Brasstown, North Carolina

Brasstown, North Carolina
Unincorporated community
Brasstown

Location within the state of North Carolina

Coordinates: 34°59′40″N 83°53′35″W / 34.99444°N 83.89306°WCoordinates: 34°59′40″N 83°53′35″W / 34.99444°N 83.89306°W
Country United States
State North Carolina
County Clay
Area
 • Total 12.21 sq mi (31.63 km2)
 • Land 12.17 sq mi (31.52 km2)
 • Water 0.04 sq mi (0.11 km2)
Elevation 1,736 ft (529 m)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 28902
Area code(s) 828
GNIS feature ID 1019281 [1]

Brasstown is an unincorporated community mostly located within Clay County, North Carolina, United States, though roughly one third of Brasstown is within the adjacent Cherokee County.

Possum Drop

The Possum Drop is an annual event at Clay's Corner convenience store organized by proprietors Clay and Judy Logan.[2] At midnight on New Year's Eve, instead of dropping an object, a plexiglass box containing a living opossum is lowered from the roof of the store.[3] The animal is lowered carefully to prevent the occurrence of injury or trauma.[4] Federal and state animal permits are obtained in advance, and the opossum is released afterwards.[5] The festivities vary from year to year, but have included a contest with local men dressed as women to compete for the title "Miss Possum Queen", talent shows from the local Brasstown residents, performances by the Brasstown Militia, and always include clever comic routines from Clay Logan. The event is rounded out by some hymns from the nearby Little Brasstown Church choir, bluegrass music, fireworks, snacks, beverages, and souvenir merchandise.[5]

Clay Logan received international attention in 2004 after the Possum Drop was featured in a New York Times article.[6][7]

For the 2014 New Year's Eve celebration, the organizers of the event acceded to criticism from animal rights groups and announced they would instead drop "a roadkill opossum or perhaps a pot of opossum stew."[8]

John C. Campbell Folk School

The nationally recognized John C. Campbell Folk School, dedicated to nurturing and preserving the folk arts of the Appalachian Mountains, is located in Brasstown. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[9]

Tri-County Race Track

The Tri-County Race Track, a 1/4 mile banked dirt oval race track, is located in Brasstown.

References

  1. ↑ Feature Detail Report for: Brasstown, Geographic Names Information System, 31 Dec 1981, retrieved 26 Jul 2013
  2. ↑ Clay's Corner - Opossum Capital of the World - Clay & Judy Logan Proprietors http://www.clayscorner.com
  3. ↑ New Years Eve Lowering of the Opossum
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 BlueRidgeHighlander.com - Events & Festivals in the Blue Ridge & Smoky Mountains
  6. ↑ The New York Times: National: Keep Your Ball. We’ve Got the Possum. By Jeffrey Gettleman. Published: December 31, 2003.
  7. ↑ Mountain Manager & Associates
  8. ↑ http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/31/new-york-today-the-year-in-news/#more-491878
  9. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09.

External links