Iredell County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. According to current US Census projections in 2014, the population was 166,675. Its county seat is Statesville, and its largest town is Mooresville. The county was formed in 1788, annexed from Rowan County. It is named for James Iredell, a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States nominated by George Washington.
Iredell County is included in the Charlotteâ€"Concordâ€"Gastonia, NCâ€"SC Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Tornado Damage - Iredell County, NC - 5/24/2017 - Tornado touched down 5/24/2017 in Iredell County, NC. This is some of the damage from that storm.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 597 square miles (1,550Â km2), of which 574 square miles (1,490Â km2) is land and 23 square miles (60Â km2) (3.9%) is water.
Iredell County is located within the Piedmont Region of central North Carolina. The northwestern section of the county contains the Brushy Mountains, a deeply eroded spur of the Blue Ridge Mountains far to the west. The highest point in Iredell County, Fox Mountain, is in the Brushies; it rises to 1,760 feet. Although the "Brushies", as they are often called locally, are not high in the normal sense, they do rise prominently above the surrounding countryside. The remainder of Iredell County consists of gently rolling countryside occasionally broken by low hills and small river valleys. The county's largest river, the Catawba, forms much of its western border. Lake Norman, North Carolina's largest manmade lake, is the most prominent geographic feature of southern Iredell County; it is often called North Carolina's "inland sea".
Iredell County is an important transportation center for the state, as Interstate 77 and Interstate 40 cross in northeast Statesville. This has given birth to the county's slogan "Crossroads for the Future." Residents have easy access going south on I-77 to Charlotte; north on I-77 to Elkin, North Carolina and Roanoke, Virginia; east on I-40 to Winston-Salem, Greensboro and Raleigh; and west along I-40 to Hickory, North Carolina and Asheville.
The northern third of Iredell county is highly rural and contains no large towns. Due to the thinly populated nature of this portion of the state, it is one of the select places in North Carolina where the speed limit on Interstate Highways exceeds 65Â mph, as Interstate 77 north of Statesville has a speed limit of 70Â mph.
Iredell County is one of the longest counties in the state and stretches for nearly fifty miles north to south from Yadkin County in the north to Mecklenburg in the south. The county is divided into seventeen townships: Barringer, Bethany, Chambersburg, Concord, Coddle Creek, Cool Springs, Davidson, Eagle Mills, Fallstown, New Hope, Olin, Sharpesburg, Shiloh, Statesville, Turnersburg, Union Grove Harmony
Adjacent counties
Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 159,437 people, and 59,593 households in the county. The population density was 277.8 people per square mile (82/km²). As of 2013 there were 69,325 housing units at an average density of 90 per square mile (35/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 83.3% White, 12.3% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 2.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.68% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. 7.0% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
According to the 2000 census data, there were 47,360 households out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.80% were married couples living together, 11.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.80% were non-families. 22.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the county, the population was spread out with 25.50% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 31.30% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.10 males.
As of 2013, the median income for a household in the county was $50,058. Males had a median income of $34,590 versus $24,031 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,348. About 6.20% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.10% of those under age 18 and 9.80% of those age 65 or over.
Politics, law and government
Iredell is presently a strongly Republican county. It was one of thirteen North Carolina counties to vote for Barry Goldwater in 1964, and in the past seventeen elections the solitary Democrat to carry Iredell County has been Jimmy Carter in 1976. Before the 1950s, however, Iredell was part of the Democratic “Solid South†and voted for no Republican except Herbert Hoover in 1928.
Iredell County is governed by the Board of Commissioners, consisting of five commissioners elected at-large.
Iredell County Commissioners (2016â€"present): James Mallory (Chairman), Marvin Norman, Tommy Bowles, Jeff McNeely and Gene Houpe, all Republicans.
The Sheriff of Iredell County is Darren E. Campbell (Republican), elected in December 2014 taking over from Phillip Redmond who was first elected in 1994.
The Register of Deeds of Iredell County is Ronald "Duck" Wyatt (Republican), appointed in 2016. The Register of Deeds serves as custodian and manager of a large number of land records and vital records.
