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Otter Creek

Ghost town · Rutherford County, North Carolina

Marion quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1962, 1:62,500)
Marion quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1962, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Otter Creek is a ghost town in Rutherford County, North Carolina. It is one of 15 former communities in Rutherford County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 5th among the 48 North Carolina counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Otter Creek as a historical populated place on the Sugar Hill topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 35.5204° N, 82.0943° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleSugar Hill
Elevation1,200 ft
Nearest living townLake Lure, NC
Distance to it7.9 miles
GNIS feature ID1008456
Coordinates35.52040, -82.09427

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Otter Creek is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Lake Lure, NC (population 1,488), about 7.9 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 1,200 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Otter Creek?

Otter Creek is in Rutherford County, North Carolina, at 35.5204, -82.0943.

How many ghost towns are in Rutherford County?

Rutherford County, North Carolina has 15 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.