Catawba Town

Catawba County, North Carolina

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Catawba Town Hall is located at 102 First Street NW, Catawba, NC 28609.
Phone: 828‑241‑2215.

Neighborhoods

Beginnings [1]

Catawba originated about 1858 as a station along the Western North Carolina Railroad and developed primarily as a center of trade for the east-central section of Catawba County. Spurred by the railroad, farmers' need of a commercial outlet, and, to a lesser extent, by the textile and tobacco industries, Catawba Station grew during the nineteenth century into an incorporated town bearing its present name.

The company completed work in the vicinity of Catawba Station between 1858 and 1860. The engineer reported in August 1858 that the station house at the Catawba River was being constructed. By the end of the year, grading had been completed from Statesville to the river, and the bridge spanning the Catawba lacked only one pier.

The construction of the new station led the United States. Government to establish a post office at Catawba Station, but the Civil war prevented additional development that might otherwise have occurred. A post office, which had opened in 1856 at Chestnut Grove in Iredell County, was moved to Catawba Station in December 1859. Gilbert M. Sherrill served as the first postmaster.

After the war, Catawba Station, buoyed by its rail facilities, slowly developed as a trade center for the surrounding farm country. The growth that had taken place prior to 1872 led the General Assembly that year to incorporate the community as Catawba Station.

  1. Kirk Mahoney, North Carolina Department of Archives and History, Catawba Historic District, Catawba County North Carolina, nomination document, 1985, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C.

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