Iredell County is part of prosecutorial District 22A with Alexander County. The Iredell County Courthouse is located in the county seat of Statesville. The District Attorney is Sarah Kirkman. The Senior Superior Court Judge is Joe Crosswhite. The Senior District Court Judge is Dale Graham.
Economy
Lowe's has its corporate headquarters in Mooresville.
Farming is still a major source of income for many Iredell County residents. Dairy farming has been particularly popular in Iredell County for centuries, in both the northern and southern sections of the county. However, the rapid population growth and development in southern Iredell County is putting increasing pressure on farmlands, and many farms in this section are giving way to shopping centers, housing developments, and large corporate office parks.
Iredell County is a major hub of NASCAR racing, with many race shops located in the county (mostly around Mooresville). Universal Technical Institute operates NASCAR Technical Institute under licensing agreements. The school offers racing-related instruction to prepare the student for their job search in the racing industry. Many NASCAR drivers live around Mooresville and Lake Norman. Although northern Iredell County has retained much of its rural character, the southern half of the county is experiencing rapid suburbanization and population growth, largely due to the immense popularity of the Lake Norman area for residents of nearby Charlotte, North Carolina's largest city.
Education
The county is served by two traditional public school districts: Iredell-Statesville Schools (ISS) and Mooresville Graded School District (MGSD). The county is also served by several public charter schools including Pine Lake Preparatory, Langtree Charter Academy, American Renaissance School (ARS) and others.
Iredell Statesville Schools District
- High Schools: CCTL Early College High School at Mitchell Community College, Career Academy and Technical School, Lake Norman High School, Monticello (combined elementary, middle, and high school, 4â€"12), North Iredell, Pressly (combined elementary, middle, and high school, Kâ€"12), South Iredell, Statesville Senior High School, Visual and Performing Arts Center at Statesville High at Statesville High School, West Iredell, Mount Mourne IB (combined middle and high schools, 6â€"8, 9â€"12 is at South Iredell High School), Northview IB (combined middle and high schools, 6â€"8, 9â€"12 is at South Iredell High School)
- Middle Schools: Brawley, East Iredell, Lakeshore, North Iredell, Statesville, Troutman, West Iredell
- Elementary Schools: Celeste Henkel, Central, Cloverleaf, Coddle Creek, Cool Spring, East Iredell, Harmony, Lake Norman, Lakeshore, N. B. Mills, Scotts, Sharon, Shepherd, Third Creek, Troutman, Union Grove, Woodland Heights
Mooresville Graded School District
- High Schools: Mooresville Senior High, N.F. Woods Advanced Technology and Arts Center
- Middle Schools: Mooresville Intermediate, East Mooresville Intermediate, Mooresville Middle
- Elementary Schools: Park View Elementary, South Elementary, Rocky River Elementary
Pine Lake Preparatory
- Pine Lake Preparatory offers classes Kâ€"12 on its campus. Pine Lake Prep High School is ranked 8th Best in College Preparedness of the 591 High Schools in North Carolina by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012â€"2013 academic year. It also ranks 8th of all High Schools in North Carolina for Algebra Proficiency and 11th in English Profiency by U.S. News & World Report.
'Private Schools: 'Woodlawn School, private K-12 college prep school located at 135 Woodlawn School Loop Mooresville, NC 28115. Opened in 2002, it sits on a 61-acre campus, just south of Davidson College.
Transportation
Major highways
Railroads
Iredell County is served by two railroads, Alexander Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway.
Communities
City
- Statesville (county seat)
- Mooresville
Towns
- Davidson (part)
- Harmony
- Love Valley
- Troutman
Census-designated places
- Stony Point (part)
Unincorporated communities
- Houstonville
- Mount Mourne
- Union Grove
Townships
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Iredell County, North Carolina
- USS Iredell County (LST-839)
References
External links
- Iredell County government official website
- Geographic data related to Iredell County, North Carolina at OpenStreetMap
