Cruso, North Carolina

Cruso, North Carolina
Unincorporated community
Old Cruso School
Cruso Show map of North Carolina Cruso Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 35°25′03″N82°48′38″W / 35.41750°N 82.81056°W / 35.41750; -82.81056
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Haywood
Elevation	2,936 ft (895 m)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code	828
GNIS feature ID	1019875 [1]

Cruso (also Crusoe) is an unincorporated community in Haywood County, North Carolina, United States. ^[1]

Cruso is near Pisgah National Forest. ^[2]

History

Prior to European colonization, the area that is now Cruso was inhabited by the Cherokee people and other Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. The Cherokee in Western North Carolina are known as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a federally recognized tribe. ^[3]

Cruso was named upon establishment by its first postmaster, who reportedly had just read the novel Robinson Crusoe by Englishman Daniel Defoe. ^[4]

On August 17, 2021, six people died as a result from flooding from Tropical Storm Fred. As of June 2022, there are still piles of debris in and around Cruso. ^{[5] [6]}

Notes

1. "Cruso, North Carolina". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
2. "Cruso Populated Place Profile / Haywood County, North Carolina Data".
3. "Haywood County (1808)". North Carolina History Project. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
4. "Cruso search". NCpedia. October 10, 2012. Archived from the original on April 12, 2024.
5. WRAL (August 27, 2021). "Cruso man marks sixth confirmed death in Haywood County after flooding from Fred". WRAL.com. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
6. "Body of final missing person found in Haywood County". spectrumlocalnews.com. Retrieved May 25, 2022.