Swain County, North Carolina

Swain County is a located in the  of. As of, the population is 12,968. Its is.

Swain County is home of the, one of the most popular rivers in the nation.

History
The county was formed in from parts of  and. It was named for, from 1832 to 1835, and president of the  from 1835 to 1868.

In 2004, the Swain County High School football team captured its seventh state football championship. The Maroon Devils won three consecutive state championships (1988, 1989, 1990) while being led by former and  quarterback and current U.S. Rep. (Source: ).

Law and government
Swain County is a member of the regional council of governments.

The town of, is on the , a for the , and is therefore subject mostly to tribal/federal laws rather than county or state laws.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,400 (541 ). 1,368 km² (528 sq mi) of it is land and 32 km² (13 sq mi) of it (2.32%) is water.

The county is located in the western part of North Carolina in the and has a larger proportion of the  than any other county in North Carolina or Tennessee.

The highest point in the county is, elevation 6,643 feet, located on the NC/TN border. This mountain is the third highest peak in North Carolina, and an observation tower is located on its summit.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - east
 * - southeast
 * - south
 * - southwest
 * - northwest

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 12,968 people, 5,137 households, and 3,631 families residing in the county. The was 9/km² (25/sq mi). There were 7,105 housing units at an average density of 5/km² (14/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 66.33%, 1.70% or , 29.03% , 0.15% , 0.01% , 0.49% from , and 2.28% from two or more races. 1.47% of the population were or  of any race. 16.3% were of, 8.0% , 7.6% , 6.9% and 6.6%  ancestry according to. 95.2% spoke, 2.9% and 1.3%  as their first language.

There were 5,137 households out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.30% were living together, 13.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 25.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.30% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 15.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,608, and the median income for a family was $33,786. Males had a median income of $26,570 versus $20,722 for females. The for the county was $14,647. About 13.30% of families and 18.30% of the population were below the, including 25.60% of those under age 18 and 19.10% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns




Townships
The County is divided into three Townships: Charleston, Forney Creek, Nantahala.