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The History of Lincolnton

In the mid-18th century, settlers from areas of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina, primarily of the German and Scotch-Irish persuasion, flocked to this area to take advantage of the inexpensive land and rich farmland prevalent in the Carolina backcountry. Traversing the rugged terrain along the "Great Philadelphia Wagon Road," these immigrants established their settlements throughout Lincoln County. Though many of the pioneer dwellings have faded into time, Lincoln County retains three eighteenth century residences – Vesuvius Furnace (1792), Andrew Loretz House (1793), and Woodside (1798) – and many historic structures from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The city and the county were named for Major General Benjamin Lincoln, who served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He also served as Secretary of War under George Washington.

Lincolnton, a former textile mill town, is located northwest of Charlotte Of particular significance; around 1813 Michael Schenck established the first successful textile mill south of New England, the Schenck-Warlick Mill. In 1816 it was destroyed by a flood, but three years later Schenck, James Bivens, and John Hoke erected a larger plant, the Lincoln Cotton Mills, on the South Fork of the Catawba River, which operated until the Civil War.

Lincolnton was established as the county seat of Lincoln County in 1785. It was laid out with a central courthouse surrounded by a grid plan of streets, blocks, and lots with four primary streets—East Main, West Main, North Aspen and South Aspen—leading from the court-house and dividing the town into quadrants. Due to a steady influx of pioneers to North Carolina's backcountry, by 1840 Lincoln County was one of the largest and most populous counties in North Carolina. It led the state in the value of many farm products, including wheat, orchard products and dairy products and was among the top producers of cotton and livestock statewide. In the late eighteenth century, forges and furnaces in Lincoln County were among many that were established in the western Piedmont. By 1849, the county's ironworks led the industry in North Carolina, producing large quantities of iron castings, bar iron, and wrought iron tools. Other manufacturing activities such as saw mills, grist mills, tanneries, paper mills, and potteries bolstered the economy.

Lincolnton grew into a prosperous center of trade, culture and government. In 1800 forty-eight whites and forty-four slaves lived in town. In 1816, growth had continued to the point where the General Assembly authorized the laying off of additional lots in the town on land previously set aside, reserving tracts for an academy and a church. By 1820, the number if town lots had expanded from the original 100 to 161. The sale of town lots provided for the construction, ca. 1821, of the Pleasant Retreat Academy for male students. Several years later a female academy was constructed.

According to the Lincoln Courier, by 1845 five attorneys maintained offices along East Main Street, six physicians had their offices along both East and West Main Street, and merchants surrounded the courthouse. Additionally the town supported four hotels, four grocers, three tailors, a watchmaker and jeweler, a printer, three saddle and harness makers, five coach factories, five blacksmiths, a cabinetmaker, two tanners, two hat manufacturers, two shoemakers, and a coppersmith, as well as five carpenters and two brick masons. Political developments in the 1840s, however, had a sobering effect on Lincolnton's future. In 1841 Cleveland County was formed out of part of Lincoln County, followed by the creation of Catawba County in 1842 and Gaston County in 1846. As a result Lincoln County was reduced from over 1800 square miles to 305 square miles. In the 1840s' partitions, Lincoln County lost prime farmlands and important factory sites to the new counties, and much of the county's momentum for growth was curtailed. Growth in Lincoln County's population remained static during the mid-nineteeth century and progressed at a slow pace throughout much of the second half of the century. In 1887, the editor of the of the Lincoln Courier wrote that "Lincolnton is not dead. Her condition is simply comatose….".

In the new century, Lincolnton began to flourish once more. A variety of new businesses improved the local economy, yet they were surpassed in their impact by a growing number of textile mills located in and around Lincolnton that took advantage of the South Fork of the Catawba River and two rail lines. The town's population increased from 828 in 1900 to 2,413 in 1910; by 1920 it had reached 3,390. The early twentieth century saw building activity greatly increase in Lincolnton, with brick stores replacing frame structures around the court square.

Education in the Lincolnton Area

Education in the Lincolnton area is of prime importance to the citizens of Lincolnton.  Below is listed some of the schools that a child in the City of Lincolnton 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.