Webster, NC

Webster sits north of the Tuckasegee River on the road between Sylva and Cullowhee, with NC 107 along its eastern edge and NC 116 carrying the town through Jackson County. It was laid out as Jackson County's seat in 1853, after the county was formed in 1851, and the town's older role is still the key to its shape. A fire destroyed many Webster businesses in 1913, and the county seat moved to Sylva, whose railroad connection had given it the stronger regional position.

Today Webster is a small incorporated town with a former county-seat history and historic properties on the National Register. The monthly town board meets at Town Hall, while the river and the short drives to Sylva and Cullowhee keep Webster tied to the county's larger daily map. Two miles north is Sylva; three miles south is Cullowhee. That makes Webster a useful place to read Jackson County's change over time: an 1850s seat of government whose civic importance shifted when fire and rail access moved the center of gravity down the road.