High Point City

Guilford County, North Carolina

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High Point City Hall is located at 211 South Hamilton Street, High Point, NC 27260.
Phone: 336‑883‑3289.

Neighborhoods

Beginnings [1]

Guilford County's development escalated in the mid-19th century with the construction of improved transportation routes through the region. The Fayetteville and Western Plank Road linked Salem to Wilmington in 1852, greatly facilitating travel and trade between the Piedmont and the coast. The North Carolina Railroad soon followed, connecting Charlotte to Raleigh and points east in 1855. Surveyors determined that a site near the transportation arteries' intersection in southwestern Guilford County had the highest elevation along the railroad corridor and indicated it as such on their maps. The locale thus became known as "High Point."

Entrepreneurs seized upon the opportunity to purchase land, construct homes, and establish businesses in the crossroads vicinity. Thomas Sechrest, Soloman Kendall, and Nathan Johnson sold acreage near High Point's center to investors including William Welch and Salem industrialist Francis Fries, who promptly launched new commercial ventures including land subdivision and sales. The community burgeoned after the railroad line opened, and, in 1857, encompassed 441 white residents, 70 slaves, and 14 free blacks. The North Carolina General Assembly incorporated the new town in 1859.

  1. Heather Fearnbach, Fearnbach History Services, Inc., Washington Street Historic District, Guilford County, NC, nomination document, 2010, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C.

Nearby Towns: Jamestown Town • Thomasville City •


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