After crossing into North Carolina, the Virginia Creeper wound along Big and Little Horse Creeks and crossed them seventeen times as it passed communities in Ashe County whose growth was closely tied to the railroad. Tuckerdale, one of the county's largest timber extraction centers, at one point rivaled Lansing in size and at its peak had a depot and general store. Warrensville quickly grew from a community of isolated farmers into a developed town after construction of its rail depot, which was uniquely located in a curve of the tracks. West Jefferson, now the county's largest town, began as a simple train station after the depot originally planned for Jefferson was moved there on the insistence of local politician Tam Bowie and others, and the new town grew into a vibrant community with a brick hotel, livery stable, movie theater, and dozens of businesses. Elkland, now known as Todd, was once a thriving timber hub and the end of the line for the Virginia Creeper's daily runs, with a Ford dealership, bank, general store, and unusually large two-story depot; after 1933, West Jefferson became the last stop and the tracks to Elkland were abandoned. Nella, a small station first called Allen, was renamed to avoid confusion with another station farther up the line, and because of its remote location and the many nearby creek crossings, its tracks frequently needed repair. Lansing, already a small farming community, grew rapidly with the arrival of the train, helped by iron ore and timber production, and when it was formally chartered in 1928 it had a variety of businesses, a bank, and a hotel. Smethport took its name from the Smethport extract plant, built there to extract tannic acid from chestnut bark, and although no community existed there when the train first came to Ashe County, a thriving one soon sprang up around the station. Bowie, now known as Fleetwood, was named for local landowner and lawyer Tam Bowie, who was instrumental in bringing the train to West Jefferson.