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Russaw

Ghost town · Wilkes County, North Carolina

Roaring River quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1966, 1:24,000)
Roaring River quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1966, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Russaw is a ghost town in Wilkes County, North Carolina. It is one of 35 former communities in Wilkes County on the federal names register. No county in North Carolina has more among the 48 North Carolina counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Russaw as a historical populated place on the Roaring River 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 36.1846° N, 81.0895° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleRoaring River
Elevation957 ft
Nearest living townNorth Wilkesboro, NC
Distance to it2.9 miles
GNIS feature ID1002176
Coordinates36.18458, -81.08953

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Russaw is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is North Wilkesboro, NC (population 4,348), about 2.9 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 957 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Russaw?

Russaw is in Wilkes County, North Carolina, at 36.1846, -81.0895.

How many ghost towns are in Wilkes County?

Wilkes County, North Carolina has 35 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.