Lincolnton, North Carolina

Lincoln Cotton Mills, built 1813

10-year-old factory worker in Lincolnton, 1908

This area was long occupied by varying cultures of indigenous peoples; the first Americans settled the area after the American Revolution in the late 18th century.

In June 1780 during the American Revolutionary War, the future site of Lincolnton was the site of the Battle of Ramsour's Mill, a small engagement in which local Loyalists were defeated by pro-independence forces. Some historians consider the battle significant because it disrupted Loyalist organizing in the region at a crucial time.

After the Revolution, the legislature organized a new county by splitting this area from old Tryon County (named in the colonial era for a royally appointed governor). The 1780 battle site was chosen for the seat of Lincoln County. The new city and the county were named for Major General Benjamin Lincoln, who served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.[7]

The Piedmont area was developed for industry, based on using the water power from the streams and rivers there. With the advantage of the South Fork of the Catawba, Lincolnton was the site of the first textile mill in North Carolina, constructed by Michael Schenck in 1813.[8] It was the first cotton mill built south of the Potomac River. Cotton processing became a major industry in the area. St. Luke's Episcopal Church was founded in 1841.[9]

During the American Civil War, Lincoln County had many residents who either joined or were conscripted to the Confederate Army. Among them was Major General Stephen Dodson Ramseur, who was mortally wounded at the Battle of Cedar Creek in Virginia in the final year of the war. His body was returned to Lincolnton for burial. Episcopal missionary bishop Henry C. Lay spent the final months of the Civil War in the town. Union forces occupied Lincoln County on Easter Monday, 1865, shortly before the close of the war.[9]

As county seat and a center of the textile industry, city residents prospered on the returns from cotton cultivation. The city has numerous properties, including churches, which have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since the late 20th century. It has three recognized historic districts: Lincolnton Commercial Historic District, South Aspen Street Historic District, and West Main Street Historic District. These were centers of the earliest businesses and retail activities. There was much activity around the Lincoln County Courthouse on court days, when farmers typically came to town to trade and sell their goods.

Residences, churches and other notable buildings marked the development of the city; they include the Caldwell-Cobb-Love House, Emanuel United Church of Christ, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Eureka Manufacturing Company Cotton Mill, First Baptist Church, First Presbyterian Church, First United Methodist Church, Methodist Church Cemetery, Lincolnton Recreation Department Youth Center, Loretz House, Old White Church Cemetery, Pleasant Retreat Academy, Shadow Lawn, St. Luke's Church and Cemetery, and Woodside.[10][11]

In 1986, Lincolnton expanded by annexing the town of Boger City.[12]

Lincolnton is in central Lincoln County in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. U.S. Route 321, a four-lane freeway, passes through the east side of the city, leading north 20 miles (32 km) to Hickory and south 15 miles (24 km) to Gastonia. North Carolina Highway 27 is Lincolnton's Main Street and leads southeast 20 miles (32 km) to Mount Holly and west 16 miles (26 km) to Toluca. Charlotte is 37 miles (60 km) southeast of Lincolnton via US 321 and Interstate 85.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.7 square miles (22.6 km²), of which 8.6 square miles (22.4 km²) are land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²), or 0.93%, are water.[13] The city is sited on the northeastern side of the South Fork of the Catawba River, which flows southeast to join the Catawba River at the South Carolina border. Clark Creek joins the South Fork in the northwestern part of the city.

Lincolnton is governed by a mayor and four-member city council, who hire a city manager to oversee day-to-day governance. City council members serve four-year terms and the mayor serves for two years. They are elected in partisan elections in odd-numbered years. Council members represent city wards in which they must reside, but are elected at-large. The mayor conducts city meetings, normally the first Thursday of each month, and votes only in case of a tie.

Lincolnton government has traditionally been run solely by Democrats, but currently has a bipartisan government for the first time in its history. The city electorate narrowly backed Democrat Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election. The rest of Lincoln County has generally leaned Republican, and heavily favored Republican John McCain in the 2008 election.

