an ordinary vagabond. With
the usual hospitality common to
the southern highlander he was
given a warm supper and a night's
lodging.
Within all probability, the young
wanderer had expected to resume
his journey on the following day
but the Cannon family liked him
so well that he was asked to live
with them "for a spell." He re¬
mained at the home of the Judge
for sometime; and thus it was that
this stranger, William D. Sylva,
Ri/ WILLIAM A. ALLHAIVDS
came to be identified with the early
life of Jackson County.
It is a popular mountain custom
to ask no questions of a stranger,
and to accept him at his face value.
Residents of that section never at¬
tempted to press Sylva concern¬
ing his past, and in his conversa¬
tion he was careful to say nothing
that would shed any light on that
subject. But in spite of the fact
that he was reluctant to speak of
the past, his good manners and
pleasing personality soon made
him a popular figure among his
associates.
Worked for General Hampton
When Sylva had been there for
only a short time one of the towns¬
men, Captain Bill Enloe, offered
him a job at his mill and tannery
near Webster. The Judge, how¬
ever, wanted the young man to
assist General Hampton in a proj¬
ect which he was then about to
begin. The youth was evidently
well pleased with the latter offer
for he promptly went to work for
General Hampton at a mill near
Scott’s Creek, some distance from
the town that then served as the
county seat.
It was not long before things
around the lumber mill began to
buzz with activity, as Sylva and
the other young men employed
there, transformed the big logs
into endless feet of lumber. Early
and late, the hum of the saw could
be heard far out across the hills
and valleys.
When a great amount of timber
had been sawed, the workmen
turned to the task of building a
store-house on a nearby plot of
ground. After this structure was
completed, they built a home for
General Hampton, who then owned
all of the land in that section.
When the buildings were at last
finished, the owner of the prop¬
erty petitioned the U. S. Post Of¬
fice Department for a post office.
In due time the petition was
granted, but it appeared that those
concerned had not agreed upon a
name for the new village. Finally,
it was decided to leave the matter
entirely up to the small daughter
of General Hampton. Having been
quite an admirer of the young man
who had lately appeared in the
community, perhaps because he
was fond of children, she promptly
chose “Sylva” as the name for the
post office. Young Sylva suggested
that they name it for someone else
in the community, but the little
girl insisted on the name which
she had selected; and thus it be¬
came known as "Sylva."
Departure From Sylva
Some weeks after this incident,
Bill Sylva pulled out of the little
settlement among the hills, and
took to the open road again. He
disappeared quite as abruptly as
he had made his appearance some¬
time before. Nothing was ever
heard from him, and as time passed
he was finally forgotten by all,
save a few of the older inhabitants.
After many years had passed,
the Village of Sylva became the
county seat, and it grew from a
straggling settlement of several
houses to a thriving town of almost
2,000 population, with its many
buildings and bustling activities.
Then one day in 1924, the post¬
master at Sylva received the fol¬
lowing letter, apparently written
at a time when the man who
penned it was in a somewhat remi¬
niscent mood:
"Cleburne. Texas, 313 Shaw Ave.,
"From W. D. Sylva,
‘‘To Postmaster.
“ I am sending you some history
that may surprise you. unless you
are 50 or 60 years of age. January
6. 1879. if I am not mistaken,
about dusk I walked up to the
door of a white house just in the
edge of Webster, the county seat
of Jackson County. The house was
just where the road turned going
from Charleston and just a little
ways west of the cemetery. When
I knocked on the door a man with
a red mustache and brown eyes
opened the door and said ‘good
evening.’ I told him I wanted to get
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