Kona, North Carolina : History, Notable person Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kona, North Carolina

Unincorporated community in North Carolina, United States

35°57′05″N 82°11′06″W / 35.95139°N 82.18500°W / 35.95139; -82.18500CountryUnited StatesStateNorth CarolinaCounty MitchellFounded1916Named forFeldspar^[1]Elevation

2,359 ft (719 m)Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)ZIP code

28705^[2]

Area code828GNIS feature ID1021066^[3]

Kona is an unincorporated community in Mitchell County, North Carolina, United States. The community is located along North Carolina Highway 80 (NC 80), near the confluence of the North and South Toe Rivers and at the western slope of Ellis Mountain.^[4]

History

The community of Kona is named after the chemical make-up of feldspar; K for potassium, O for oxygen, and Na for sodium.^[1] Founded in 1916, Kona became the original starting point for the Black Mountain Railway (later owned by Yancey Railroad) and where it connected to the South and Western Railroad (later owned by Clinchfield Railroad); it had daily roundtrip passenger and mixed train service to Murchison, via Burnsville. By the 1950s, only freight service remained along both lines; in 1982, the Yancey Railroad ceased operations and the rail line was abandoned. CSX, successor of the Clinchfield Railroad, continues rail service through the area.^[5]^[6]^[7]

The Kona Post Office operated from 1916 to 1953, when it was replaced with rural letter carrier service from Bakersville.^[8]^[9]

Notable person

Frankie Stewart Silver, axe murderer and one of the first women executed in North Carolina, for the murder of her husband Charles, 1833.

References

^ ^a ^b "Kona". Mitchell County Historical Society. December 10, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
^ "Mitchell County - North Carolina Zip Code Boundary Map (NC)". USNaviguide, LLC. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
^ "Kona, North Carolina". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
^ "Ellis Mountain". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
^ Silvers, Rick (March 26, 2017). "BMRR & Yancey Railroad". Mountain Area Information Network. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
^ "Black Mountain Railway". North Carolina Railroads. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
^ "Clinchfield Railroad". North Carolina Railroads. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
^ "Mitchell County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
^ "Carrier Lookup - Carrier Routes by ZIP". Melissa Lookups. Retrieved December 27, 2020.