Gaston County

by Jo'Keya Appiah
Fall 2001

Gaston County was formed December 21, 1846. Gaston County was named after Judge William Gaston, who was a statesman, scholar, state supreme court justice, and a benefactor of his land and people. He died in the January of 1844. Judge William Gaston never stepped foot in Gaston County, because he died three years before it was named for him.

Gaston County is the 74th largest county in North Carolina out of the one hundred counties that North Carolina has. Gaston County was annexed from Catawba and Lincoln County. In records found, proprietors wanted Gaston County to begin on the Catawba River near the 5-mile mark on the Morganton Road thence east and west parallel to the Catawba line. Gaston County is now located just west of Charlotte in the Southern Piedmont of North Carolina. Coincidentally, Gaston County is approximately halfway between Atlanta and Washington DC and approximately halfway between New York and Miami. Gaston County has 15 municipalities, the most of any North Carolina county. Gaston County has variously sized cities and their names are Belmont, Bessemer City, Cherryville, Cramerton, Dallas, High Shoals, Kings Mountain, Lowell, McAdenville, Mount Holly, Ranlo, Spencer Mountain, Stanley, and Gastonia, which is the county seat. Gaston County population as of the 2000 census is 190,365, which is an 8.9 percent population growth from 1990.

The topography of Gaston County is gently rolling to hilly, with several large ridges that span across Gaston County. Some of these ridges include Kings Mountain Pinnacle, Spencer Mountain, Jackson's Knob, Paysour Mountain, and Crowders Mountain. Gaston County ranges in elevation from 587 feet above sea level in the southeast to 1,705 feet at the beginning of the Kings Mountain ridge in the southwest. The average elevation of Gaston County is measured around 825 feet. Gaston County also has many creeks that stem off the Catawba River. Amongst those creeks are Crowders Creek, Catawbwa Creek, Big and Little Long Creeks, and Stanley Creek.

Gaston County has a moderate climate characterized by moderate temperature changes and moderate humidity. The county's average temperature is about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The county has an average winter temperature of 43 degrees. In the summer, the average temperature is 78 degrees. The average annual precipitation is 44 inches, and the average relative humidity is 54 percent.

Gaston County's early settlers were primarily Scottish-Irish, Pennsylvanian, and English. The first couple of years, settlers found Catawba Indians, but the tribe migrated to South Carolina. When Gaston County was first founded it was not very prosperous. Between the years of 1845 and 1848, Gaston County became a strong industrialized center. In those years the first three cotton mills were built. The first Gaston County mill was Stowesville Mill, founded by Jasper Stowe and associates in Belmont. Today Gaston County still leads other counties in the country in the number of spindles in operation and the number of bails of cotton consumed. Electrical goods, motor oil filters, chemicals, plastics, chain saws, brick and tiles, zipper fasteners, business forms, resistors, corrugated boxes, lawnmowers, lithium compounds are now becoming a part of Gaston County's diverse industrial system. Wholesale, retail, and government make up most of the employment in Gaston County. While service employment, transportation, communications, and public utilities make up the rest. The fifth largest school system in the state is located in Gaston County. The school system assures equal education of students urban and rural. It also includes programs for exceptional and handicapped students.

A seven member Board of Commissioners governs Gaston County. Each is elected by the people, in November of even numbered years. Each commissioner must live in and represent one of the six townships in the county. However, Gastonia has two commissioners because of its larger size. The Board approves the annual budget, disperses money to various county activities, and controls the taxes to raise the money. In 1969 the General Assembly adopted an important legislation called "Home Rule." This allows counties to create laws to prevent nuisances on public or private property, but could not however pass a law that is contrary to federal or state law.

Gaston County has a lot of significant history since its founding year. There are many things that many Gaston County residents don't know about the history of the county that helped North Carolina stick out on the map. For instance, Judge William Gaston wrote the state song, "The Old North State." Also, when Gaston County was at the height of its industrial revolution, it earned the nickname "The Spindle Capital of the World." Crowders Mountain terrain is the oldest in North Carolina, and it is believed that it was once higher than the Rockies. Nancy Hanks, Abraham Lincoln's mother, once lived in present day Belmont. There are many famous names from Gaston County: former UNC president Bill Friday, James Worthy, "Sleepy" Floyd, Darrell Armstrong of the NBA, and Kevin Millwood of the Atlanta Braves. Although Gaston County is known for textiles, the Loray Mill built in 1900 was said to have once been the largest mill in the country and employed more than 2,000 workers. In 1929, Loray Mill was known for one of the most notorious labor strikes in history.

Created November 17, 2001
Updated May 26, 2003