Gaston County, North Carolina

Gaston County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 227,943. The county seat is Gastonia. Dallas served as the original county seat from 1846 until 1911.
Gaston County is included in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 2,805,115 in 2023. The county is located in the southern Piedmont region.
Of North Carolina's 100 counties, Gaston County ranks 74th in size, consisting of approximately, and is tenth in population. The county has fifteen incorporated towns. In addition to fifteen incorporated towns and cities, there are several unincorporated communities such as Hardin, Lucia, Crowders Mountain, Sunnyside, Alexis, Tryon, and North Belmont.

History

The earliest European settlers of Gaston County were principally Scots Irish, Pennsylvania Dutch, and English. In the 1750s, Dutch settler James Kuykendall with Robert Leeper, and others constructed a Fort at the Point at the junction of the Catawba and South Fork Rivers. The fort was built because of ongoing hostilities with the Cherokee, but it was apparently never attacked. Tensions between the settlers and the Native American inhabitants were eased considerably when the boundary dispute between North Carolina and South Carolina was settled in 1772, after which most of the Catawba settled on a reservation near Fort Mill, South Carolina.
Most early farms in the area were small, cultivated primarily by white yeoman farmers of English ancestry. North Carolina's colonial policy restricted the size of land grants, and in Gaston County they tended to be about each. One of the earliest grants in the area was given to Captain Samuel Cobrin, commander of a local militia company, on September 29, 1750.
Gaston County was founded in 1846, partitioned from Lincoln County. It is named for William Gaston, a U.S. Representative from North Carolina and member of the state supreme court.
Between 1845 and 1848, Gaston County experienced an industrial boom. During this three-year period, the first three cotton mills in the county were established. Some sources claim that the first one was established by Thomas R. Tate on Mountain Island, near the present site of Duke Energy's Mountain Island Dam and Hydroelectric Station. Other sources say that the first mill was established by the Linebergers and others on the South Fork River near McAdenville. Most sources agree that among the first three mills in operation in the county was the Stowesville Mill, founded by Jasper Stowe and associates in the South Point Community south of Belmont. Gaston County still leads all other counties in the country both in the number of spindles in operation and in the number of bales of cotton consumed.
The county seat moved from Dallas to Gastonia in 1911.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. It belongs to the southern Piedmont physiographic province.
Most of Gaston County is in the drainage basin of the Catawba River, except for small areas along the western edge of the county which are in the basin of the Broad River. Both the Catawba and Broad Rivers are in the greater Santee River basin. The Catawba forms the eastern border of the county and much of the central part of the county is in the drainage basin of its right tributary, the South Fork Catawba River. The county is located in the Piedmont region of central North Carolina, which consists of gently rolling terrain frequently broken by hills, river and creek valleys, and low, isolated mountain ridges. The highest point in Gaston County is King's Pinnacle, a rocky monadnock which sharply rises over above the city of Gastonia. King's Pinnacle rises above sea level, and is part of Crowders Mountain State Park.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 227,943 people and 55,868 families residing in the county.
The median age was 40.7 years, 22.0% of residents were under the age of 18, and 17.1% were 65 years of age or older; there were 93.3 males for every 100 females and 90.4 males for every 100 females age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 68.8% White, 17.7% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 4.8% from some other race, and 6.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 8.8% of the population.
81.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 18.9% lived in rural areas.
There were 90,799 households in the county, of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 45.6% were married-couple households, 18.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 98,136 housing units, of which 7.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 65.8% were owner-occupied and 34.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.8%.

2004 census estimate

At the 2004 census estimate, there were 194,459 people, 73,936 households, and 53,307 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 78,842 housing units at an average density of.
The racial makeup of the county was 83% White, 13.9% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 1% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from other races, and 1% from two or more races. 3.00% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 92,094 males and 98,271 females in Gaston County. Of these 39,492 are under 15, 23,082 are aged 16–24, 59,096 are aged 25–44, 44,710 are aged between 45–64 and 23,985 are 65 and over. The median age is 36.89 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $39,482, and the median income for a family was $46,271. Males had a median income of $33,542 versus $23,876 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,225. About 8.30% of families and 10.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.50% of those under age 18 and 11.10% of those age 65 or over.

Law and government

Gaston County is governed by a seven-member Board of Commissioners. Two members are elected from Gaston Township and one each from the other five townships of Gaston County. They are elected on a partisan basis to four-year staggered terms. Those that file for a particular seat must live in the township. However, the vote is countywide or "at-large."
The offices of Sheriff, District Attorney, Clerk of Superior Court, and Register of Deeds are also elected offices, elected on a countywide, partisan basis. Gaston County currently is divided into forty-six voting precincts.
The county is administered by a full-time professional County Manager. Gaston County is a member of the regional Centralina Council of Governments.

County Offices

Board of Commissioners

Gaston County is governed by a seven-member Board of Commissioners representing six townships. Commissioners are elected on a countywide or "at-large" partisan basis to four-year staggered terms but must reside in their respective Township. The Gastonia Township is represented by two Commissioners. In December of each year, the Board elects a Chairman and Vice-Chairman to serve for the upcoming year.

Board of Education

Soil & Water Conservation District Board Members

Other County Offices

These officials other than manager and attorney serve four year terms.

Judicial

District Court

District Court judges serve four-year terms.

Superior Court

Superior court judges serve eight-year terms.

North Carolina General Assembly

North Carolina Senate

Gaston County is represented by the 43rd and 44th state senate district, and senators are up every two years.

North Carolina House of Representatives

Gaston County is represented by the 108th, 109th, and 110th state house districts. Representatives are up for election every two years.

Federal offices

House of Representatives

Gaston County is in the 14th congressional district, and previously, the northwest corner of the county mainly Cherryville was in the 10th until redistricting in 2023.

Senate

Courts of law

North Carolina has a unified statewide and state-operated court system, called the General Court of Justice. It consists of three divisions: the appellate courts, the superior court, and the district courts. Only the Superior and District Courts operate at the county level.
Small claims court is a subdivision of the district court where civil cases are brought before a magistrate when the amount in controversy is $5,000 or less. There is no jury and often no lawyers. A person who loses in small claims court may appeal for a trial by jury before a judge in district court. While judges are elected, magistrates are appointed by the Senior Resident Superior Court judge upon nomination of the Clerk of Superior Court.