Catawba County ( ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the U.S. state of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 160,610. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Newton, and its largest community is

Hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes 19 species accepted by ''Plants of the World Online''. Seven species are native to southeast Asia in China, Indochina, and northeastern India (Assam), and twelve ...

. The county is part of the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Catawba County, formed in 1842 from Lincoln County, was named after the Catawba River. The word "catawba" is rooted in the

Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...

sound ''kat'a pa'', loosely translated as "to divide or separate, to break." However, scholars are fairly certain that this word was imposed from outside. The Native Americans who once inhabited the region known as the Catawba people, were considered one of the most powerful Southeastern Siouan-speaking tribes in the Carolina Piedmont. They now live along the border of North Carolina, near the city of Rock Hill, South Carolina. Scots-Irish and German colonial immigrants first settled in the Catawba River valley in the mid-18th century. An official history of the Scots-Irish and German settlement was documented in 1954, by Charles J. Preslar Jr, and more recently by a series of three books by Gary Freeze, called The Catawbans.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.52%) is water.

State and local protected areas/sites

* Houck's Chapel * Mountain Creek Park * Murray's Mill Historic Site * Old Hickory Tavern Birthplace of Hickory * Old Piedmont Wagon

Major water bodies

* Balls Creek * Betts Creek * Catawba River * Clark Creek * Henry Fork * Jacob Fork * Lake Hickory *

Lake Norman Lake Norman is an man-made lake, artificial fresh water lake in southwest North Carolina. The largest lake in the state, it was created between 1959 and 1964 as part of the construction of the Cowans Ford Hydroelectric Station, Cowans Ford Dam by ...

* Lookout Shoals Lake * Lyle Creek * McLin Creek * Muddy Creek * Pinch Gut Creek * Pott Creek * Snow Creek * South Fork Catawba River

Adjacent counties

* Alexander County – north * Iredell County – east * Lincoln County – south * Caldwell County – northwest * Burke County – west

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 160,610 people, 62,417 households, and 41,861 families residing in the county.

2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 154,358 people, 55,533 households, and 39,095 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 59,919 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 87.1%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 8.5%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.3% Native American, 3.1% Asian, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, and 1.14% from two or more races, 9.4% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 55,533 households, out of which 31.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.10% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.60% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.98. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.30% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $43,536, and the median income for a family was $47,474. Males had a median income of $30,822 versus $23,352 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,358. About 6.50% of families and 9.10% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 12.50% of those under age 18 and 9.70% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

The county has been represented primarily by Republicans since

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

: no Democratic presidential candidate has won Catawba County since

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

in 1944.

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

is the last Democrat to manage even 40 percent of the county's vote.

Law and government

Catawba County is governed by a five-member county board of commissioners, a seven-member school board, and five supervisors on the water and soil conservation district. The county's judiciary is represented by two superior court judges and six district court judges. Other offices include the district attorney, county clerk, sheriff, and register of deeds.

County Offices

Board of Commissioners

North Carolina General Assembly

North Carolina Senate

North Carolina House of Representatives

Federal offices

Senate

House of Representatives

Transportation

Major highways

* * * * * * * ( Lowesville–Denver business route) * ( Newton–Conover business route) * ( truck route) * * *

Major infrastructure

* Hickory Regional Airport (partially in Burke County)

Rail and mass transit

With approximately twenty freight trains a day, Catawba County is a freight railroad transportation center. This is largely due to the areas strong manufacturing based economy, and its placement along the Norfolk Southern Railway line. The Caldwell County Railroad also serves the county and interchanges with Norfolk Southern in Hickory. Conover has been designated as the Catawba County passenger rail stop for the Western North Carolina Railroad planned to run from

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, to Asheville. The Greenway Public Transportation bus service serves the cities of Conover,

, and Newton.

Economy

Catawba County is part of the "North Carolina Data Center Corridor" in western North Carolina. The town of Maiden is home to the

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

iCloud data center and is the largest privately owned solar farm in the United States (operated by

). As of 2017, the Catawba County Economic Development Corporation controls a 55-acre business park in Conover designed for data centers and office use. CommScope, Inc., and Corning Corp., manufacturers of fiber optic cabling, became the region's largest employers in the late 1990s. The city of Hickory is home to Lenoir–Rhyne University, the Hickory Motor Speedway, and the minor league baseball team the Hickory Crawdads. The town of Conover is home to the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn.

Education

* Most of the county is served by Catawba County Schools. * Newton and Conover are served by Newton-Conover City Schools. * Most of

is served by the Hickory City School System.

Higher education

* Lenoir–Rhyne University * Catawba Valley Community College * Appalachian State University, Hickory campus * NC Center for Engineering Technologies

Libraries

* The Catawba County Library System serves the residents of Catawba County. The library system operates 7 libraries throughout the county. * The Hickory Public Library System serves the residents of Hickory. The library system operates 2 libraries: The Patrick Beaver Memorial Library and the Ridgeview Library.

Points of Interest

Museums and historical sites

* Catawba County Firefighters Museum * Catawba County Museum of History * Hickory Aviation Museum * Hickory Museum of Art * Catawba Science Center * Murrays Mill * Bunker Hill Covered Bridge * Piedmont Wagon Company

Sports and entertainment

* Hickory Crawdads * Hickory Motor Speedway

Music and performing arts

* Newton-Conover Auditorium * The Green-Room Theatre * Western Piedmont Symphony * Hickory Community Theatre

Other attractions

* Valley Hills Mall *

* Lake Hickory * Lake Lookout

Communities

Map of Catawba County North Carolina With Municipal and Township Labels

Cities

* Claremont * Conover *

(largest community) * Newton (county seat)

Towns

* Brookford * Catawba * Long View * Maiden

Census-designated places

* Lake Norman of Catawba * Mountain View * St. Stephens

Unincorporated communities

* Banoak * Blackburn * Drums Crossroads *

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

* Monbo * Olivers Crossroads * Propst Crossroads * Sherrills Ford * Terrell

Townships

* Bandy's * Caldwell * Catawba * Clines * Hickory * Jacobs Fork * Mountain Creek * Newton

References

External links

* *
Catawba County Chamber of Commerce
{{Authority control Charlotte metropolitan area North Carolina placenames of Native American origin