McDowell County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,578. Its county seat is Marion. McDowell County comprises the Marion, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the

Hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexi ...

Lenoir Lenoir may refer to: Locations: * Lenoir, North Carolina, United States * Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States * Lenoir City, Tennessee In Universities: * Lenoir-Rhyne University * Lenoir Dining Hall, a dining hall at the University of N ...

, NC Combined Statistical Area.

History

Archaeological excavations performed by Dr. David Moore during the early 1980s, revealed artifacts and other evidence that the earliest inhabitants of McDowell County lived there from the

Woodland period In the classification of :category:Archaeological cultures of North America, archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 Common Era, BCE to European con ...

and

Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern United States, Midwestern, Eastern United States, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from appr ...

era, from 250 to 1500 AD. Dr. Moore discovered this material in an area close to the Catawba River, in and around an unusual topographical site known as Round Hill. Both the historic Cherokee and Catawba Indians were Native American peoples known to live in what is now McDowell County, and they had been there long before any Europeans. These Native Americans were living in this section for centuries before the Spanish Juan Pardo's 1566 expedition to the interior region from the Atlantic coast. In the next two years, Pardo traveled from the Spanish colony on an island, through what are now South Carolina and Western North Carolina and into southeastern Tennessee. His expedition traveled through the area that is now McDowell County. His purpose was to acquire territory for Spain and establish forts for an alternative interior route to central Mexico. The Spanish mistakenly believed that the Appalachians connected to a range there, where they had established silver mines. Pardo also hoped to find precious metals during his expedition, in which he stopped at several Native American villages. Pardo and his men built a log blockhouse, Fort San Juan, at a

Mississippian Mississippian may refer to: * Mississippian (geology), a subperiod of the Carboniferous period in the geologic timescale, roughly 360 to 325 million years ago *Mississippian culture, a culture of Native American mound-builders from 900 to 1500 AD ...

chiefdom known as Joara at the headwaters of the Catawba River, a site north of present-day

Morganton, North Carolina Morganton is a city in and the county seat of Burke County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 16,918 at the 2010 census. Morganton is approximately northwest of Charlotte. Morganton is one of the principal cities in the Hick ...

. They wintered over at Joara. Pardo directed his forces to establish five more forts in the interior, including one at Chiaha, in present-day southeastern Tennessee. The Native Americans raided the Spanish newcomers and killed all but one of the soldiers in the garrisons, burning all six forts in 1568. Pardo had already left for Spain by then. The Spanish gave up their efforts to settle the interior. In 1748, "Hunting" John McDowell received a land grant from the colony of North Carolina for property known today as Pleasant Gardens, including acreage that originally extended from Swan's Pond (Catawba County) up the Catawba River west to present-day Marion and into the region known as Buck Creek. McDowell went hunting with his friend Henry Weidner, and the two came upon a lush green valley with thousands of acres of what they thought was virgin forest. They were both interested in the land, and McDowell won a wrestling match to decide who should apply for it. McDowell settled here with his family, and received two more land grants. established residence here family, and subsequently received two land grants. He is noted in Max Dixon's book, ''The Wataugans,'' as being instrumental in Jacob Brown's purchase of one of the last remaining pieces of acreage along the Nolichucky River in eastern Tennessee. McDowell hosted negotiations with the Cherokee from that area on his farm in North Carolina. His son, Joseph McDowell, fought in the Battle of Kings Mountain. McDowell County is named in his honor. Today, McDowell's home survives, one of the few remaining that was built by its namesake. The settlement of what was known as Old Fort took place nearby; this became for a time the westernmost outpost of colonial society. These early pioneers established a community protected by a series of forts that were used into the early 19th century. In 1793, Colonel John Carson built a plantation house near Buck Creek in the Pleasant Gardens community. It is known as the historic Carson House. He also operated gold mines in the southern part of the county. Colonel Carson had contributed to the Patriot cause in the American Revolutionary War. Marion, the county seat of McDowell County, was planned and built on land selected by the first McDowell County Commissioners when they met on March 14, 1844, at the Carson House. It was not until 1845, however, that Marion was designated as the county seat by the state legislature. The settlement was named after

Francis Marion Brigadier-General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the Swamp Fox, was an American military officer, planter and politician who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. During the Ameri ...

, the American Revolutionary War hero known as the "Swamp Fox." He was the subject of the dramatic movie '' The Patriot'' (2000). The historic movie ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (1992), based on a novel by

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

, was set in New York state, but it was filmed along the shores of Lake James. During the

Carolina Gold Rush The Carolina Gold Rush, the first gold rush in the United States, followed the discovery of a large gold nugget in North Carolina in 1799, by a 12-year-old boy named Conrad Reed. He spotted the nugget while playing in Meadow Creek on his family's ...

period of the early 19th century, the south county area was known for its gold production. The banks of the Muddy Creek and mines at Vein Mountain were productive areas. Many mines and thriving gold rush towns such as Brackettown no longer exist; scattered ruins and abandoned cemeteries mark once-active sites of the gold rush period. An old mine in Woodlawn is from this period. McDowell County was first formed in 1842 from parts of Burke County and Rutherford County. It was named for Joseph McDowell, a Revolutionary War leader and hero of the

Battle of King's Mountain The Battle of Kings Mountain was a military engagement between Patriot and Loyalist militias in South Carolina during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolutionary War, resulting in a decisive victory for the Patriots. The battle took pla ...

. He was elected and served one term as a member of the United States House of Representatives, from 1797 to 1799. In 1861, parts of McDowell, Burke,

Caldwell Caldwell may refer to: People * Caldwell (surname) * Caldwell (given name) * Caldwell First Nation, a federally recognized Indian band in southern Ontario, Canada Places Great Britain * Caldwell, Derbyshire, a hamlet * Caldwell, East ...

Watauga Watauga can refer to: ;Places *Watauga, Kentucky * Watauga County, North Carolina * Watauga, South Dakota * Watauga, Tennessee * Watauga, Texas ;Bodies of Water * Watauga Lake in Tennessee * The Watauga River in North Carolina and Tennessee ;Shi ...

, and Yancey counties were combined to form Mitchell County. McDowell County is rich in American Civil War History.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.2%) is water. Numerous small creeks and streams flow through the county. The Catawba River originates in and crosses the county and empties into Lake James. It flows over

Catawba Falls Catawba Falls is a series of waterfalls on the headwaters of the Catawba River, in McDowell County, near Old Fort, North Carolina. Geology The Catawba River flows over 2 major waterfalls in a short distance. The first drop, called Upper Cata ...

on its way, which is accessible to the public. Other waterfalls can be found in the county, such as

Toms Creek Falls Toms Creek Falls is a waterfall in the Pisgah National Forest in McDowell County, North Carolina, near the town of Marion. Geology The 60-foot falls are located on Toms Creek. The creek flows over several cascading upper sections of bedrock into ...

. Almost half of the county, including the two aforementioned waterfalls, is located inside the Pisgah National Forest.

Linville Caverns Linville Caverns are privately owned active limestone caverns located in northern McDowell County, North Carolina, just south of the village of Linville Falls, on U.S. Highway 221. The caverns are open to the public year-round for guided tours. L ...

, North Carolina's only limestone cavern system open to the public, is located in the far northern part of the county. Geologically, McDowell County is located within the southern Appalachian Mountains region. The Blue Ridge Parkway closely follows the northwestern boundary of the county. McDowell County rises rapidly from the Piedmont (United States) in its extreme eastern border where elevations average about 1200 feet above sea level, to the Blue Ridge Mountains in the north and west. Its lowest point is 969 feet above sea level along Cane Creek in the county's southeastern corner. Its highest point is Pinnacle—at 5,665 feet above sea level the second-highest mountain (after

Grandfather Mountain Grandfather Mountain is a mountain, a non-profit attraction, and a North Carolina state park near Linville, North Carolina. At 5,946 feet (1,812 m), it is the highest peak on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, one of the major ch ...

) in the Blue Ridge, and also considered the southernmost tip of the Black Mountains, the highest ridge in eastern America. Much of the county lies in the

Foothills (North Carolina) Western North Carolina (often abbreviated as WNC) is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United S ...

region of Western North Carolina.

National Protected areas

* Blue Ridge Parkway (part) * Linville Gorge Wilderness (part)

State and local protected areas

* Bobs Creek State Natural Area *

Fonta Flora State Trail The Fonta Flora State Trail is a unit of the List of North Carolina state parks, North Carolina state park system in Buncombe County, North Carolina, Buncombe, McDowell County, North Carolina, McDowell, and Burke County, North Carolina, Burke C ...

(part) *

Lake James State Park Lake James State Park is a North Carolina state park in Burke and McDowell Counties, North Carolina in the United States. Located near Nebo, North Carolina, it covers and borders Lake James. History Started in 1987, Lake James State Park had ...

(part) * South Mountains Game Land (part) *

Wilderness Gateway State Trail The Wilderness Gateway State Trail is a unit of the North Carolina state park system in Burke, Catawba, McDowell and Rutherford Counties, North Carolina in the United States. The State Trail is planned as a hiking trail connecting the Town ...

(part)

Major water bodies

* Armstrong Creek * Bee Rock Creek * Black Bear Cove * Broad River * Camp Creek * Cane Creek * Catawba River * Cox Creek * Crooked Creek * Jake Creek * Jarrnett Creek * Lake James *

Lake Tahoma Lake Tahoma is a private lake in the mountains of Western North Carolina, United States, in McDowell County. It is fed by the waters of Buck Creek, a tributary of the Catawba River.''Marion West, North Carolina,'' 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle ...

Laurel Creek Laurel Creek is a river in Delaware County, New York. It flows into the Roods Creek Roods Creek is a river in Delaware County, New York. It begins just south of Cannonsville Reservoir and flows south into Crystal Lake. After exiting Crystal Lak ...

* Mill Creek * Nix Creek * North Fork Catawba River * Rosas Creek *

Second Broad River The Second Broad River is a tributary of the Broad River in western North Carolina in the United States. DeLorme (2001). ''North Carolina Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. Via the Broad and Congaree rivers, it is part of the wate ...

* Shoal Creek * South Muddy Creek * Toms Creek

Adjacent counties

* Mitchell County - north *

Avery County Avery County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,806. The county seat is Newland. The county seat was initially established in Elk Park when the county was first formed, but wa ...

- north * Burke County - east * Rutherford County - south * Buncombe County - west *

Yancey County Yancey County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,470. Its county seat is Burnsville. This land was inhabited by the Cherokee prior to European settlement, as was much of the S ...

- northwest

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * *

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 44,578 people, 18,173 households, and 13,065 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 42,151 people, 16,604 households, and 11,954 families residing in the county. The population density was 95 people per square mile (37/km²). There were 18,377 housing units at an average density of 42 per square mile (16/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.18% White, 4.16% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.92%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.61% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races. 2.88% of the population were Hispanic or

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. There were 16,604 households, out of which 30.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.50% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were non-families. 24.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.90. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.80% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 29.90% from 25 to 44, 24.90% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 99.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $32,396, and the median income for a family was $37,789. Males had a median income of $26,609 versus $21,640 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,109. About 9.00% of families and 11.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.10% of those under age 18 and 15.70% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

McDowell County is a member of the

Isothermal Planning and Development Commission In thermodynamics, an isothermal process is a type of thermodynamic process in which the temperature ''T'' of a system remains constant: Δ''T'' = 0. This typically occurs when a system is in contact with an outside thermal reservoir, and ...

regional council of governments. McDowell County voted Republican in the three elections from 1900 to 1908, but otherwise was solidly Democratic until

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

, when Dwight D. Eisenhower carried the county. Since then, like other areas of the North Carolina Foothills, it has become predominantly Republican. Since 1956, only two Democratic candidates have won the county's vote in presidential elections:

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

and Jimmy Carter in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, both hailing from the southern region of the nation.

2016 presidential primaries and election

In the

2016 Republican Primary Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place within all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories between February 1 and June 7, 2016. These elections selected the 2,472 delegates that were se ...

in McDowell County, Donald Trump received 2,552 votes (or 41.2% of the total votes) followed by Ted Cruz, who came in second with 2,422 votes (or 39.1% of the total votes). In the

2016 Democratic Primary Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 4,051 delegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention held July 25–28 and determine the nominee for president in the 2016 United States presidential ...

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

received 1,622 votes (49.0%) and Hillary Clinton received 1,353 votes (40.9%). In the

2016 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kirib ...

in McDowell County, Republican Donald Trump received 14,517 votes (74.2%),

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Hillary Clinton 4,645 votes (23.8%), and

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

Gary Johnson 395 votes (2.0%).2016 Election Results
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Education

The following is a list of schools located in McDowell County: * Marion Elementary School * West Marion Elementary School * Nebo Elementary School * Old Fort Elementary School * Pleasant Gardens Elementary School * Eastfield Global Magnet School * Glenwood Elementary School * North Cove Elementary School * West McDowell Middle School * East McDowell Middle School * Foothills Community School *

McDowell High School McDowell High School is a public high school located in Millcreek Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Erie. It is the only high school in the Millcreek Township School District. The school's mascot is the Trojan. Students There are approximately ...

* McDowell Early College High School * McDowell Academy for Innovation * Phoenix Academy * New Manna Christian School * Nebo Crossing Christian Academy McDowell County has one community college:

McDowell Technical Community College McDowell Technical Community College is a public community college in Marion, North Carolina. It is part of the North Carolina Community College System. History McDowell Technical Community College was founded in 1964 as a satellite of Ashe ...

Communities

City

* Marion (county seat and largest city)

Town

* Old Fort

Census-designated place

* West Marion

Unincorporated communities

* Glenwood *

Linville Falls Linville Falls is a waterfall located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina in the United States. The falls move in several distinct steps, beginning in a twin set of upper falls, moving down a small gorge, and culminating in a high-volu ...

* Little Switzerland * Nebo *

North Cove North Cove is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is part of the East Suffolk district, located around east of Beccles and west of Lowestoft. It merges with the village of Barnby and the villages shar ...

Townships

* Crooked Creek * Dysartsville * Glenwood * Marion * Montford Cove * Nebo * North Cove * Old Fort * Pleasant Gardens * Sugar Hill * Woodlawn-Sevier

References

External links

McDowell County government official website

NCGenWeb McDowell County
- free genealogy resources for the county
McDowell Tourism

Discover McDowell County
{{authority control 1842 establishments in North Carolina Populated places established in 1842 Counties of Appalachia