Edward L. Hatley (D) was elected as mayor in 2015. Hatley previously served as a member of the Lincoln County Board of Education. Lincolnton's City Council Members are Tim Smith(R) of Ward 1, David M. Black (D) of Ward 2, Dr. Martin A. Eaddy (D) of Ward 3, and Roby Jetton (R) of Ward 4. Council Members Smith, Black and Dr. Eaddy had their terms expire in 2017. The term of Council Member Jetton expired in 2019.

In 2018, Mary Frances White (D) became the first black elected official in Lincoln County's history.[14]

Lincolnton is home to one print newspaper and one radio station as well as a range of online news sites and blogs. The Lincoln Times-News was formed in the early 1960s by a merger between two much older publications. Based in historic downtown Lincolnton, the family-owned newspaper covers all of Lincoln County, for which it is the legal paper of record. WLON radio went on the air in the late 1950s or early 1960s and provides coverage of Lincolnton High School football every Friday night, as well as Atlanta Braves, NC State Wolfpack, and UNC Tar Heels sports events. The online Lincoln Tribune was founded about six years ago with a print edition, but has since become an exclusively online publication. Two free-distribution weekly papers News@Norman and Denver Weekly operate only in the eastern portion of Lincoln County. An on-line web paper, Lincoln Herald, began publishing in August 2012.

The city has grown since 1980 as part of the Charlotte metropolitan area expansion.

High schools

• East Lincoln High School
• Lincoln Charter school
• Lincolnton High School
• North Lincoln High School
• West Lincoln High School

Middle schools

• East Lincoln Middle School
• Lincoln Charter School
• Lincolnton Middle School
• North Lincoln Middle School
• West Lincoln Middle School

Elementary schools:

• Lincoln Charter School
• Battleground Elementary School
• GE Massey Elementary School
• S Ray Lowder Elementary School
• Love Memorial Elementary School
• Norris S. Childers Elementary School
• Pumpkin Center Elementary School
• Pumpkin Center Intermediate School

Charter schools:

• Lincoln Charter School

Colleges:

• Gaston College: Lincolnton Campus

• Lester Andrews, chemist[17]
• Paul Bost, racecar driver
• Dennis Byrd, member of College Football Hall of Fame[18]
• Jim Cleamons, professional basketball player, assistant coach with nine NBA championships
• Charles L. Coon, teacher, school administrator, child labor reformer, and advocate for African American education
• Drew Droege, actor
• John Horace Forney, major general in Confederate States Army during American Civil War
• Peter Forney, U.S. Representative from North Carolina and captain during Revolutionary War
• William H. Forney, U.S. Representative from Alabama; grandson of Peter Forney, nephew of Daniel Munroe Forney, and brother of John Horace Forney
• Charles A. Gabriel, 11th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
• William Alexander Graham, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, U.S. senator, member of Confederate Senate, governor of North Carolina and Whig candidate for vice president of the United States
• Connie Guion, pioneering female physician[19]
• James Pinckney Henderson, first governor of Texas, U.S. senator, lawyer, politician and soldier
• Robert Hoke, Confederate major general who won Battle of Plymouth; businessman and railroad executive
• William A. Hoke, associate justice and chief justice of North Carolina Supreme Court
• Rufus Zenas Johnston, recipient of Navy Cross and Congressional Medal of Honor
• Charles A. Jonas, politician and U.S. Representative from North Carolina
• Charles R. Jonas, U.S. Representative from North Carolina
• Devon Lowery, retired pitcher for Kansas City Royals
• Candace Newmaker, killed during therapy session; her death received international coverage
• Barclay Radebaugh, basketball coach at Charleston Southern University[20]
• Stephen Dodson Ramseur, Confederate major general mortally wounded at the Battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia in 1864
• Hiram Rhodes Revels, first African-American U.S. senator
• Dick Smith, baseball player
• C. J. Wilson, professional football player
• Ken Wood, baseball player

• Official website
• Lincolnton–Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce