Ramseytown, formerly known as Ramsaytown and Ramsey Town Baptist Church,[4][5] is an unincorporated community in far northern Yancey County, North Carolina, on the Cane River. Yancey County's Ramseytown Township derives its name from the settlement.
A U.S. Post Office bearing the name of Ramsaytown was established on November 5, 1852, with the first postmaster being Abraham Whitsen. It ceased operations on February 29, 1956.[4] The community was incorporated by the North Carolina General Assembly on February 11, 1874 as Ramsey Town Baptist Church, and the municipal limits were defined as a circle of one mile in radius, centered on the local baptist church. It was disincorporated on an unknown date. Alcoholic beverages consisting of 21% alcohol by volume or greater were illegal in the town, and the municipality's council was composed of five members.[5]
During World War I, five men from Ramseytown were drafted.[6]
The official name of the town, as recognized by the federal government, was changed from Ramsaytown to Ramseytown on January 1, 1931.[7]
On April 21, 1948, local railroad engineer Clarence Davenport (July 24, 1894–April 21, 1948) was killed in a boiler explosion near Ramseytown, described as one of the worst locomotive explosions in United States history at the time. The locomotive's fireman also perished in the blast.[8]
The community was home to the Ramsey Mine.[9]
U.S. Route 19W runs through the community.[10] The community was formerly served by the Clinchfield Railroad.[8]
Ramseytown shares a fire department, the Egypt-Ramseytown Volunteer Fire Department, with the nearby unincorporated community of Egypt, North Carolina.[11] The department receives $21,037.50 in funding from the State of North Carolina as of 2023.[12]
Ramseytown was the site of an EF1 tornado during the Tornado outbreak sequence of August 4–8, 2023. Tornadoes are exceptionally rare in the area.[13]