ROWAN COUNTY

Rowan was formed in 1753 from Anson. It was named in honor of Matthew Rowan who was a prominent leader before the Revolution and who for a short time after the death of Governor Gabriel Johnston was acting governor. It is in the central section of the State and is bounded by Davidson, Stanly, Cabarrus, Iredell and Davie counties. Its present land area is 511.31 square miles. The population from the 2010 Census was 138,428. Of that population, 105,923 were white, 22,392 were black or African American, 468 were American Indian, 1,386 were Asian, 49 were Pacific Islander and 5,993 were of a different race. Another 2,217 were reported to be of two or more races and 10,644 were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The county seat was first called Rowan Court House. It has been called Salisbury since about 1755.

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Rowan County is in the Yadkin-Pee Dee 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 (Government & Heritage Library and NC State Archives)

NC LIVE resources

NC Natural Heritage Program database

WorldCat (Searches numerous library catalogs)