Crowders Mountain is one of two main peaks within

Crowders Mountain State Park Crowders Mountain State Park is a List of North Carolina state parks, North Carolina state park in Gaston County, North Carolina, Gaston County, North Carolina in the United States. It is near Kings Mountain, North Carolina and on the outskirts ...

, the other peak being The Pinnacle. The park is located in the western Piedmont of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

between the cities of Kings Mountain and Gastonia or about west of

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

. Crowders Mountain abruptly rises nearly above the surrounding terrain, and has an elevation of 1,625 feet (495 m) above sea level. Although stated as true on some sites, the mountain was not named after Ulrich Crowder rauter a German merchant and farmer. In 1789, Ulrich purchased land much farther north of the mountain before moving west. The mountain is named for Crowders Creek, which originates near the base of the mountain. The original namesake of Crowders Creek is unknown, but mostly likely lived farther south along Crowders Creek. Crowders Mountain and The Pinnacle, located to the southwest, once served as markers to separate the hunting grounds of the

Catawba Catawba may refer to: *Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas *Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family *Catawban languages Botany * Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other ...

and

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

peoples. In the early 1970s a mining company began doing exploratory sampling of areas along what is now the Backside Trail with the intent of purchasing the minerals rights to excavate the mountain for

kyanite Kyanite is a typically blue aluminosilicate mineral, found in aluminium-rich metamorphic pegmatites and sedimentary rock. It is the high pressure polymorph of andalusite and sillimanite, and the presence of kyanite in metamorphic rocks generally ...

barite Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate ( Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), ...

, and

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

. This led local concerned citizens, educational institutions, and local governments to join together and convince state government pursue the creation of a state park in order to protect the area. In 1973 the State of

created

. It opened to the public in 1974. Crowders Mountain proper was added to the new park in 1978. The Pinnacle was added in 1987. In the year 2000, 2000+ acres were purchased. This purchase brought the entire ridge line of Kings Mountain into the park and took park boundaries to the North Carolina/South Carolina state line. Both

monadnock An inselberg or monadnock () is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, a ...

s present sheer rock cliffs which are in height. The cliffs of Crowders Mountain are popular among rock climbers. Rock climbing is no longer permitted on The Pinnacle. Hiking trails lead to both summits, from which it is possible to view the skyscrapers of nearby

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, on a clear day.

Communications center

One of the first

FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...

stations in North Carolina, Gastonia's

WGNC-FM WGNC-FM (88.5 FM) is a radio station licensed to Constantine, Michigan, United States. The station airs a Christian country music Christian country music (sometimes marketed as country gospel, gospel country, positive country or inspirational ...

, erected a transmission tower on Crowders Mountain in the late 1940s. Today three radio towers are located on the mountain. The transmitters are located within a plot of land on the summit that remains privately owned. In addition to commercial radio, the towers relay signals for wireless phone companies, railroads and local emergency services. On June 19, 2007, the Gastonia City Council denied a request to add to a communications tower on Crowders Mountain.

Crown Castle International Crown Castle is a real estate investment trust and provider of shared communications infrastructure in the United States. Its network includes over 40,000 cell towers approximately 85,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber sol ...

had requested the change to allow the signal of a Spanish-language radio station in

Gaffney, South Carolina Gaffney is a city in and the seat of Cherokee County, South Carolina, United States, in the Upstate region of South Carolina. Gaffney is known as the "Peach Capital of South Carolina". The population was 12,539 at the 2010 census, with an estim ...

, to reach Charlotte. The council cited concerns that the taller tower would damage views of the mountain and that construction equipment would harm the mountain's environment. The tallest tower on the mountain is owned by CBS Communications and rises .

References

* Walter C Biggs and James F. Parnell (1989). ''State Parks of North Carolina''. John F. Blair, Publisher. * George, Jefferson. (2007, June 18)
"Tower struggle: Antenna request latest battle for those fighting to minimize park intrusions".
''

The Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American English-language newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. As of 2020, it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. I ...

''. * George, Jefferson. (2007, June 20)
"Taller tower atop Crowders Mtn. axed: Council votes against extension, says it wants to protect state park".
''

''.

External links

Crowders Mountain State Park website
{{Mountains of North Carolina Protected areas of Gaston County, North Carolina Mountains of North Carolina Inselbergs of Piedmont (United States) Landforms of Gaston County, North Carolina