Copyright Notice: This content is from the North Carolina Gazetteer, edited by William S. Powell and Michael Hill. Copyright © 2010 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.

This content is from the North Carolina Gazetteer, edited by William S. Powell and Michael Hill. Copyright © 2010 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.

Some place names included in The North Carolina Gazetteer contain terms that are considered offensive.

Preface to the 2nd edition
Preface to the 1st edition
Acknowledgments

"The North Carolina Gazetteer is a geographical dictionary in which an attempt has been made to list all of the geographic features of the state in one alphabet. It is current, and it is historical as well. Many features and places that no longer exist are included; many towns and counties for which plans were made but which never materialized are also included. Some names appearing on old maps may have been imaginary, but many of them also appear in this gazetteer.

Each entry is located according to the county in which it is found. I have not felt obliged to keep entries uniform. The altitude of a place, the date of incorporation of a city or town, may appear in the beginning of one entry and at the end of another. Some entries may appear more complete than others. I have included whatever information I could find. If there is no comment on the origin or meaning of a name, it is because the information was not available. In some cases, however, resort to an unabridged dictionary may suggest the meaning of many names."

--From The North Carolina Gazetteer, 1st edition, preface by William S. Powell

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Place Description
Catawba County

was formed in 1842 from Lincoln County. Located in the W central section of the state, it is bounded by Iredell, Lincoln, Burke, Caldwell, and Alexander Counties. It was named for the Catawba Indians, who once inhabited the region. Area: 412 sq. mi. County seat: Newton, with an elevation of 996 ft. Townships are Bandy, Caldwell, Catawba, Clines, Hickory, Jacobs Fork, Mountain Creek, and Newton. Produces wheat, oats, barley, hay, poultry, corn, cattle, hogs, hosiery, furniture, fiber-optic cable, textiles, electronics, fabricated metals, lumber, paper boxes, crushed stone, and brick.
Catawba Creek

rises in central Gaston County within the limits of Gastonia and flows SE into South Carolina, where it enters the Catawba River near the state line.
Catawba Falls

on the headwaters of Catawba River in SW McDowell County near Ridgecrest. Water falls in a continuous spray down five levels of rock. Sometimes called Rocky Glen for one of the upper falls where water plunges over a ledge 200 ft. high.
Catawba Ferry

operated on Catawba River at Lincoln-Mecklenburg county line in NW Mecklenburg County.
Catawba Lake

See Lake Wylie.
Catawba Land

See Piedmont.
Catawba River

rises in the Blue Ridge Mountains in SW McDowell County near the Buncombe-McDowell county line. It flows NE through McDowell and E through Burke County; forms successively the Caldwell-Catawba, Alexander-Catawba, Iredell-Catawba, Iredell-Lincoln, Mecklenburg-Lincoln, and Mecklenburg-Gaston county lines. It enters South Carolina W of Charlotte and flows S to join Big Wateree Creek in Wateree Pond to form the Wateree River about 20 mi. above Camden. From its headwaters to the South Carolina line, it flows approx. 150 mi. Catawba was an Indian word that may have meant "people of the river banks" or "people of the river [Catawba] with broken banks." For some of the named fords across the river, see also Beattie's, Cowan's, Island, Sherrills, Tools, and Tuckasege.
Catawba Springs

popular pre-Civil War resort on Killian Creek, E Lincoln County. Owned by Capt. John Reid, Revolutionary soldier, and known first as Reid's Springs.
Catawba Springs Township

E Lincoln County.
Catawba Station

See Catawba.