Martins Creek, North Carolina

Mountain Youth School (MYS) was one of a very small group of alternative schools set up by the state of North Carolina for students that would benefit in an alternative classroom setting. It is located in Murphy, North Carolina and serves grades 6–12. It was the only alternative school operated by the Cherokee County Schools. Replaced in 2017, by The Oaks Academy, an Alternative school in Marble, North Carolina. As of 2007 it had an active enrollment of 43 students and a full-time teaching staff of 8 teachers giving an average of 5 students per teacher.

Upper Hiwassee Highlands is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) that straddles two counties in the southwestern corner of North Carolina, United States, adjacent to the Tennessee border across state lines into three counties of northern Georgia. It is located near the southern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains and expands over portions of Cherokee and Clay Counties, North Carolina into Fannin, Towns and Union Counties, Georgia. The appellation was established, as the Georgia's initial and North Carolina's 4th AVA, on July 17, 2014 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted by Eric Carlson, owner of Calaboose Cellars, on behalf of himself and members of the Vineyard and Winery Operators of the Upper Hiwassee River Basin group, proposing the viticultural area to be named "Upper Hiwassee Highlands." The viticultural area, when established, encompassed approximately 690 sq mi (441,600 acres) with 54 acres (22 ha) being cultivated on 26 commercial vineyards. According to the petition, the vineyard owners estimated to expand plantings of 75.5 acres (30.6 ha) in the next five years. Two new vineyards were also in the planning stages and expected to add an additional of 16 acres (6 ha) to the total acreage by the end of 2013. Five wineries were operating within the proposed AVA at the time the petition was submitted. The region is mainly in hardiness zone 7b with elevated areas in zone 7a

Martin Creek is a stream in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is a tributary to the Hiwassee River. Martin Creek was named after the pioneer Martin family, which settled near its banks in the 1830s.

Murphy Adventist Christian School is a private Christian school located in Murphy, North Carolina. It covers grades pre-kindergarten through 12 with an active enrollment of 18 students. It has a student to teacher ratio of 18:1.

Fort Butler was an important site during the Cherokee removal known as the Trail of Tears. Located on a hill overlooking present-day Murphy, North Carolina on the Hiwassee River, Fort Butler was the headquarters of the Eastern Division of the U.S. Army overseeing the Cherokee Nation. It was the military force charged with forcing Cherokee emigration. Fort Butler was located along Hitchcock Street near Lakeside Street in what in the 21st century is a private residential neighborhood. Down the hill from this location, Cherokee Street follows the route of the former Unicoi Turnpike along which the Cherokee were marched to Fort Cass and on to Indian Territory (Duncan 2003:190). Fort Butler, originally named Camp Huntington, was established in July 1836 by General John E. Wool and a force of Tennessee volunteer militia sent to the region to keep order after the ratification of the Treaty of New Echota. The camp was abandoned after a month but then reoccupied in 1837 and renamed Fort Butler after Benjamin Butler. The site was of strategic importance because there the Unicoi Turnpike crossed the Hiwassee River at Christie Ford as well as the road up Valley River to the Cherokee "Valley Towns." In early 1838 it became clear that most Cherokee would not willingly leave their lands. After a deadline in May passed, the United States Army prepared for forced removal. Fort Butler was enlarged with barracks, officers' quarters, offices, shops, kitchens, and other buildings. General Abraham Eustis took command of the fort in late May, 1838. Troops fresh from the Second Seminole War in Florida were assigned to Fort Butler. The military removal of the Cherokee began in Georgia in late May, but reports of abuse and mistreatment of the prisoners caused General Winfield Scott, the overall commander stationed at Fort Cass, to suspend operations until early June. Southwest North Carolina was one of the most densely populated regions of the Cherokee Nation and was believed to be an area with the potential for violent resistance. Therefore, General Scott travelled to Fort Butler in order to personally direct the roundup of Cherokee in the region, which began on June 12, 1838 (Duncan 2003:190). During the early summer of 1838 more than 3,000 Cherokee prisoners from western North Carolina and northern Georgia passed through Fort Butler en route, via the Unicoi Turnpike, to the larger internment camps at Fort Cass, Tennessee. Unlike the long imprisonment at Fort Cass, most of the prisoners spent only a few days at Fort Butler, although some remained for a few weeks (Duncan 2003:189).

