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==History== In prehistoric times, local [[mica]] deposits were extensively mined by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. The first Euro-American settlers arrived in the area after the [[American Revolution]], establishing scattered homesteads. The town of Bakersville dates from the 1850s<ref name=Mica/> and was named for David Baker, a Revolutionary War soldier and one of the first to live in the area around 1790 and described as "a large land owner, innkeeper, merchant and political leader until his death in 1838. Some of David's sons and daughters remained and were equally influential in the area for many years after David's death."<ref name=Neufeld/> Situated on the main route leading over [[Roan Mountain (Roan Highlands)|Roan Mountain]] and westward into [[Tennessee]], the town developed slowly. Traveler [[Frederick Law Olmsted]] passed through Bakersville in the early 1850s and noted that the "town" consisted of only a couple of cabins within a quarter-mile radius.<ref name=Mica/> In 1861, a post office was established and named "Davis" after [[Jefferson Davis]].<ref name=Neufeld>{{cite news|url=http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2017/04/16/visiting-our-past-mitchell-mill-sifts-through-150-years/100459318/|title=Visiting Our Past: Mitchell mill sifts through 150 years|last=Neufeld|first=Rob|work=[[Asheville Citizen-Times]]|date=April 16, 2017|access-date=April 17, 2017}}</ref> Following the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the county seat of newly created Mitchell County was relocated to the town that had been renamed Bakersville by the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] state government,<ref name=Neufeld/><ref name=Mica/> leading to the construction of a courthouse and a growth in population. In the 1870s, as mica became commercially valuable, the rich local deposits of the mineral caused a temporary economic boom.<ref name=Mica>Kevin W. Young, "Following in Ancient Footsteps: The Birth of the Mica Industry in Bakersville, North Carolina." ''Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine'' (Summer 2013), pp. 30-31.</ref> Bakersville is also home to the North Carolina Rhododendron Festival. The pageant attracts visitors from across the state and nation, most notably [[Richard Nixon]] in 1968. Historian and sociologist [[James W. Loewen]] has identified Bakersville as one of several possible [[sundown town]]s in North Carolina.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Possible Sundown Towns in NC|url=https://sundown.tougaloo.edu/sundowntownsshow.php?state=NC|url-status=live|access-date=March 6, 2021|website=sundown.tougaloo.edu|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180428210821/http://sundown.tougaloo.edu:80/sundowntownsshow.php?state=NC |archive-date=April 28, 2018 }}</ref> The [[Mitchell County Courthouse (North Carolina)|Mitchell County Courthouse]] was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1979.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
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