Statesville, North Carolina, United States

🇺🇸 Statesville is a city in Iredell County, North Carolina, United States. Statesville was established in 1789 by an act of the North Carolina Legislature. It is the county seat of Iredell County and is part of the Charlotte metropolitan area.

History In 1753, Scots-Irish Presbyterians and German Lutherans, who had originally settled in Pennsylvania, began arriving in what would become Statesville in 1789 to plant crops in the fertile soil where game and water were also plentiful. The settlement, known as Fourth Creek Congregation, was named for the freshwater stream running to the north of the present-day city centre, the fourth creek west of the neighboring settlement of Salisbury. The centre of the settlement was a log cabin where the Presbyterians worshiped and where the First Presbyterian Church is located today.

In 1755, colonial governor Arthur Dobbs authorized the construction of the colony's frontier fort, which was located approximately 3 miles (5 km) due north of the Fourth Creek settlement. Built and garrisoned by North Carolina provincial soldiers, Fort Dobbs defended British North America's western frontier in the colony of North Carolina during the French and Indian War and Anglo-Cherokee War. Fort Dobbs combined the functions of a military barracks, fortification, refuge for settlers, provisioning depot and centre for negotiations with Native Americans.

The state legislature divided Rowan County in 1788, and the new county was named "Iredell" for James Iredell, associate justice of the first Supreme Court during the presidency of George Washington.

One year later, the legislature selected a spot for the county seat. The Fourth Creek Congregation was chosen, and the settlement became known as "Statesville". The 1800 US Census lists the town as "States Ville", which was later combined as "Statesville". In 1800, there were 95 inhabitants in "States Ville", including 68 free white persons and 27 slaves.

As early as 1833, Statesville's leaders began laying track for railroads to connect the Piedmont area of North Carolina with the rest of the country.

By 1858, Statesville was growing rapidly and soon afterward began leading the state in the production of tobacco and tobacco products, the manufacture and blending of whiskey, and became a large distribution centre for roots and herbs.

On August 27, 1891, a passenger train derailed on the Bostian Bridge, a 300-foot-long (91 m) bridge, and seven cars fell down. About 30 people died in the accident.

Geography Statesville is in central Iredell County, in the western part of the Piedmont region of North Carolina.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Statesville has a total area of 24.4 square miles (63.1 km²), of which 24.2 square miles (62.8 km²) are land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²), or 0.48%, are water. The north side of Statesville is drained by Fourth Creek, while the south side is drained by Third Creek. Both creeks flow east, joining just before reaching the South Yadkin River near Cooleemee.

Historic sites • Academy Hill Historic District • Center Street A.M.E. Zion Church, built in 1903 • Congregation Emanuel is one of fewer than a hundred nineteenth-century synagogue buildings still standing in the United States. • East Broad Street–Davie Avenue Historic District • Fourth Creek Burial Ground, burials from 1759 • Iredell County Courthouse, built in 1899 • Key Memorial Chapel, also known as St. Philips Roman Catholic Church, built in 1898 • Main Building, Mitchell College, built in 1854-1856 • McElwee Houses, built in the late 1800s and early 1900s • Mitchell College Historic District, buildings dating from 1857 to 1930 • Morrison-Mott House, built about 1904 to 1905 • Col. Silas Alexander Sharpe House, built about 1860 or 1865 • South Race Street Historic District, 85 buildings built in the late 1800s and early 1900s • Statesville Commercial Historic District, 54 buildings built between 1875 and 1925 • Henry Turner House and Caldwell–Turner Mill Site, built about 1860 • United States Post Office and County Courthouse, built in 1891

Museums The Governor Zebulon Vance House and Museum is operated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy; Vance lived in the house at the end of the U.S. Civil War. Other museums include Iredell Museums, Heritage Museum, and The Children's Museum.

Sport Statesville was home to a minor league baseball teams of various names, mainly the Statesville Owls, from 1939 until 1969. They played in several leagues over the years including the Tar Heel League (1939–1940), North Carolina State League (1942, 1947–1952), Western Carolina League (1960–1962), and Western Carolinas League (1963–1969). They were league champions in their respective league in 1940, 1948, and 1962. The field was located at Statesville Senior High School and thus named Senior High Stadium.

Education The city is part of the Iredell–Statesville School District. Schools within the city limits include East Iredell Elementary, N.B. Mills Elementary, Northview School, Pressly Elementary, and Statesville Middle School, and Statesville High School. Schools serving Statesville residents but located outside the city limits include Cloverleaf Elementary School, East Iredell Middle School, and Third Creek Elementary School.

Wayside Elementary School was an elementary school located off Salisbury Road in eastern Statesville. The current school building opened in 1941 and closed in 2002 when Wayside School and Alan D. Rutherford School merged to form Third Creek Elementary. The former Wayside building is currently home to the UAW 3520 headquarters, while the former Alan D. Rutherford site is home to the Iredell-Statesville Schools Administrative Annex, now known as the Alan D. Rutherford Education Building.

Statesville Christian School is a non-denominational K4–12 private school serving the greater Statesville area.

Mitchell Community College, founded as a Presbyterian women's college in 1852, is now a public community college. In the 2008–2009 academic year, it became the first community college in the United States to be accepted into NASA's University Student Launch Initiative competition.

Media: Print • The Statesville Record & Landmark is Statesville's daily newspaper, primarily serving Iredell County. It is published seven days a week.

Media: Radio • WAME, "Real Country 550 & 92.9" is an AM/FM station at 550 kHz and 92.9 mHz that plays classic country music. • WSIC, 1400 AM & 100.7 FM, has a news-talk format.

In addition, the signals of many stations from the Charlotte area and Piedmont Triad region reach Statesville.

Transport: Road Interstate 40 and Interstate 77 intersect in the north-eastern part of the city, and US 21, US 64, and US 70 run through the centre of Statesville.