History of the Town of Huntersville

Town of Huntersville:A Brief HistoryFrom Local Commerce, Farming and the Mill Village toBooming Suburb: A Tale of Annexation, Infrastructure andgrowth of the Greater Charlotte Region.

Early Settlers Connected to Local Churches• Most of Huntersville’s early communities(farm land) developed around churchesRamah Presbyterian ChurchCaldwell Station (Mayes Rd.) – Rail stopGilead Community (ARP church)Hopewell Presbyterian (Beatties Ford Rd.)St Marks Episcopal (Mt Holly/Huntersville)Catawba Presbyterian – the original site is underLake Norman near where Southlake Academy istoday (it now resides off McCoy Rd. and itscemetery remains off Brown Mill Road)

Huntersville from a Postal Perspective• Huntersville covered everything East ofthe Catawba River into Cabarrus County• It stretched South from Cornelius’s1900’s town limit to Harris Blvd/I-85• Town went south along Beatties Ford Rd.past Long Creek to Sunset Road.• As far east to include Mallard Creek,including all of Eastfield Road.

Huntersville through the 1900s• Town renamed to Huntersville from Craighead(local minister) for prominent “Hunter” family• Town was 1 square mile (railroad at its center)Main Street – stores, bank, laundromatTown limit was just west of Dallas St. (across fromHuntersville Elementary School)• Early housing (pre-1950) were custom built bylocal men (farmers, carpenters, bricklayers,etc.)• Most paid cash or got loans from the Bank ofCornelius, which had a branch in downtownHuntersville

A Look Back at Downtown Huntersville• Cross Chevrolet (Town Center)• Bus stop (where Fire Station is today)• Auten Ford (NC115/Mt Holly-Huntersville)• General Store on Maxwell/Huntersville-ConcordRd. (burned to the ground)• Banks• 2 GroceryStores

A Look Back at Downtown Huntersville• Doctor Craven’s Office and Pharmacy (Lupie’s)• Neil’s Drug Store (where Lupie’s is today)• Lane Clothing Store (same block as Lupie’s, lived whereCafe 100 is today)• A 2 nd doctor located on Gilead (west of DPK)

The Early Economy• After WWI, Duke Powerand Bellsouth were theprominent employers.• After WWII, nearly allfamilies had at least onefamily member workingin Charlotte –DukePower, Bellsouth, at oneof the banks, in generaloffice work, at thehosiery mills or teaching.

Area Jobs• Former Anchor Mill site, east of railroad• Most people who worked in the mill lived around themill• Other Huntersville families lived and worked onfarms, in community commerce (retail/commercial)jobs or in Charlotte.• Prison Camp and Highway Maintenance yard waslocated on Mt Holly-Huntersville Road – behindwhere the Park is today and owned by NCDOT(helped get state and county roads cleanedregularly, though there weren’t many at the time.)

The Early EconomySome families moved to Huntersville for theirchildren to go to Grey’s Academy (whereHES is today)

1950s Development• Town’s first subdivision: GreenfieldLower Greenfield – divided and sold to individualsUpper Greenfield – Dallas and Hillcrest Streets, laid out like asubdivision• Developed under Town’s first planning / zoning ordinance tocontrol type of development in area• Town expanded to strip shopping center whereCaptains Galley is today – voluntary annexation inlate 50s. Town’s first involuntary annexation came many years later –land along Sam Furr Road (including Cambridge Grove andGreenfarm to NC73/Catawba Ave near the Breckenridgearea

A Snapshot from the 1950’s“Huntersville, 13 milesnorth of Charlotte on theStatesville highway, No.21, is currently in thespotlight as perhaps theonly municipality in theUnited States whoseevery foot of streets ispaved.”The Town has been referredto by speakers and inwritten notices as themunicipality in NorthCarolina having the largestpercentage of collegetrained citizens.Huntersville wasalso one of the firstcommunities inrural Mecklenburgto obtain modernfacilities, includingelectricity andwater.“The town has anexcellent financialrating with a lowindebtedness andample revenue tohandle itsobligations. Thecurrent tax rate is$1.

Western Huntersville• West side (of NC-115)developed first• Primarily because of waterfrom the lake• Intake on Lake Norman1 st water treatment plant waswhere Regency Village is today.Huntersville supplied water todevelopers along NC73 andLake Norman for developmentoutside Huntersville Town limits.

