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History · Webster

Webster dates to 1851, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

5 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1935 on, and the census since 1880.

1851founded
5on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Webster began

When was Webster founded?

1851

Webster dates its founding to 1851 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 107 in 18802020 census: 372175 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1857.The full story ↓

What stands out about Webster’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1910 and 1920, then grew 5-fold.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Webster’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Webster’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewWebster Courthouse: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Webster, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020227 in 1910Low: 74

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1910 and 1920, then grew 5-fold.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Webster’s Wikipedia page.

On the National Register

5 historic places in Webster

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1989
Elisha Calor Hedden House
Elisha Calor Hedden HouseWebster Baptist ChurchWebster Methodist ChurchWebster Rock School, built 1938Lucius Coleman Hall House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular3
Late Victorian2
Queen Anne1
Victorian1
Gothic Revival1
WPA Style1
Elisha Calor Hedden HouseLate Victorian
Webster Baptist ChurchVernacular
Webster Methodist ChurchVernacular
Webster Rock SchoolWPA Style · Built 1938
Lucius Coleman Hall HouseLate Victorian

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Webster came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Webster.

Read it all →

Webster was founded in 1851 in order to serve as the county seat of Jackson County. A massive fire and the railroad's failure to come to the town caused the larger and more powerful railroading center of Sylva to take over the position of county seat. Webster once had a courthouse and many shops, but few of the buildings that hint at its vibrant past as a thriving county seat survive.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Webster, 1851 to 2000

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851
    FoundingWebster is established
  3. 1857Post officeThe Webster post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1930In the archiveWebster Courthouse
  6. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1938BuiltWebster Rock School is built
  8. 21st century
  9. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 486
By decade

Webster, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Webster Courthouse1930Webster Courthouse
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today17 recent
Jeep Wagoneer2019Jeep WagoneerDatsun 300ZX2019Datsun 300ZXDatsun 300ZX2019Datsun 300ZXDatsun 300ZX2019Datsun 300ZXBuchanan Loop2019Buchanan LoopBuchanan Loop2019Buchanan LoopBuchanan Loop2019Buchanan LoopBuchanan Loop2019Buchanan LoopBuchanan Loop2019Buchanan LoopBuchanan Loop2019Buchanan LoopBuchanan Loop2019Buchanan LoopBuchanan Loop2019Buchanan LoopBuchanan Loop2019Buchanan LoopBuchanan Loop2019Buchanan LoopBuchanan Loop2019Buchanan LoopBuchanan Loop2019Buchanan LoopCounty School Bus Garage2017County School Bus Garage
On the map

Webster on the map, 1935 to 2000

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Webster. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Webster on the 1935 USGS mapWebster on the 1946 USGS mapWebster on the 1978 USGS mapWebster on the 1990 USGS mapWebster on the 2000 USGS map1935Cullowhee sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Webster.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Webster Courthouse
Retake this viewWebster Courthouse, 1930

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Webster’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Webster

Nobody well known was born in Webster itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Nick SearcyAmerican actor · b. 1959
Ronnie MilsapAmerican country singer · b. 1943
Michael BinghamAmerican-born British athletics competitor · b. 1986
E
Evy LeibfarthAmerican canoeist and kayaker · b. 2004
Harry HuskeyAmerican computer design pioneer · b. 1916
M
Marshall GrantAmerican musician · b. 1928

Questions about Webster’s history

What year was Webster founded?

In 1851, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Webster’s post office opened in 1857, and the census of 1880 counted 107 people here.

What is on the National Register in Webster?

5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Elisha Calor Hedden House (listed 1989, the first). 6 historic buildings in all.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (18), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.