McDowell County, North Carolina: History and Information

McDowell County, North Carolina

McDowell County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Marion
Year Organized: 1842
Square Miles: 441.68
MSA:

Court House:

60 East Court Street
County Courthouse
Marion, NC 28752-4041

Etymology - Origin of County Name

t was named in honor of Colonel Joseph McDowell, an officer of the Revolution.

Demographics:

History

McDowell was formed in 1842 from Rutherford and Burke. It was named in honor of Colonel Joseph McDowell, an officer of the Revolution. It is in the west central section of the State and is bounded by Burke, Rutherford, Henderson, Buncombe, Yancey, Mitchell and Avery counties. The present land area is 441.68 square miles and the 2000 population was 42,151. The court was ordered to be held at the home of Jonathan L. Carson until the county seat could be established. The act also named commissioners to select a site as near the center of the county as possible, acquire land, lay out a town by the name of Marion, and erect a courthouse. Marion is the county seat.

Neighboring Counties:

Burke

Rutherford

Henderson

Buncombe

Yancey

Mitchell

Avery

Cities and Towns:

- Marion (County Seat)

city

Incorporated Area

- Old Fort

town

Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

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