McDowell County...a great place to live, work and raise a family.
Surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, McDowell County offers a wide variety of outdoor adventures. Whether you enjoy fishing, hunting, hiking, or spending the day on the lake, McDowell County has something for everyone. McDowell County offers a small town feel where everyone knows their neighbors and everyone works together to help the community grow.
History Cherokee and Catawba Indians were known inhabitants of what is now McDowell County. In 1566, the Spanish explorer Juan Pardo came to Western North Carolina traveling through the area that is now McDowell county. His purpose was to acquire territory for Spain, but he had also hoped to find precious metals. Pardo and his men built a log blockhouse at the headwaters of the Catawba River. Apparently intimidated by the formidable range of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the home of the Cherokee Nation, Pardo left the area the following year. McDowell County is rich in American Civil War History. The movie Last of the Mohicans was filmed along the shores of the picturesque Lake James. McDowell county was first formed in 1842 from parts of Burke County and Rutherford County. It was named for Joseph McDowell, a Revolutionary War leader and hero of the Battle of King's Mountain, and a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1797 to 1799. Marion, the county seat of McDowell County, was planned and built on land selected by the first McDowell County Commissioners on March 14, 1844 at the Historic Carson House. It was not until 1845, however, that the official name of Marion was sanctioned as the county seat by the state legislature. The name of Marion came from Francis Marion, the American Revolutionary War hero, known as the “Swamp Fox” and the man upon whom the movie "The Patriot" was based. During the Carolina Gold Rush period of the early 19th century, the south county area was known for its gold production. The banks of the Muddy Creek and mines at Vein Mountain were productive areas. Many mines and thriving gold rush towns such as Brackettown no longer exist, although scattered ruins and cemeteries mark many locations of the gold rush period.There were other mines in the area also including an old mine in Woodlawn. In that community someone opened a mine on Tom's Creek which may have been a Mica mine. There are remnants of the a sorting house and the old mine shaft itself.
