Wilmot and Barkers Creek Communities

Section of 1924 map highlighting Wilmot and Barkers Creek

Photo of Wilmot School

Photo of school at Barkers Creek

Wilmot and Barkers Creek are the two small communities in Jackson County between Dillsboro and Bryson City.

Wilmot had a post office 1886-1922.

Barkers Creek had a post office from 1905-1920.

Barkers Creek became a Jackson County township in 1868 and was a voting precinct in 1895.

Joe Farmer describes memories from his time at Barkers Creek school:

"The old Barkers Creek School had what they called a lunch room. All it had was shelves to set our lunch that we brought from home on.

One day at noon Betty Melton came out of the room crying. Back then we didn’t really have anything fancy to eat.

I asked her what was wrong and she told me someone stole her squirrel meat. I gave her half of my lunch, an egg biscuit and an apple.

Mrs. Fulbright, our teacher, would always start the morning off singing a song with the class. That morning she was singing “Scotland’s Burning, Pour on Water!”

When she got to the “pour on water” her false teeth came out and went into the trashcan. I looked at my buddy Bob Brooks and he snickered, which made me snicker. Then we both started to laugh.

That made Mrs. Fulbright so mad she sent me outside to get a switch. I thought she was going to whip Bob.

No, she whipped me. After that Bob and I wouldn’t look at each other because we knew we would snicker."