Westminster

History

Westminster was founded in 1874 upon completion of the Atlanta and Richmond Air-Line Railway and incorporated on March 17, 1875 when the charter was signed. It was founded as a water stop on the Southern Railway. As stores, shops and factories started to set up around the train stop, it bloomed into a decent-sized town. Its peak of expansion came in the 1920s. The Retreat Rosenwald School and Southern Railway Passenger Station are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Apple Festival is celebrated annually.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.4 square miles (8.9 km2), all land. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Westminster is surrounded by several rivers, 150 waterfalls, and two major lakes.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  4,895
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,283
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  3,564
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,400
• Great Blue/Cocoi Heron

  Ardea herodias Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,037
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,998
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,994
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,875

Most recent

• M 2.65 — 2026-03-24
  10 km SSW of Dillsboro, North Carolina
• M 2.54 — 2025-08-23
  4 km NNW of Coronaca, South Carolina
• M 2.88 — 2025-08-23
  3 km NNW of Coronaca, South Carolina
• M 2.53 — 2024-10-13
  3 km NNW of Coronaca, South Carolina
• M 2.51 — 2023-11-04
  7 km WSW of Bryson City, North Carolina
• M 2.69 — 2022-12-08
  0 km S of Laurel Park, North Carolina