Ashe County
County
Ashe County Courthouse in Jefferson
Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
North Carolina's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 36°26′36″N 81°29′58″W / 36.443469°N 81.499334°W / 36.443469; -81.499334
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Founded	1799
Named for	Samuel Ashe
Seat	Jefferson
Largest community	Jefferson
Area
• Total	429.37 sq mi (1,112.1 km2)
• Land	426.26 sq mi (1,104.0 km2)
• Water	3.11 sq mi (8.1 km2)  0.72%
Population  (2020)
• Total	26,577
• Density	62.35/sq mi (24.07/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	5th
Website	www.ashecountygov.com

Ashe County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In 2020, 26,577 people lived there.^[1] Its county seat is Jefferson.

Native Americans used to live in Ashe County. Pieces of broken pottery, arrowheads, and other Native American things have been found in the county.

In 1849, the southwestern part of Ashe County was combined with parts of Caldwell County, Wilkes County, and Yancey County to make Watauga County. In 1859, the eastern part of Ashe County became Alleghany County.

These cities and towns are in Ashe County:

• Jefferson
• Lansing
• West Jefferson

These counties are connected to Ashe County:

• Grayson County, Virginia - north
• Alleghany County, North Carolina - east
• Wilkes County, North Carolina - southeast
• Watauga County, North Carolina - southwest
• Johnson County, Tennessee - west

• Ashe County government official website