Harshaw Chapel and Cemetery is a historic Methodist chapel and cemetery at Church and Central Streets in Murphy, Cherokee County, North Carolina. The chapel was built on land gifted to the church by Joshua Harshaw, who was a prominent slaveholder in the area. The chapel was completed May 1, 1869, and is a vernacular Greek Revival style brick church. The surrounding Murphy Methodist Cemetery contains graves dated as early as about 1840.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

Nantahala Regional Library is the oldest regional library in North Carolina and one of the first regional libraries formed in the United States. Its headquarters is in Murphy, North Carolina. The library has branches in Cherokee, Clay, and Graham counties. The board of directors consists of nine members (three from each county) serving six-year terms. The library is funded by local governments. In fiscal year 2023-24, the library received approximately $463,000 in county funding, $367,000 in state funding, and $303,000 in municipal funding.

The Cherokee County Courthouse is a historic courthouse in Murphy, North Carolina, United States, the county seat of Cherokee County, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

The Robert Lafayette Cooper House is a historic house at 109 Campbell Street in Murphy, North Carolina. The two story wood-frame house was built 1889–91, and is one of the finest Queen Anne Victorian houses in Cherokee County. The house is roughly rectangular in mass, with a number of gable sections projecting from its hipped roof. It has two octagonal cupolas, and an elaborately decorated porch which includes an octagonal corner section. The house was built by Robert Lafayette Cooper, a successful local lawyer, as a wedding present for his wife.The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Cherokee County Schools manages the 13 public schools in Cherokee County, North Carolina, United States, with an enrollment of 3,081 students and a 12.7:1 student-to-teacher ratio.The School Superintendent is Dr. Keevn Woody. As of 2023, Cherokee County Schools' graduation rate is 92 percent. The state average is 86.5 percent.

The John C. Campbell Folk School, also referred to as "The Folk School", is located in Brasstown, North Carolina. It is the oldest and largest folk school in the United States. It is a non-profit adult educational organization based on non-competitive learning. The Folk School offers classes year-round in over fifty subject areas including art, craft, music, dance, and nature studies. Established in 1925, the Folk School's motto is "I sing behind the plow". It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a national historic district in 1983. The district encompasses 19 contributing buildings. Notable buildings include the Farm House (pre-1925), Keith House (1926-1928), Log House Museum (19th century, 1926), Mill House (1928), (Former) Milking Barn (now Clay Spencer Blacksmith Shop, c. 1930), Hay Barn (1931), Tower House (1933), Rock House (c. 1932), and Hill House (c. 1932).The Folk School has more than 800 week-long and weekend classes year-round in traditional and contemporary arts, including blacksmithing, music, dance, cooking, gardening, nature studies, photography, storytelling, and writing. The 300-acre campus includes a history museum, craft shop, nature trails, lodging, campground, and cafeteria. The school also holds a regular concert series and community dances. The Folk School engages the community through a variety of dance teams including: Rapper Magic Sword, StiX in the Mud Border Morris, Dame's Rocket Northwest Clog, Rural Felicity Garland, and the JCCFS Cloggers. The Folk School hosts more than 6,000 adult students and 100,000 visitors per year.The Fall Festival is the Folk School’s largest annual event, attracting thousands of people to the campus for crafts, food, and folk demonstrations. The festival has been held every year since 1974, except for 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.Since at least 1954, the Folk School has also hosted an annual summer arts program for children called Little Middle.

The Valley River is a tributary of the Hiwassee River. It arises as a pair of springs in the Snowbird Mountains of Cherokee County, North Carolina and descends 2,960 feet (900 m) in elevation in approximately forty miles (64 km) to enter the Hiwassee embayment at present-day Murphy, North Carolina. The Valley River flows generally southwest. US 19 runs parallel to it between Topton and Murphy, North Carolina, where it crosses the river via a small bridge. The river has a total watershed of 120 m2 (11.15km2)