Statesville Home Inspection and News

Statesville Home Inspection and News

Pioneer John Edwards purchased a land iirjnt from the Earl of Granville in 1751 for wh.il is today the seat of Iredell County, located due north of Charlotte up 1-77. At first the settlers described their new com­munity as Fourth Creek, meaning the fourth creek west of Salisbury. The center of the settlement was a log cabin where the Presbyterians worshipped and where First Presbyterian Church is located today. I iip original cemetery where many pio­neers are buried is adjacent. In 1755 Gov­ernor Arthur Dobbs chose the area for a fort to safeguard settlers from French and Indian attacks. The fort, named after Dobbs, successfully repelled a Cherokee attack but was later abandoned and fell into ruin. You can see artifacts on display at the fort's visitor center.
In 1789 the town was incorporated as Statesville. Town leaders began pushing for a railroad as early as 1833, but when it finally arrived in 1858, the town was still Si Mi'!1 limn from a devastating fire. But located at the end of the rail line and later the home of two railroads, Statesville grew quickly. The town took another blow four days after Confederate troops surrendered in the Civil War. Yankee invaders burned the two railroad depots, freight houses, and the local newspaper's building, and stole everything of value. Once larger than Charlotte, Statesville began to rebuild.
Today the town of 23,500 prides itself on three historic districts and the historic downtown, which is centered at the square. The only original building still standing downtown is the Statesville Drug Company with its signature clock on top. The clock, costing $500 in 1890, was reno­vated in 1990, and its chime can be heard on the hour and half hour. Statesville has many homes and buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is undergoing a Main Street transformation that has already made great progress in returning much of the city's original design. Mitchell Community College is located in the heart of one historic district that features 170 buildings.
The Zebulon Vance Home, where Gov­ernor Vance lived and practiced law, is here. This 1832 house, which is open to the public, served as his headquarters during his exile from the state capital in Raleigh during the last months of the Civil War.
Although Statesville is historic, it doesn't live in the past. The old textile plants have been replaced by German machinery manu­facturers, Japanese engine manufacturers, a plastic recycling plant, and a movie produc­tion company. Statesville's Balloon Works is a major manufacturer of hot-air balloons. What started out as a small pig pickin' for 8 balloonists and 300 spectators in 1973 has become the nationally recognized Hot Air Balloon Rally that draws 50 balloonists and a crowd of over 30,000 every year. It's an event you don't want to miss.
Named an All-America City by the National Civic League in 1997, Statesville