The Quest for Burnsville

 

In 1834 a young man named John “Yellowjacket” Bailey had an idea that became an
adventure of a lifetime and a lasting legacy. John and his wife Lovada “Lovie” Ray
Bailey owned a tract of prime farmland in the center of Yancey County, North Carolina.
The property was a gift from Lovie’s father to the young couple. At the time Yancey
County was young as well, just 1 year old at the time and without a County Seat. John
decided he would offer the ideally situated 100 acres of his and Lovie’s farm to the
newly formed Yancey County Commission to establish a Town and a County Seat. The
price for the conveyance was $1.00 per acre. But that was only the beginning of the
story.

In those days it took an Act by the General Assembly to establish a County Seat. This
meant someone had to go to the State Capital in Raleigh and petition the legislature on
behalf of the County Commission to form the Town and create the County Seat.
Because he felt so strongly about the need to establish a Town in Yancey County John
Bailey offered to go himself. Today a trip to Raleigh is about 4 hours by car; in 1834 it
was an arduous quest on horseback that would take a month one way. Nevertheless,
John Bailey set out to go.

When he arrived a month later, he was faced with another challenge. Lay individuals
could not simply appear on the floor of the Assembly and make requests. He would
need help and he found it in an unlikely alliance formed with an old seafaring privateer
from the North Carolina coast, Captain Otway Burns. John convinced Captain Burns to
plead the case for the new town in the young County in the rugged mountains of
Western North Carolina. Politics being what it was in those days the representatives
from the eastern part of the state were not eager to expend political capital to help
increase the power of the emerging western counties. The legislative process took
another month, but in the end Captain Burns was successful in winning approval for the
establishment of a Town and County Seat for a tiny slice of Western North Carolina he
would never visit.

With the paperwork in hand John started the month-long journey home. The
commissioners were thankful for this momentous achievement and gifted John with an
additional $0.50 per acre for his efforts on their behalf. After 3 months away from home
the quest for a new town was complete. In gratitude John insisted that the new County
Seat be named for his friend and fellow North Carolinian, Captain Otway Burns.
In 1930 the Yancey County Commissioner passed a resolution declaring the Burnsville
Town Square be named “Bailey Square” to honor of John Bailey for his contribution to
the establishment of the Town.

The establishment of a Town in 1834 is a true legacy, but John and Lovie Bailey did
more than provide the space for the Town they also contributed to populating this place
in the mountains. They raised of family of 20 children in Yancey County. Many of their

descendants still call Yancey County and Burnsville home while others have scattered
far and wide around the state and the country.

On August 1, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. everyone is invited to celebrate the unveiling of a
Hometown Hero Marker honoring John Bailey on the Town Square in Burnsville.
Funding for the Marker was generously provided through a grant to the Town of
Burnsville from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation.