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Stanly County History Timeline

10,000 BC: Native American Hardaway Culture

1607 AD: First Permanent English Settlement in North America at Jamestown, VA

c. 1746: Settlers began to move into the Fork section (in the “V” formed by the confluence of the Rocky and Pee Dee Rivers below Norwood)

c. 1750 – 1770: Western Stanly settled by people of German origin

1765: Meadow Creek Primitive Baptist Church established near present day Locust

1771: Colson’s Inn licensed on highway from Salisbury to Cheraw

1775-1783: American Revolution

1780: Military action between Patriots under William Davidson and Tories at Colson’s

1790: Bethel United Methodist Church established

1799: Town of Allenton established – now under Lake Tillery

1806: Bear Creek Bethel Church established

1816: Typhoid epidemic in Allenton

c. 1820’s – present day: Gold Mining

1822: St. Martin’s Lutheran Church established

1826: Post Office established at Smith’s Store

1830: Kendall’s Baptist Church established

1834: Dr. Francis Kron takes up residence

1840: Montgomery County West (Stanly county) – 5171 people

1841: Stanly County created from Montgomery County

1843: Land donated by Hearn family to create county sea (Albemarle)

1847: Mark’s house built on North 2nd Street in Albemarle

1850: Stanly County population 6,922

1853: Agriculture Society of Stanly County organizes Norwood area

1860: Stanly County population 7,801

1861-1865: American Civil War

1870: Stanly County population 8,315

1880: Stanly County population 10.505

1890: Stanly County population 12,136, Albemarle population 248

1891: Yadkin Railroad built in Stanly County, Bilesville renamed New London

1896: Efird Manufacturing Company established

1898: Albemarle Telephone Company established

1899: Wiscassett Mills Company established, Cabarrus Bank & Trust – first Albemarle Bank

1900-1905: Unsuccessful attempt to dam Yadkin River at Whitney

1904: Lillian Knitting Mill established

1906: Yadkin Brick Company established

1910: Stanly County population 19,909, Albemarle population 2,166, Electrical distribution plan began

1911: First County Agriculture Extension Agent

1911: Winston-Salem Southbound Railroad built across Stanly county from Whitney through Norwood

1913: Railroad built across Stanly County through Stanfield, Oakboro, and Norwood

1913: French-owned Carolina Aluminum Company begins construction of Badin and Narrows Dams

1914-1918: World War I

1915: Furr city incorporated as Oakboro, Carolina Aluminum Co. sells out to ALCOA

1917: Badin Lake formed by the completion of Narros Dam, the tallest concrete structure in the USA at that time

1918: Badin Hospital – first in Stanly County

1919-1928: Consolidation era in Stanly County Schools – 79 schools consolidated into 30 schools

1920: Stanly County population 27,429, Albemarle population 2,691

1923: Contract let on Stanly part of 24/27 to Charlotte, first paved road out of Albemarle

1928: Lake Tillery formed by Carolina Power and Light Co. dam

1930: Stanly County population 30,216 (88% rural), Albemarle population 3,493

1935: Mitchell Home renamed Pfeiffer Junior College

1939-1945: World War II

1940: Stanly County population 32,834 (87% rural), Albemarle population 4,060

1940: Morrow Mountain State Park dedicated

1943: Collins and Aikman comes to Stanly County

1950: Stanly County population 37,130 (68.2% rural), Albemarle population 11,798

1950: Pfeiffer College accredited as 4 year institution

1960: Stanly County population 40,873 (60% rural), Albemarle population 12,261

1961: Ten county high schools consolidated to three

1962: Tuckertown Lake formed

1970: Stanly County population 42,822, Albemarle population 11,126

1971: Stanly Technical Institute organized

1972: New Stanly County Library opened, new Stanly County Courthouse opened

1980: Stanly County population 48,517, Albemarle population 15,110

1991: Stanly County population 51,765, Albemarle population 14,939

2008: Stanly County population 59,614

Learn more, read “Stanfield History