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Mooresville, North Carolina establishes its territory in the heart of racing country, nestled between the racetracks in Charlotte, Darlington and Wilmington. Known as “Race City USA”, Mooresville is home to several race teams and an abundance of race shops and museums associated with some of professional racing’s most elite names.
John Franklin Moore, the city’s namesake, came to the Iredell County region in 1855 with a mission to set up a train depot and cotton-weighing platform between Charlotte and Statesville. Once he purchased 500-acres of land, Moore enlisted the Atlantic, Tennessee and Ohio railroad to run tracks through Mooresville. Its location on the new train route and local textile mills transformed Mooresville into a dynamic community that still thrives today.
Another significant point in Mooresville history occurred in 1972, when businessman Robert Ebert purchased a tract of land that eventually became Lakeside Business Park. In 1985, the park welcomed its first racing team as a tenant and when the mills began to close one by one, Mooresville’s newest industry, auto racing, began to gain momentum and fill the jobs that the mills had left in their wake.
Today, Lakeside Business Park is home to several racing teams and more than 70 race-related businesses. Lowe's Home Improvement recently moved its headquarters to Mooresville, NC in order to be closer to Lowe’s Motor Speedway in nearby Charlotte. With sites such as the NC Auto Racing Hall of Fame, Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, Mooresville Motorsports Center and the NASCAR Technical Institute, its no wonder the city of Mooresville is synonymous with racing.
In addition to racing related activities, Mooresville offers a regulation golf course that is open to the public year round, the Lake Norman Orchestra and nine parks with sports facilities. Lake Norman is a popular recreation and vacation destination in close proximity to Mooresville, where fishing and water sports are big attractions.
Mooresville is a delightful community whose population neared 19,000 at the time of the 2000 Census. Recent census estimates show that the population has risen considerably since the 2000 Census and has actually doubled since the 1990 Census. The close proximity to Charlotte, easy access to beaches and mountains and the thriving job market are major contributors to the population increase. Other significant factors include excellent schools, the moderate weather and of course, the growing presence of NASCAR. More than 250,000 racing fans visit Mooresville annually and over the years, many have even decided to relocate here.
Mooresville, North Carolina remains a friendly city despite its tremendous growth of recent years. This paradise for race fans promises a prosperous future for generations to come.
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