William Allen Dills

[2] In 1882, as the Murphy Branch railroad arrived, Dills built the first home in the area.

[3] Dills organized the community's first Sunday school in a depot waiting room until a church-academy could be completed on land he donated.

[2] His earlier home on the hill was later occupied by industrialist Charles Joseph Harris and, by 2019, was the Riverwood Shops.

In 1889, Dills was elected to state office and served in the North Carolina House of Representatives.

Railroad executive Alexander Boyd Andrews suggested the town be named Dillsboro.

[2] With about 750 residents, Dillsboro was the largest non-county seat town in the state west of Asheville right before the turn of the century.