RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of North Carolina >> Avery County >> SpearIndex...

Welcome to Spear ...

Spear is located in Avery County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Spear, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1882.

Spear is 2,840 feet [866 m] above sea level.<2> In other words, the elevation of Spear is about ½ mile above sea level.

Time Zone: Spear lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Spear: 828

Communities Also Named Spear ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two North Carolina communities named Spear: This one is located in Avery County and the other is located in Mitchell County.

Beyond North Carolina, there are 5 communities that are also named Spear - they are located in Arkansas, Montana, Texas and Washington.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Spear.

Communities near Spear ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Spear.

  • Shell Creek
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shell Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Creek
    • Shell Creek is located in Carter County (TN)
    • Estimated population in 2014: 21,037 people
  • Woodby Hill
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodby Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodby Hill
    • Woodby Hill is located in Carter County (TN)
    • Estimated population in 2014: 2,730 people
  • Spruce Pine
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Norris
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norris have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
    • Norris is located in Johnson County (TN)
    • Estimated population in 2014: 1,652 people
  • Burnsville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Roan Mountain
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Banner Elk
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Newland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Elk Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elk Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Park
    • Elk Park is located in Avery County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 450 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elk Park <4>
  • Bakersville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Spear. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Spear.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Spear. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Spear.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Spear. See our Newspapers Page for Spear.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Spear ...

Looking for more information about Spear? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Spear, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Spear.

Adding Spear to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Spear in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Spear was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>

From that list, the Spear post office opened in 1882.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Spear.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of North Carolina's counties, including Avery, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Spear - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/