| Gaston
County, North
Carolina provides a splendid mix of
rural charm and urban opportunity. Located in
Carolina’s Southern Piedmont
Region, Gaston County’s eastern neighbor is the
sprawling city of Charlotte.
The county seat of Gastonia,
along with the cities of Salisbury
and Charlotte, combine to form the Greater
Charlotte Metropolitan Area, covering over ten
counties and including more than two million people.
This prosperous region continues to see rapid growth,
though Gaston County retains its small-town atmosphere
and quieter lifestyle.
Fifteen incorporated towns
and cities make up Gaston County, with lovely
rural farmland in between. The chief city is Gastonia,
population 66,000, which lies only ten miles west of
the famed Charlotte
International Airport. Other Gaston County cities
include Belmont
and Mount
Holly, with populations just over 10,000. The
towns of Bessemer
City and Cherryville
each hold just under 6,000 residents, Dallas
and Stanley
under 4,000. Gaston County reported a population
of 190,365 to the Census
2000, spread out through even tinier towns such as
Cramerton,
Lowell
and Spencer
Mountain, population 51. The 2004 estimate of over
194,000 shows a 2% increase in growth.
Gaston County, NC is a land of gently rolling hills
that climb up to high ridges. The pinnacle of Kings
Mountain Ridge stands at 1,705 feet. The average
altitude of Gaston County is 825. The climate here is
gentle, with moderate winter temperatures averaging 43
degrees and cool summer temperatures averaging 78
degrees. The Catawba
River forms Gaston County’s eastern border, and
residents enjoy whitewater rafting and kayaking
through out the region. Eighteen parks
await nature lovers, with miles of hiking trails
through beautiful terrain. Crowder's
Mountain State Park offers spectacular views from
its rocky outcroppings.
Gaston County’s early history reflects the spirit
of hard-working, hard-playing people. Early settlers
on small farms found that the soil would not produce
as well as the rest of agriculturally rich North
Carolina. Corn, though, grew well and by the
1870’s forty-eight distilleries prospered here,
giving it the title of "Banner Corn Whiskey
County of Carolina”. Various mines also dotted the
land, yielding tin, ore, gold, lime and sulfur.
Established here were some of the first furnaces for
smelting ore, as well as cotton mills. Gaston
County still leads the nation in bales of
cotton turned out. Today, the industrially based
economy is strong, with over 4,000 businesses
flourishing, employing almost 95,000 workers.
Gaston County also boasts one of the finest medical
facilities in the region, the Gaston
Memorial Hospital.
Gaston County attracts many visitors to their famed
Magnolia
Tour. An abundance of beautiful broadleaf
magnolias adorns the region. The tour features 17
unique sites found within Gaston County, including the
Daniel
Stowe Botanical Gardens, the Schiele
Museum of Natural History and the historic Belmont
Abbey. At Christmas, the small town of McAdenville
transforms itself into Christmastown
USA. With thousands of twinkling lights reflecting
into the town’s lake, and enormous nativity scenes,
McAdenville receives millions of visitors to view the
holiday display.
Gaston
County, North Carolina offers residents a gracious
lifestyle, at a slower pace than neighboring
Charlotte.
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