Jefferson Township is one of nineteen townships in Ashe County, North Carolina

Ashe County, North Carolina

- History :Historical evidence shows that Ashe county was inhabited by Native Americans, which included the Cherokee, Creek, and Shawnee tribes. Pieces of broken pottery, arrowheads, and other Native American artifacts have been found, indicating their presence...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The township has a population of 4,107 according to the 2000 census

United States Census, 2000

The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

 and is the largest township in Ashe County by population.

Geographically, Jefferson Township occupies 29.84 square miles (77.3 km²) in central Ashe County. The incorporated municipalities within Jefferson Township are the Town of Jefferson

Jefferson, North Carolina

Jefferson is a town in Ashe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,422 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Ashe County.-History:...

, the county seat

County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Ashe County and parts of the town of West Jefferson

West Jefferson, North Carolina

West Jefferson is a town in Ashe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,081 at the 2000 census.-History:West Jefferson was incorporated as a city in 1909, and it is the second-oldest incorporated town in Ashe County. West Jefferson has the distinction of having the only cheese...

.