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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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