Hiddenite is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in east-central Alexander County,

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 ...

, United States. The population was 536 at the 2010 census. It is part of the

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 ...

– Lenoir– Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The town of Hiddenite was incorporated in 1913, but its

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

was repealed in 1919. Hiddenite was named for William Earl Hidden (1853–1918), a

mineralogist Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

sent to North Carolina by

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

to look for

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

. Hidden discovered the gem that came to be known as "

hiddenite Hiddenite is a pale-to-emerald green variety of spodumene that is sometimes used as a gemstone. The first specimens of the hiddenite variety of spodumene were recovered circa 1879 near the settlement of White Plains, west of Stony Point, Al ...

" in 1879 in mines nearby. Until recently it was found only in Alexander County, North Carolina, but in recent decades it has been subsequently found in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The Hiddenite Gem Mines and surrounding areas also yield

emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr., and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991). ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York ...

sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...

s, and many other

precious stones A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...

. Sluicing and digging for precious gems is a popular recreational activity that draws many visitors to the area. Prior to the arrival of W.E. Hidden, the community was known as White Plains; this is how the area appears on a map of 1871. Hiddenite was once noted as a health resort because of its

sulfur Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...

springs. Hiddenite's altitude is above sea level. The community is also a

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

producer. The Lucas Mansion was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1982.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.32%, is water. The CDP is located along North Carolina Highway 90, east of Taylorsville, the county seat, and northwest of Statesville. U.S. Route 64 bypasses Hiddenite to the south. In 2020, during the heavy rains of Tropical Storm Eta in the area, the Hiddenite Bridge split apart.

Demographics

Hiddenite Celebration of the Arts

The Hiddenite Celebration of the Arts is held on the fourth Saturday in September. The event begins at 9 a.m. and concludes at 4 p.m. The Celebration invites people to see and participate in arts and crafts from different cultures. The main culture is the folk ways of North Carolina.

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 ...

and Hmong folkways are also celebrated. The event is full of entertainment and food from around Alexander County. The annual Hiddenite Half-Marathon is held at the same time. The event is 13.1 miles long and begins at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church; the finish line is marked in front of the Lucas Mansion. Anyone can participate in this event and trophies are given to those who place.

Notable person

Elbert "Yoneq" Eugene Spriggs, founder of the Twelve Tribes communities was a resident of Hiddenite in the years prior to his death at the group's Hiddenite campus.

References

External links

{{authority control Census-designated places in Alexander County, North Carolina Mining communities in North Carolina