Whittier is an unincorporated community in Jackson and Swain counties in the western part of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Whittier is located on the Tuckasegee River, between Bryson City downstream to the west, and Dillsboro upstream to the southeast.Founded in 1881 by Clark Whittier when he purchased 60,000 acres of land in the area, it was incorporated as a town from 1887 to 1933. The town declined following the collapse of the lumber industry during the Great Depression.