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Norris

Ghost town · Watauga County, North Carolina

Zionville quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1935, 1:24,000)
Zionville quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1935, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Norris is a ghost town in Watauga County, North Carolina. It is one of 5 former communities in Watauga County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 18th among the 48 North Carolina counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Norris as a historical populated place on the Zionville topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 36.2696° N, 81.6559° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleZionville
Elevation3,176 ft
Nearest living townBoone, NC
Distance to it3.9 miles
GNIS feature ID1004531
Coordinates36.26957, -81.65594

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Norris is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Boone, NC (population 19,534), about 3.9 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 3,176 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Norris?

Norris is in Watauga County, North Carolina, at 36.2696, -81.6559.

How many ghost towns are in Watauga County?

Watauga County, North Carolina has 5 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.