LINCOLN COUNTY

Lincoln was formed in 1779 from Tryon. It was named in honor of General Benjamin Lincoln, a distinguished general of the Revolution whom George Washington appointed to receive the sword of Cornwallis when he surrendered at Yorktown. It is in the southwestern section of the State and is bounded by Mecklenburg, Gaston, Cleveland, Catawba and Iredell counties. The present land area is 298.79 square miles. The population from the 2010 Census was 78,265. Of that population, 69,940 were white, 4,340 were black or African American, 250 were American Indian, 421 were Asian, 17 were Pacific Islander and 2,078 were of a different race. Another 1,219 were reported to be of two or more races and 5,238 were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The act establishing the county appointed commissioners to select a convenient and central place and to erect a courthouse and prison. In 1782 and in 1784 new commissioners were appointed, as the previously appointed commissioners had failed to act. In 1785 Lincolnton was established on land selected for the county seat. It is the present county seat.

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The majority of Lincoln County is in the Catawba River Basin. It is a part of the Piedmont region of the state.

References:

"American Factfinder." 2011. U. S. Census Bureau. Online at http://factfinder2.census.gov/. Accessed 3/3/2011.

Corbitt, David L. 2000. The Formation of the North Carolina Counties, 1663-1943. Sixth printing. Raleigh: State Department of Archives and History.

Powell, William Stevens, and Michael R. Hill. 2010. The North Carolina gazetteer: a dictionary of Tar Heel places and their history. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Additional resources:

North Carolina Digital Collections

NC LIVE resources

NC Natural Heritage Program database

WorldCat (Searches numerous library catalogs)