The History of Gastonia

The earliest European settlers of Gaston County were principally Scots Irish, Pennsylvania Dutch, and English. In the 1750s, Dutch settler James Kuykendall and others constructed the Fort at the Point at the junction of the Catawba and South Fork Rivers. The fort was built because of ongoing hostilities with the Cherokee. Tensions between the settlers and the Native American inhabitants (primarily of the Catawba tribe) were eased considerably when the boundary dispute between North Carolina and South Carolina was settled in 1772, after which most of the Catawba settled on a reservation near Fort Mill, South Carolina. Most early farms were small, cultivated primarily by white yeoman farmers. North Carolina's colonial policy restricted the size of land grants, and in Gaston County they tended to be about 400 acres each. One of the earliest grants in the area was given to Captain Samuel Cobrin, commander of a local militia company, on September 29, 1750.

Between 1845 and 1848, Gaston County experienced an industrial boom. During this three-year period, the first three cotton mills in the County were established. Some say that the first one was established by Thomas R. Tate on Mountain Island, near the present site of Duke Energy's Mountain Island Dam and Hydroelectric Station. Other sources say that the first mill was established by the Linebergers and others on the South Fork River near McAdenville. Most sources agree that among the first three mills in operation in the County was the Stowesville Mill, founded by Jasper Stowe and Associates in the South Point Community south of Belmont. Gaston County still leads all other counties in the country both in the number of spindles in operation and in the number of bales of cotton consumed. Gastonia is the county seat for Gaston County and was named after William Gaston a congressman and and state Supreme Court judge.

Gastonia was incorporated on January 26, 1877 during the "reconstruction era" with a population of about 200. By 1900, Gastonia had six cotton mills and a population of 4,610. The majority of Gaston County voted in 1909 to move the county seat to Gastonia (mainly because the railroad lines ran through this city) and in 1911 the courts, jail, offices and records were moved there as well. By 1910, Gastonia was a thriving industrial center with eleven mills and a population of 5,759 and within the next twenty-five years became known as the "combined yarn capital" of the world. A bustling commercial district grew along the tracks of the Atlanta and Charlotte lines. The commercial district of the city was located primarily on Main Avenue, where many surviving buildings were erected in the 1890's and early 1900's. The commercial district gained added importance with construction of the Gaston County Courthouse in 1910. Two major additions to Main Avenue were the First National Bank and Third National Bank, the county's first and only skyscrapers, completed in 1917 and 1923. As the city grows, the question of how to integrate the architectural heritage of a small town into the needs of a city becomes an even greater challenge. Gastonia lost a major portion of its early fabric with growth, placing an even greater significance on surviving structures.

Education in the Gastonia Area

Education in the Gastonia area is of prime importance to the citizens of Gastonia.  Below is listed some of the schools that a child in the City of Gastonia may be assigned and their school reports, for private schools click here.  The first link is to the school's website and the second is to the school report card.