Water and Sewer Feeds Growth• In 1979, hooked into McDowell Creek regionalwastewater system• Anything west of the railroad was gravity-fedRamah Church to Huntersville-Concord (East Huntersville) hadsewer – to the Huntersville water treatment plant out GibsonPark Drive (Vermillion) to Clark Creek.• CMU converted it from a treatment plant to a lift stationand pumps it across the railroad out to the treatmentplant off Neck Rd. (where it is today).• 75% of cost paid by the Federal government and12.5% each by the State and Mecklenburg County.• Some areas developed with Septic – such asWestminster Park (off MH-H at Town’s southern edge)

Residential Development in the 1980s• Shepherd’s VineyardTown’s second subdivision (just north of thedowntown area, off NC-115)Developed in the 1980s• BreckenridgeProposed at the same time (off NC73 – DavidKenney Farm Rd./Birkdale Area)

Huntersville Business Park Sparks Growth• Now known as “The Park – Huntersville”• Created in the 80’s by NCNB (now Bank ofAmerica) – land off Gilead Road was not intown limits at the time.• First tenant was an Ace Hardware distributioncenter – large building on south area ofReese Blvd.• Old rock quarry backs up to Park (off MH-H)• Created need for housing for managers andexecutives

W/S Spurs Residential Growth• Cedarfield, Wynfield Creek and Wynfield Forest werebuilt in the late 80’s to mid 90’s.• MacAulay was built in the early 2000’s.• On NC73, Greenfarm was the first, followed byCambridge Grove and the Hamptons as W/Sexpanded• No sewer to the east of Vermillion and Centennial,limiting further development• Ramah Creek – important as it will providewater/sewer along the rail road for future economicdevelopment, which is why there’s a creek overflow inNorthstone

Residential Development in the 1990s• Group of area business people saw need forhousingGreenfarm had already been built at this point.Land was bought for Wynfield and Cedarfield in thelate 80s / early 90s• Power neighborhoods of the 1990s• Annexed into town through the 90s, large partof exponential growth

Schools• North Mecklenburg opened in 1951, firstclass graduated in 1953• Served Long Creek, Davidson, Cornelius, Huntersvilleand Derita• District went beyond North Tryon St. because Garingerhadn’t been built yet.• Torrence-Lytle School• Known as the Huntersville Colored School until 1952-53)• Built in 1937, closed in 1966• Students integrated into North Meck HS in 1965• Hopewell High School opened in 2001

Schools• J.M. Alexander Junior High built in the 1960s• Later Bradley Middle opened on the west side• Huntersville Elementary School• Former home of Huntersville High Schooland Huntersville Academy• Ag buildings still standing at HES and Long Creek.• Elementary Schools developed as population grew• Blythe Elementary• Torrence Creek and Barnette Elementary Schools opened inpast 10 years• Other options also opened as Lake Norman Charter(now grades 5-12) began in 1998-1999.

Highways / Interstate• NC 115 used to be US 21, was moved in thelate 1950s to where US21 is now.When ROW for 21 was purchased, landownerswere told it was also for I-77• Two 150 year old homesteads were taken for 21/77 (poorhistoric preservation)• 1975: I-77 completed from Charlotte to Elkin• Rail line didn’t transport residents fromHuntersville/North Mecklenburg after WWII,though it continued carrying freight.• 2 Exits fuel access and growth

Exit 25 – 1993 Aerial (Exit opened in 1994)

Exit 25 – 2007 Aerial

The Lake• Duke Power finished the Cowans Ford Dam on theCatawba River, officially creating Lake Norman in1963.• The largest manmade body of fresh water in NorthCarolina 1963 – 520 miles of shoreline.• Lake named for Duke Power president NormanCocke.• Big impact on growth of area, however through the1980s, many people only had weekend/vacationhomes on the lake.It wasn’t until the 90s/2000s that development intensified.It also wasn’t always socially acceptable for many of theexecs that call LKN home today to live north of I-85.

Early Public Safety• Police – from 1 to nearly 80+today• Volunteer Fire Departmentssettled around communities(Huntersville, Gilead, LongCreek, etc.)• Huntersville Fire Dept – attribute alot to Chief Allen Irvin andAssistant Chief Dwight Cross, Jr.– the staff from Cross Chevroletwould answer calls during the day(Chief John Albert Rape, killed inthe line of duty – Jan. 1, 1938.)

Early Public Safety• The North MecklenburgVolunteer Rescue Squad wasfounded in 1959 in the town ofHuntersville, North Carolina. Thesquad was established andstaffed by members of thenorthern Mecklenburg Countycommunities in order to provideambulance and rescue servicesto northern Mecklenburg Countyincluding the communities ofCornelius, Davidson, Gilead,Long Creek, and Huntersville.(training exercise from 1960s)

Other Historical Sites of Note• Historic Latta Plantation• Rural Hill• Hugh Torrance House and Store• EnergyExplorium at McGuire Nuclear Station• Hopewell Presbyterian Church• Beatties Ford Road Corridor• Torrence-Lytle School